So my sister moved back to Southern California from New York. She found a great place but needed a table. I made one table and one bench. My sister then found two chairs for the other side. This is the second or third thing I have made/built from Ana’s site. Thank you for making me feel more manly with great instruction. I also built this pre Covid-19 when lumber was not so expensive.
I was looking for an inexpensive way to dress up my deck and when I saw your tapered plant boxes I knew that was the gem I needed. I used pickets from a fence we took down and some 1 inch wood strips. I am planning on making more to line the new fence.
This was my first Ana White project, and I learned a lot from making it since I was also a novice woodworker. I am very happy with the end result, but it was probably a good thing that this went on the inside of a closet :) It gave me the confidence to go on and build something more difficult with the skills I built along with the storage.
The $30 estimate is only for the wood. Wood putty, sandpaper, screws, paint, etc. will make this more expensive, but you will use all of the extras on other projects since this one won't use those up.
The time involved is a guess--it has been a few months since I completed this. Someone with experience could probably do it faster and someone brand new to building might go slower. So I chose 3-6 hours, a nice in-between number.
Watch your caster size with carpet. That was my only snag with the instructions. Ana has hardwood floors that the casters roll on. I have carpet so I wanted larger wheels in order for smoother rolling. That added height to the caster also, so you want to modify the length of the sides of the storage unit to reflect the larger casters on carpet.
All in all a great plan and useful end result!
**UPDATE--January 30, 2012** We removed the casters from the bottom of this just yesterday and the door opens SO much easier. I would invest in some high quality casters and not the cheap ones I bought if you are going to use these. Without the casters I am only putting light things (stuffed animals) in this. If you are using it for heavier items, I would use the casters but make sure they readily turn. The casters I had did not want to turn as the door moved and they dragged on the carpet instead. Also, the overall height of your unit will depend on the height of your casters, so buy them first if you are going to use them. I still love this though!
Thank you so much for the two videos we watched of you and your husband explaining and demonstrating how to build garage shelves. We used your plans as a guide. We chose to add shaker style doors to create cabinet shelves. We absolutely love them. We are not handy as you can see we had a living room lamp for a work light and a lifetime table as a work bench. Thank you!
The Paulsons
For my second project I wanted to build something a little more difficult than a shelf. The hubby showed me how to use our power tools and I was unstoppable. I chose this great bench because it fit the feel of our house and I wanted an entryway spot to sit while putting on shoes.
The finishing took much longer than it actually took to build the bench. I thought it would be more difficult to get the precise angle measurements to make the supports under the bench, but it was not bad at all. I can 't believe I built this pretty bench! I have the building fever now!
Mon, 06/13/2011 - 13:18
Loving the price and build! Good job on this! looks perfect where it is too!
In reply to Looks Great! by mandylynn523
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 04:33
Hello. My hubby and I are in the process of building this bench. Basically just have to put the top on and finish the staining/painting. We are doing a black bottom and stained top. I have a hard time w/angles so my husband tackled that but I have to say, he had a hard time with it as well. Glad you had an easy time of it! Can I ask how you attached the top?
I love this storage bin from plans at morelikehome.net, and it was easy to build, too! It's nice and big, about 21"W x 21"D x 18"H. I selected 3-6 hours as the time spent, but to say closer to six would be about right. I need a large work surface in my sewing room (I'll be building the storage table as well),and a place to store my "stuff".This should be a pretty good start!
Hi friends!
Jen Woodhouse from The House of Wood here.
After sharing my new dining room, I got a lot of requests for plans for my dining table, so I’m thrilled to finally deliver. The box joints on the legs add just the right amount of detail to this dining table, don’t you think?
Be sure to tag me @jenwoodhouse if you share photos of your build on social media. I'd love to see it!
You can get all the details for this build on my website jenwoodhouse.com
I had a friend doing a class for a church activity on refinishing furniture. I think she mentioned to our leaders that I build furniture so two weeks ago she emailed me to see if I would be willing to participate and take a little time to talk. I said of course, and then in my true fashion of loving a good get-together and having a tendency to overdo things, I said, "we could even do a little project too".
I went onto this site printed off 5 projects under $30 and let anyone that wanted sign up. I figured the easiest way to let people build a project in an hour and a half was to pre-cut and pre-drill everything (Thank you to my new Kreg jig that let me rock that part out no problem)
I ended up cutting and drilling for 26 orders!!! EEK! I was a little like a mad hatter running around helping people that had never even held a drill before (so please excuse the LACK of pictures, including none of me doing anything at all :( ) But I think it turned out awesome and everyone was so excited.
I just wanted to post this as a little tribute to Ana for all the amazingness that you are. Thank you for helping those scared to even start.
Fri, 08/26/2011 - 11:26
Thank you so much for sharing this! I can remember when my little sister took woodshop in high school, and we all looked at her like "what is woodshop" and "why on earth would you ever want to take woodshop - woodworking is for retired men!". Not too many years later, I was wishing I had taken wood shop!
This is so amazing to see because you are teaching these beautiful and courageous young laddies skills they will use throughout their lifetime. Not to mention the confidence to tackle other traditionally male trades. And I'm willing to bet, their daughters will be using drills too!
I'm so honored to know you!
And might I add, those projects look GOOD!
Sat, 08/27/2011 - 20:15
Wow! What a great thing that is that you did!!! Thanks to you and Ana there are now 26 other women who have a new sense of accomplishment!
Sun, 02/03/2013 - 12:17
MAN! I want to do something like this! What a wonderful thing to do to bring all those ladies together! (And tell Miss Red Shirt, I want a T just like hers! "Be Kind"!) Way to rock it out, all of you!
Modified the junior loft plan to add a house design element and storage stairs, by Amy Mott
I loved the Holman Entertaining Shleves from Pottery Barn, however, I didn't like the price. Taking the $10 ledge plans and modifying them, I set out to make my own. I used a 1 x 10 (bottom), 1 x 6 (back) and a 1 x 3 (front). They are 23 7/8 inches long to get the 3 shelves out of 6 foot boards. To get the holes to hold the top of the bottle, I used a 1 and 1/4 inch forstner bit. Since I had gift cards left from Christmas I splurged on the wood and bought the select pine.
Thu, 02/09/2012 - 09:11
Each shelf has 4 drywall screws countersunk and attached to the studs.
Tue, 01/14/2014 - 10:55
I love your adaptation of the original design. I have been looking for an example of someone who made this plan into a wider shelf. Has it held up well? I was worried about the stress on the joints when you make it deeper. Has yours handled the weight of the bottles?
I followed the basic plans but added a couple 12x2” metal supports for each breadboard. This was a must. I used Douglas fir for the entire project from Home Depot.
My 2 kids helped me put a few screws in, otherwise I did this myself. The wife really loved it and was a bit surprised coming back from her facial spot on Valentines Day. It turned out better than I could have hoped, especially considering this was my first real woodworking build.
Great plans and nuggets of advice from everyone else made this really fun and not so scary!
I started this project a few months ago for a friend. The build went easy enough and was complete is less than a day. The only issue I had was with the X's. My miter saw doesnt cut past 55 degrees and it called for 60 degrees. I had to eye it and the X's turned out less than perfect. It did give me a compelling arguement to upgrade from my 10" to a 12" sliding saw (we will see how that pans out). The finishing was the real problem for me. Ive had issues in the past with not liking the final color and having to sand the whole project over and over until I finally just settle. I was hesitant on the vinegar and steel wool finish but went for it anyway. The top turned orange, almost like a fresh cedar color. I whitewashed it the following day and roughed it up with some light sanding. It looked great. I added poly and the top turned orange again. It was horrible. I had to sand it and start over. I then went with a weathered grey with a whitewashed top coat and it looked great but my friend wasnt a fan. I sanded AGAIN and tried another color. Third time was a charm and the sunbleached stain with whitewash came close to what we wanted to acheive. He likes it, I like it, and eveyone is happy!
DIY Ladder Shelf to use as a plant stand on our courtyard deck.
My friend and I bought all of the materials for about $350. We started Friday afternoon and he worked most of Saturday on it. The plans were super helpful! My four little silkies are enjoying their new home.
Mon, 10/03/2016 - 10:01
You and your friend did an amazing job! I love the cedar roof and white paint - so farmhouse chic! Thank you so much for bragging, love seeing your project! Ana
This is the second project I attempted and it was a huge undertaking for me, but it was fun and went well! I had planned to sew a cushion for it, but by the time I completed the project, I was DONE! So I bought some for now.
The only modifications I made were larger arm rests so I could put cup holders in them. The cup holders I made out of PVC 3" Male end and a 3" drain, which I glued together. I then scuffed the entire thing and painted them with acrylic paint (trying to get them to match the blue and green in the cushions) before spraying them with gloss sealant.
My family LOVES the new "swing bed". It weighs ALOT so I had to make sure to get proper hanging gear. It's obviously not hung yet when I took the pics tho.
Thank you for another beautiful project!
Just My Size Closet!
Built this from Ana's plans with a few modifications.
Started with a big empty box after ripping the old stuff out and finished with this look.
Adjustable shelves and all !
With another total lockdown happening here in Cyrpus, right at the same time as my Daughter will be on Easter holidays, I'm trying to knock up as much outdoor play kit as I can to keep her entertained and off the iPad.
The design of this was very simple, a 2x2 frame clad with T&G; the countertop, shelves, and roof are from marine grade baltic birch (the roof also has additional levels of water prof membranes, root barriers, etc to support the living roof).
Finish-wise, for the pinks and blues, I've used wood aqua by Kraft paints, and for the counter, shelves, and picnic bench, high protection wood stain in walnut by V33.
I made the worm composter from Ana's plan and built a cabinet out of old pallets. The stack of worm composters drawers slide in and out of the cabinet on a heavy duty drawer glide set. I used cedar fence board. For 3 bucks a board, it was worth the work to rip them down and sand them. The bottom drawer has a tray built out of old flashing and slopes towards a hose bib in order to collect the worm tea. I designed the drawer insert out of cardboard and cut it out of flashing, using a pop rivet gun to put it together, sealing the seams with flashing caulking. The drawer has a sheet of aluminum window screen under the top square of cedar.
This the recent remodel of our guest bedroom. Its a modified plan from a fancy farmhouse bed that allows room for tubs to be stored underneath, three of the ledges, and the nightstands are old wooden crates that have been sanded down, painted, and mounted to the wall. We decided to do vinyl stickers as the "headboard" and felt the birds on a wire made for a good look. The lamps we made from wine bottles with labels we liked using westinghouse lamp kits. Thank you Ana White for these plans and ideas!
I felt a little bold deviating from the plans when this was my first project. But I saw another version of this desk with the breadboard ends, and I really appreciated the added craftsmanship this gave off. Other than the top, I followed the plans to a T. For the top, I made this from 2x6's with the 4 lengthwise pieces cut to 61" and the ends to 22" (I think I ended up trimming the ends down to match better, but 22 was a good starting point). As for the finish, I layered stains starting with Minwax's Classic Grey followed by Minwax's Jacobean. I made two of these desks to put in our home office. If I think of it once the office is complete and decorated, I'll add another pic!
My wife was needing some extra storage in the garage for seasonal decor totes.
So, of course, I first go to Ana White's website. Voila, I found the perfect plans for the space I had to work with.
- The final product ended up being 72"Hx54"Lx21"W
- I used a counter sink bit to pre-drill screw holes so the heads would be slightly below the surface of the boards. This way the totes would not get caught on or damaged by the screws.
Comments
Ana White Admin
Tue, 10/05/2021 - 09:55
Wonderful table!
Great housewarming gift, and very pretty too! Thanks for sharing!