We've featured Ana White before, like when we shared her creative instructions for building your own backyard see-saw! I stumbled across her newest project while looking for a thin console table to fit into our foyer. I love the idea of making our own furniture — now we just have to find an area that suits the building process! 

Name: Maxwell & Ursula
Type of Project: Light renovation of a rental apt
Location: Soho, NYC
Type of building: Two bedroom apartment

I had a big unsolved issue for this project, which was how to get a compact bed into Ursula's room along with all the storage she and I needed in both of our rooms for clothing, etc. Then I ran into George Evageliou again after posting about his company back in 2007. He was literally in our offices dropping off his new cards, when I asked if he'd come take a look at this apartment. Within thirty minutes he'd convinced me to rip out all the old, funky closets and work with him to install cabinets in both rooms, one of which would carry Ursula's bed. That's when the fun began. 

The Renovation Diaries are a new collaboration with our community in which we feature your step by step renovation progress and provide monetary support towards getting it done in style. See all of our Reno Diaries here.

My backyard is the size of a postage stamp, and filled with dog poop and sorrow. Redoing it, however, is for another day. I'll get there at some point, and will then be all over these DIY outdoor tables. In the meantime, if your outdoor space is in better shape than mine, follow the links for instructions on how to make one of these yourself.

We're constantly amazed at the ingenuity of making something out of almost nothing. Recently faced with a fruitless search for a desk at a thrift store, I gave up. But I should have turned my sights around to the seemingly endless assortment of bar stools, like these creative craftsmen who decided to DIY their desks from the reclaimed seating.

You know you can order your own hobbit hole from places like Wooden Wonders. And, if you have an extra 1,500 hours on your hands, you could build an elaborate one like this. But for those of us who are carpentry-challenged or who don't have that much time, Studio G can show you how to make a small child's hobbit hole in about 8 hours for less than $250.

A herringbone-pattern wood floor is, for me, the stuff dreams are made of. It's not likely that I'll be able to have one any time soon, but thanks to this striking DIY project, that same elegant, warm beauty might be easy to implement elsewhere in the home. 

The media console above looks like it could have come out of the pages of the latest West Elm catalog, doesn't it? Just $40 of scrap furniture-grade plywood, an electric saw and drill, a set of hairpin legs, and 8 hours is all it takes to make one for your own living room.

Everybody has at least one piece of old furniture in their attic, but how often do you actually do something with it? Lacker was rooting around in his and found this vintage chair from the 1970s. It was in decent shape, with a metal base and plywood seat. See how he gave it a second life, after the jump.

If you need some simple storage for your garden but don't quite need a potting bench, this eco-minded Etsy how-to upcycles a wooden pallet into outdoor shelving.