Have you ever been in a situation where you needed custom made furniture? It must have crossed your mind how convenient it would have been if you could build that missing piece yourself, not to mention budget and timely friendly. And yes, you were right to dismiss the idea then; making your own furniture is not an easy task. However, it certainly is worthwhile investing time and money in becoming familiar with the process and general ideas and start building your own items. To give you a head start, we prepared five interesting DIY furniture ideas that you could work on and implement.

Table

There are never enough tables. Making a round top one is slightly more complicated that the square shaped one, due to cutting precision. You can start with a small squared night table that will have a single supporting leg and when you gain confidence move on to bigger and differently shaped ones, supported by two or more legs. Good measuring is again important, especially when it comes to supporting leg’s joints. For example, in order to have a perfectly balanced one leg squared top table, the joint has to be the crossing point of the diagonals.  I also recommend grabbing some great food from Trader Joe’s to help with entertaining your guests!

Bookshelf

Another item you can always find room for is a bookshelf. Square shaped ones are common, but you could go for a triangular one too. All you really need are a couple of pre-cut boards which you will put together in a desired shape using screws, or even super glue, if you do not intend to put anything too heavy in them. The number of shelves is customary, however, pay attention to the weight of a filled bookshelf, if you wish to hang it on the wall.

Bar

Building a bar is challenging but also a rewarding task. The most convenient way is to use framed wood for all the sides of the bar and cover them with cut to size panels that are easily found in woodwork stores or in various online tool shops. Of course, since a bar is not a tiny thing, measure everything twice, to be absolutely sure that it would fit its designated place. When the bar top is concerned, it should be a solid wood one. Also, make sure you lacquer it to protect it from all the drinks you will be serving.

Collapsible desk

If you lack space, a collapsible desk will be a handy item. You need a square frame that you will screw to the wall, and a full wood desk board which will be joined to the frame with two hinges on the bottom side and two chains on the top side, whose length would be such to allow the desk board to be parallel to the ground once opened.

Stool

A full wooden seat with four legs makes a durable stool. Building one is a good DIY practice, gluing screwing and especially if you measure and cut the legs yourself. The maximum height is 30 ̎.

Tools

You basically need a hammer, some screwdrivers and carpentry tools. If you are lacking any, you can easily find them online or just borrow what you need from your neighbor, to begin with.

To sum up, to enter the world of DIY furniture, you need a good spirit, a gradual approach and some basic tools. Therefore, there are no excuses not to DIY.