Ana WhiteIf you’ve got just a few basic tools, and aren’t afraid of a little work, there are big benefits to building your own furniture. Here are my top five reasons why I love building my own furniture.
1. Save Tons of Money. Building your own furniture can save you big. Many people report saving about $5000 to furnish a standard sized house. I find you can save about 75% off the cost of buying – that’s a big percentage, especially on a big ticket item. 75% off a sweater might mean saving fifty bucks … 75% off a farmhouse table could mean thousands in savings. Start building your own furniture and start saving tons of money.
2. Get What You Want. If only this coffee table came in a square size… this would be perfect if it was just a little narrower to fit my space… We’ve all been there. If you build your own furniture, you don’t have to compromise. But it doesn’t just stop at sizing your furniture to your needs. You get to pick everything – from the actual design to the final finish. And when you just get one dining table in your home, it should be “the one”.
3. Do Cool Stuff. If you are building your own furniture, you might as well make it do cool stuff too. Without majorly impacting the cost, you can throw a hidden ice bucket in an outdoor table or a toe-kick step stool in a bath vanity; you can add secret storage compartments or fold down tables to just about anything. These mods can simplify life and the way your home operates. Furniture is first and foremost about home function, and building your own furniture gives you power to increase your home’s function like no other. Don’t compromise – your furniture should do what you want it to.
4. Repairable + Repurposeable. When you build something, you know exactly what went into the design and build. You know what type of wood was used and what type of finish applied. Should something ever need repairs, there’s no guesswork. You know how to fix it. And as life progresses and your needs change, you know how to update that piece. Don’t need a twin sized bed anymore? Take the screws out, repurpose the wood into a coffee table. If you build your own furniture, you can repair it and when the time comes, easily repurpose it.
5. It’s Greener. Most of the furniture bought today in the US today is imported thousands of miles and built under very different labor standards in foreign countries. Skip the freight ship and choose locally grown lumber – or even better, reclaimed lumber. Choose a natural finish free of chemicals and improve the air quality in your home. And never have to drag a giant crate filled with styrofoam packing materials out to the curb for waste management. Building your own furniture can be much better for our environment.
So gather up some tools and find a plan that you love – it’s time to make your home better, smarter, nicer, greener for a fraction of the cost.