7 Simple DIY Woodworking Projects

7 Simple DIY Woodworking Projects for Your Home

We all get Pinterest envy from time to time. You scroll through picture after picture of beautifully decorated and furnished rooms. It doesn't take long before you start wondering how to make your own home look Pinterest perfect.

Then you start shopping and you realize how expensive it all is. Fortunately, taking on some DIY projects for the home can give you the style you want, 100% customized, for much less.

One area in which DIY can be especially beneficial is in furniture. Woodworking projects can give you one-of-a-kind, stylish, and often sturdier furniture for less. As an added bonus, home woodworking is a more eco-friendly living choice.

Beginner Woodworking Projects for the Home

For the homeowner who wants to make DIY furniture but hasn't reached the status of woodworking master, here are a few projects to get you started.

1. Standing Bookshelf

A bookshelf is a great starter woodworking project. It's rather simple, but it teaches you a lot about stability, angles, and basic skills.

If your home is low on storage and/or abundant space, a bookshelf is also a very usable project. You can design it to fit into even the smallest or most awkwardly-shaped spaces. Plus if you need storage for items that aren't books, simple baskets fit the look perfectly.

A word to the wise: think about the flooring when you're designing your bookshelf. If the shelf will be on a high-pile carpet or rug, it will need more stability than it would on a hard floor.

Want to step up the difficulty? If you have small pets, install a cushion on one of the shelves to give them a cozy new bed.

2. Medicine Cabinet

Truthfully, a medicine cabinet is made in a similar way to any wall-mounted cabinet. A small one like a medicine cabinet is an easy place for beginners to start, though.

In fact, a cabinet is a great next step after your bookshelf. You're essentially just building a bookshelf and adding doors.

Here's a pro tip: before you start, measure some of the items you want to store in the cabinet. Many store-bought medicine cabinets don't quite fit items like contact solution and other large bottles. When you're making your own cabinet, you can specifically plan it to fit all your favorites.

As with all woodworking projects, you can choose how complex you want your cabinet to be, from a minimalistic design to a more ornate DIY medicine cabinet.

3. Shadow Box

If you're not familiar, shadow boxes are glass-front wooden boxes designed to display memorabilia. They can be wall-mounted or placed on a tabletop. They're fantastic projects for parents who want to display their kids' awards.

A shadow box is a great project because you can customize it to fit the specific items you want to include. It's also an ideal way to learn how to use glass in your woodworking projects.

4. Bench

A bench might be the most stereotypical beginner woodworking project, but hear us out.

Like bookshelves, it can be a real challenge to find a bench that fits your unique space. They're also great pieces of multitasking furniture because you can include storage in them as well.

It's important to make your bench with your specific location in mind. Outdoor benches and indoor benches have very different considerations, like weather protection.

And of course, benches can be as simple or as challenging as you want them to be. Whether you're a beginner or an old pro, you can find a bench-making design to fit your skill level and your style.

5. Storage Box

Boxes and storage containers are some of the most multifunctional items you can buy (or in this case, make) for your home. They can turn even the most basic shelf into an organized masterpiece.

Small storage boxes are also wonderful gift add-ons. If you're giving someone jewelry another small yet treasurable item, forget the cardboard box and make your own personal gift box.

Depending on the design you use, boxes are great woodworking projects for learning corner joints and varying styles of lids, too.

6. Mudroom Organization

Without a doubt, one of the hardest rooms to keep organized in any house is the mudroom or entryway. That goes double for homes with kids.

Store-bought mudroom furniture can be very expensive, especially if you want a fixture that maximizes space by incorporating both storage and seating. DIY mudroom furniture, on the other hand, gives you cost-effective customizability.

When you're hand-crafting furniture for this type of space, it's all about what complexity you want. For a genuine beginner's project, a simple mounted board with hooks for coats and book bags can go a long way.

You want a more comprehensively organized area, you say? A full wall unit can provide space for shoes, coats, book bags, hats, and much more. You can even give each family member their own cubby to make for quicker, less chaotic mornings.

7.Lawn Furniture

One of the most popular trends in home design today is using your outdoor space. Homeowners are decorating, furnishing, and designing their outdoor areas to make them so functional that they're just another room of the house.

A key to having usable outdoor space is having comfortable furniture. Have you looked at prices for outdoor furniture lately, though? Manufacturers know this is a higher priority for homeowners, and they're taking full advantage with hefty price tags.

Fortunately, outdoor furniture items make for great woodworking projects. Adirondack chairs are particularly popular today, with no cushions needed. You can even create an entire "room" of furniture in this same style.

Basic Tips for Beginner Woodworkers

Woodworking is an entire skill set to learn, and it takes time. As you leap into the learning process, use these tips for your first projects.

1. Have the Right Equipment from the Start

Woodworking has the potential to be dangerous, messy, and difficult if you don't have the right equipment. Before your first project, buy or borrow all the essentials you need like safety goggles, drop cloth, dust collector bags, and more.

Keep in mind that your supplies and equipment for each project could be very specialized. It’s best to choose a project, make a list of must-haves, and start hunting them down.

2. Read All the Instructions Before You Start

In some woodworking projects, you need precise timing between one step and another. Before you start, read all the instructions and practice some of the new skills you may need.

For instance, you could need to wait for the epoxy to dry before moving on to another stage or give your stain time to dry. If you have a deadline for your project, try planning out each step on a calendar to make sure you can finish it in time.

3. Read Up on Safety Protocols

You say it to your kids all the time: safety first! Research how to stay safe before you so much as hammer in your first nail.

That goes for every project. Different woodworking tasks and pieces of equipment have their own safety measures, so never assume that you have all the knowledge they need. A simple “safety tips for jigsaws” Google search could save a limb.

Find a Project and Start Saving

Embracing your inner woodcrafter does more than save money for your family. It gives you more of a sense of pride in your home, and it gives you the freedom to make those Pinterest pictures in your mind come to life.

Woodworking projects are just one of many ways to save money on your home. For more, check out our other blogs full of frugal living tips for moms.