build my own furniture

I built a desk for my daughter a couple of months ago and we painted it together. It turned out pretty well for my first try, but it could definitely be better. I haven’t built anything since then because I don’t have the right tools or protective gear and I’m afraid I’ll put my eye out or lose a limb. I wish I had time to apprentice for a carpenter.

I want to do this because I LOVE design and pretty much everything I find in stores just isn’t what I’m looking for. I favor a balance of function and design and I can generally only find one or the other. The problem is that I’m a perfectionist and I don’t have the time to learn to make perfect furniture >.<

It was a great way to spend time with my dad. I traveled home for a week last year and we made an end table out of solid american walnut. The design for it was inspired by a very high-end furniture company (www.bddw.com) based out of NYC. It turned out well and we learned a lot.

This year, we stepped it up a notch. We used macassar ebony and mdf. I just finished putting it together and it looks amazing.

It was great to build something. It was great to spend time working with my dad. I get both great memories, a piece of art, a place to keep my stuff, and the pride of making it happen.

Thanks dad!

Fencewood furniture is very rustic, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. I made some cabinets and a couple of adirondack chairs that turned out great. The first adirondack chair took me four or five hours. The next few took about 40 minutes each.

How did I ever have that much time on my hands???

I don’t need anything right now but I have always wanted to learn this skill. Some time later perhaps.

i always see furniture i like but its either too expensive or in the wrong color ect. i would love to be able to learn some basic skills so i can make something i actually want to put in my apartment.

I want to do this to get something of quality. I understand that it takes a lot of skill and that skill only comes with lots of practice and lots of mistakes. So I don’t think I have the patience right now to take that on but it still is a dream of mine.