Make Your Own Wooden Shelves and Furnishings

I’m a big fan of crafts stores, although, I realize that some of their items seem quite expensive. Having browsed and shopped in them for many years, though, I’ve learned what’s a bargain and what’s too pricey. One thing that’s a real bargain for the money is a plain ol’ wooden shape. The shapes range from ordinary, like squares, ovals and circles, to weird, like witches, bees or alligators. The wooden pieces, whether thick or thin, shaped or ordinary, are a great bargain because so much can be made from them.

When it comes to home decor pieces, like shelves, decorative coat racks, candle or plant holders, and other wooden pieces, you’re looking at some serious price tags if you’re shopping around for these types of things. But why pay those high prices when you can make these items yourself. You don’t have to be a carpenter – the pieces are already cut – you just have to put them together and decide how you want to paint or decorate.

One example of how quickly you can make something that’s generally very expensive is a kids’ coat rack. Nail two or more square or rectangular shapes, side by side, onto a wall section. Instead of butting them together, leave a small space between each one, raise one up higher than the other, or huddle two together in one place, then three more slightly further away. The idea is to make a row of houses or a village from the blocks of wood.

The coat rack can be as long or short as you wish. Since each square will hold one peg this will give you an idea of how long to make it. After nailing the squares to the wall, position a triangular wooden piece over the top of each square, and nail into place. This will give the overall shape of houses. Now you can paint them any color you wish, outline doors and windows, or just leave them plain. Use a screw-in drawer knob on each square to hold book bags, coats and more.

Another quick craft using the thick, square wooden pieces is a shelf. Solid wooden shelves are very expensive but you can easily make one by aligning the wooden squares onto the wall and nailing into place. Do so by placing one side edge on the wall and nailing it into place. Now but the next piece, square side against square side, onto the wall. The arrangement should look like you stacked the wooden pieces up, then turned them on their sides. As a matter of fact, you can put the shelves together that way, too. Use wood glue and nails to stack piece after piece of the wood, until it’s the size you want the final shelf to be. After the stack is dry, turn it on its side and attach it to the wall.

Stack and fasten large oval or circular pieces to make a unique footstool. Upholster it or leave it wooden – either way it’s beautiful and easy to make. Or, stack the oval or circular wooden pieces to make plant stands, candle stands or even an end table.

Use two wooden dowels and four wooden “U” shapes to make a base for the dowels. Attach one “U” shape at the end of each dowel and space the dowels apart a few inches. Now affix wooden shapes like school houses, butterflies, rainbows or other choices, across the two dowels, then down the entire length of the dowels, spacing them an equal distance. This makes a quick book holder that can be made to suit any decor. Paint or leave unfinished.

Even make a cute tic-tac-toe game for display or actual play. Purchase nine small wooden boxes and glue them together, three on top, three in the center and three across the bottom. Now purchase “X’s” and “O’s” to put in the boxes. This makes a great gift and costs little.

There’s no end to the wooden furnishings you can make yourself and save a literal fortune. Wooden shapes range from a few cents for small, thin shapes to a couple of bucks for larger pieces. They’re a great bargain – so get busy!