If you’ve taken up woodworking as a hobby, you can now begin to create many useful things for your home. Even if you’re a beginner, there are DIY projects you can do to create home décor and small pieces of furniture that you can use to organize your things.
Wood is one of the most preferred choices for home décor because it is eco-friendly, durable, and does not contain any toxic materials. While you can simply buy ready-made wood products off the shelves, creating simple wood pieces allows you to make highly-personalized items that are unique to your taste.
You can also ensure that the wood you use has been harvested and processed using sound environmental practices. We’ll show you what to look for in your lumber, but first, here are some ideas to give you inspiration.
Simple Wood Projects for Your Home
Night Stand
You can make a beautiful nightstand by your bedside using wood. The design for a nightstand is simple, and it will complement your bed. It won’t take much of your time to complete this project. You can place your bedside lamp on it for easy reach. You can also make a stand with drawers for storage.
Wooden Bookcases
You can make beautiful wood bookcases to keep your books. This is a beautiful idea because it helps save space in your home. Bookcases can be freestanding or attached to the wall, and both options add beauty to your home. You can paint the wood to compliment your home décor.
Get the Green Building Project Checklist
Use this handy checklist on your next project to keep track of all the ways you can make your home more energy-efficient and sustainable.
Wood Planter
You can also make wood planters to create an indoor garden. They are easy to make, and you can also paint or stain them to look more beautiful. You can plant beautiful flowers to decorate your home. You can even plant herbs and vegetables inside them.
Crates for Storage Bed
Crates are some of the simplest woodworking projects you can find. You can make these crates to save space in your bedroom. They also add to the appeal of the room’s décor, and the design is simple. Even with minimal carpentry skills, you can do this within a short time.
Full-Length Mirror
You can also make a full-length mirror using a wood frame. It is very easy to make, and it can turn out beautifully. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can attempt carvings on the wood to add beauty to the standing mirror.
Wooden Shelves
You can make wooden shelves to keep your books in your home study. This helps you keep your living space organized. You can also make shelves for your indoor house plants. A lot of people today have indoor plants. Shelves can get your plants closer to sunny windows and let you keep your tables and desks clear.
Wood Bar Table
Another idea for simple wood products is a wood bar table. You can find several designs online to make one for your home. You can stain and polish the wood to make it look clean and modern. These bar tables can come in any shape. You are free to use your imagination to create something beautiful.
Kitchen Shelf
If you’re wondering where to put your kitchen utensils, a shelf will make your kitchen more organized. You’ll find many plans and designs to guide you online, but the sky’s the limit in terms of how your shelves can look and what you use them for.
Dining Chairs
Some people prefer to buy their dining table set, but you know how expensive they are. If you can work with wood, why not make a set for your home. It costs less, and you can get creative with the design.
Choosing Eco-Friendly Lumber for Your Wood Projects
One of the best ways to make eco-friendly wood projects is to use reclaimed or recycled wood. Reclaiming wood minimizes the use of a number of different resources, from trees to water to electricity to fuel to landfill space.
If you want to work with new materials, do a little extra investigating on the lumber you want to work with. Look for a forestry certification label. If the wood you want doesn’t have a label, ask the store for its history. Any store you purchase lumber from should be able to tell you what company produced it, as well as whether the material has been certified.
Certification gives you the clearest idea of whether your material was harvested responsibly. Canada has three forest certification systems: the Canadian Standards Association and the Forest Stewardship Council, both endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Each of these systems has its own set of criteria that must be met in order for a product to be certified. All, however, use third party audits to demonstrate that forestry products are harvested legally and sustainably, with attention paid to Indigenous interests, the preservation of biodiversity and wildlife habitats and soil quality.
Keep sustainability in mind while you’re building your home projects and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from making what you need yourself.
Feature image: swabdesign; Image 1: Alex Jones
