There are plenty of ways to add style to your home, but it’s not just about the color of your walls and the texture of your fabrics. Furniture and fixtures contribute to the overall look and feel to every room in your home. For example, hand-made wood furniture makes a home feel authentically rustic in a way that faux wood paints and wallpapers can’t achieve.
You can find DIY projects using wood scraps to create décor for your home for free. However, when you’re going for a farmhouse look or want to incorporate solid wood, you need to commission some hand-made items. The following pieces of furniture and fixtures are a great place to start:
1. Butcher block and wood plank countertops
Nothing says country living like a butcher block or wood plank countertop. These countertops are the fruits of a bygone era where the finest hard woods were used to create beautiful counters and tabletops.
These pieces are still being made today by a select few craftsmen, including Country Mouldings in Ohio. Woodworking is a tradition that has been handed down for generations. The masterpieces produced by this company are crafted by woodworkers from the local Amish community who have a combined experience of over 100 years.
If you’ve never had hand-crafted wooden countertops, you’re in for a treat that will impress your family and your guests.
2. Porch chairs
If you’re handy with wood, you can learn how to build a patio chair online. Otherwise, hire a wood worker to make you some patio chairs out of solid wood.
You don’t need a wraparound porch to make patio chairs look good, but it helps.
Some of the best hand-made wooden patio chairs look like gigantic thrones. These giant, hardwood chairs won’t be comfortable to sit on without some padding, so measure the seat and go find some padding you can sit on. If your chairs are too big for standard chair cushions, find a store that cuts varying types of foam from a roll. Get more than you need and cut the foam into the shape of the chair. Sew a custom pillow case with waterproof fabric to keep the foam clean and dry.
3. Outdoor furniture
Don’t buy expensive patio sets made with cheap materials and mediocre construction that will fall apart in a couple of years. If you want outdoor furniture that stands the test of time, make it out of solid wood with a waterproof finish.
4. Coffee tables
Of all the reasons to love wood furniture, the longevity and beauty of wood are the top two. One of the most beautiful pieces of long-lasting wood furniture you could have is a coffee table.
In your home, a coffee table isn’t just a table. It’s a centerpiece that holds the décor of the entire room together. You can’t just get a coffee table from the thrift store and call it a day. You need a custom-made wooden coffee table.
One of the coolest styles for a coffee table is one that doubles as storage. If you don’t want your coffee table to look like a giant treasure chest, use shelves or an open bottom for storage space. You can hide toys and other items in a storage table, which is perfect if you have kids or dogs. If you’re going for a more elegant look, an open bottom will look better.
5. Kitchen tables
Your farmhouse décor isn’t complete until you’ve got an elaborate picnic table in your kitchen.
The average commercial kitchen table is made out of wood, but it’s lightweight and the construction isn’t sturdy. Kitchen tables have drastically shrunk in size over the years, too.
When you commission a wood worker to build you a custom farmhouse table, you’ll be getting a table that will last multiple generations – potentially hundreds of years.
6. Bookshelves
Books look better against real wood, period. If you’re a bookworm, you need custom made wooden bookshelves. Pinterest has plenty of ideas you can sift through to figure out what you’d like.
Don’t be shy about browsing department store websites for ideas. Any style bookshelf that can be made with particle board can be recreated by a wood worker using real, solid wood.
