DIY Crafting: A Guide to Home Furniture Projects

There's nothing more satisfying than reclining in a deck chair that you made yourself. Whether you're looking for inexpensive alternatives to home remodeling or you're just eager to roll up your sleeves and try your hand at DIY, here are a few things to keep in mind about constructing your own furniture.

First things first: Make sure you have everything you need for your project before you begin. If you're forced to interrupt your work with a trip to Home Depot, you'll lose both enthusiasm and momentum, so round up all your screwdrivers, power drills and carriage bolts right off the bat.

What kind of screws are best when constructing a homemade patio? Which material has a higher resistivity to corrosion, steel or ceramic? These are questions you should be asking yourself long before you pick up a hammer, because if you don't, you're putting the longevity of your creation at risk.

This goes hand-in-hand with readying your supplies, because preparation is the key to any successful DIY project. While handcrafting your furniture affords a certain amount of wiggle room, it's still important that you have steps to follow and requirements to be met. If you're building an oak table, for example, you'll need lag bolts (http://www.wholesalebolts.com/hexheadlagscrews.aspx) to particular size specifications lest they lose themselves in the wood. If you're re-upholstering a couch, you'll be stripping the fabric and examining the frame, so make a note to inspect the corner braces.

First-timers should never attempt a DIY furniture project without having some kind of resource to check their work. Look for online tutorials, YouTube videos, instruction manuals, et cetera. More experienced builders might have the skills necessary to stray outside the lines or carpenter things without help, but if you've never built a chair before, listen to the math and construction experts about crack propagation and weight distribution.

One of the wisest and yet more ignored pieces of DIY advice: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Start with simple projects, working your way up to more difficult and time-consuming ones. You'll have plenty of chances to build that elaborate, 100-piece playroom set. Don't make it your first goal.

These are just a few things to consider before taking the plunge and starting your own DIY furniture project. At the end of the day, the nuts and bolts matter less than your passion and perseverance, so work hard and have fun!