Does Building Your Own Furniture Save Money?

[Trever Williams]

I know this is a probably loaded question with lots of variables, but generally speaking does it save money to build your own furniture? My wife and I are building a new house. When we move in we’re going to need to get a flat panel TV console like this one:


We went shopping for them and they cost about $600. My wife said “Why don’t you just build one?” Never mind that it’s probably above my skill level but it got me to wondering if it would really save money. I haven’t priced hardwood lumber yet but I know its expensive. About how much do you think it would cost to build it out of cherry or mahogany?

[Benoit Bissonnette]

For 600$, you'll be lucky if you can buy just enough rough wood for your project. You also need to factor in the hardware cost, finishes, some specific tools for the project (ex.: router bits), let alone the fact you need to already have some basic tools to do the work... Then you also have to build the project which can take a lot of time too depending on how much free time you have in your hands. You don't get into this hobby to save money but rather to enjoy the process or make your own creations.

Good luck!

[Jim Terrill]

Few things- depends on where you are going to get it from, depends if you have the tools already, how much your time is worth/if you would want to do it anyways, and if you can actually find what you want. I know that in my case, I split a deal with my parents where I would build them a few sectional sofas based on one that they already had from Pompanoosuc Mills. If they had ordered them, it would have cost close to 20K for what is a fairly simple style of furniture. Because I wanted the tools anyways and knew I was going to build a new bedroom set for myself as well as some other things, we split a deal where they would buy the tools and wood needed in exchange for me building the sofas. With the help of craigslist, I have assembled a shop with all the tools necessary for a reasonable price and if I turned around tomorrow, I could make money off what I have bought. For a single project it isn't worth going out and buying everything new, but if you know that you will be building other things in the future, you can come out ahead financially. As far as wood costs, mahogany is crazy expensive. Cherry isn't cheap, but without dimensions you can't really get an accurate price and local prices vary a lot, so it could cost more or less for materials where you live than other people.

The other thing to add is that when you build something, you choose the quality of everything. We have bookshelves built out of mahogany by my great-grandfather that are still very sturdy, and we have some from the orange sign place that are a POS. If you build it well, you could have a piece that is passed down for generations.

FWIW, This is where I get a lot of my ideas and inspiration from: http://pompy.com/furniture/

[Joe Mioux]

In a word, No.

[Will Overton]

It can, depending on the quality of your build, compared to what you are buying. A piece like you show, if made with solid wood, with properly cut joinery, would probably cost more than you can make it for. But if you build yours properly and compare it too the most beautiful piece you find at Ikea, it will be cheaper to buy. But, you won't have the same quality.

There is a cost of tools, but consider them toys, because you will be using them to have fun. Your biggest investment will be 'time'. I have wanted to furnish my house with stuff I built for many years. I only got started in earnest since I retired.

[Dave Gaul]

You have one thing right.... that is a loaded question!! The answer really depends..

Do you have sufficient tools for the job? If so, you could build a very nice stand for MUCH less than $600. If you need to buy some tools, obviously it will cost more, but you can make up for it the more you build, but then again, the more you build, the more tools you want/get!!!

You don't have to use hardwood, if you are unsure of your skill level, you may want to make something out of a softwood first. You can make very nice furniture out of softer, less expensive woods...

As far as cost goes for something like you pic, it first depends on what the prices are in your area for the lumber... do you have a way to mill rough lumber?

In my mind, even if you build it yourself, and you spend as much as or a little more than store bought, you are still way ahead of the game.. you built it yourself, the way you want it, and probably used much better methods and materials...

[george wilson]

To be worth the time and cost,you must have the skill,and raw materials to make museum quality furniture. Thing is,you will never develop the skill,AND TASTE,unless you devote many years to making furniture.

The taste is just as important as the skill. Probably more so. I have seen so many very skilled craftsmen who make well made junk.

[Andrew Joiner]

No, in most cases it cost more to custom build. Even if you had free use of a shop with all supplies and utilities paid.

Your time is worth something. Usually the cost of materials in small quantity is as much or more than the cost of completed mass produced furniture.

Now if you love woodworking and hoard low cost materials when you can it works out dollar wise.

I built all our furniture and it was the only way to get what we wanted at a reasonable cost. It is very unique custom furniture and I'm sure I would have paid some one 30 to 40K in labor to build it, so I guess I "saved" that much in dollars cause I had fun doing it.

[Ray McCullie]

The truth is NO. And you are fooling yourself if you think it will. It not only will cost you more money but also a lot more time then you think it will.

But when you build it yourself, you get exactly what you want, the size you want, the shape you want, the style you want. That's something you can't buy in a store. And that is why it's worth it.

[Victor Robinson]

In a nutshell, no.

Like everyone has said, even the wood may end up costing you more.

But, assuming a good amount of skill at woodworking, you might produce something that is higher quality and more of a custom fit to your tastes and needs.

Sometimes buying furniture versus making it boils down to how likely you are to find exactly what you are looking for at an affordable price. If you're just looking for "a decent looking TV console in a dark color" you'll probably find something cheap enough and good enough at a store. If, however, you need a TV console that is between 60" and 64" wide with particular amenities built in for ventilation and cable management, AND you want it with dovetailed drawers and sliding doors, AND you're opposed to buying anything made from particleboard cores, then it might be worth your while to make it.

I got into woodworking in part because I thought it could save money. Truth be told, for a lot of what I want to build, it WOULD save me money simply because much of the furniture we want/need would probably need to be custom-built by a furniture-maker. So in that case, it's my time, not his, and that's where there could be any potential savings. That being said, it does depend on having a certain level of competence as a woodworker, but developing that is part of the fun.

[Jim Terrill]

It not only will cost you more money but also a lot more time then you think it will.

I hate when people say this. Unless you are a professional, your time is working at your hobby. Do I look at how much is costs to go skiing as a function of time? No, because it's a hobby. People do woodworking because they like it. The time invested is no different from the time invested in other hobbies such as fishing or hunting or whatever, except that this time is spent working on something concrete. And if you do not enjoy working on projects and instead see it as a "job", why do it?

Well that is my philosophy anyways.

[Josiah Bartlett]

You may or may not save money, depending on how good you are at sourcing wood on the cheap and getting or borrowing the tools to do it. However, the satisfaction level of producing a piece like that that you see and use every day is worth it, especially if your wife has asked you to do it.

[Eric DeSilva]

Hmm... I think my perspective is different than everyone else's... I'd say "no," but it is only because no one building furniture themselves would built furniture as poorly as--and with as poor wood selection as--you see in most stores. Even with standardized production techniques, there is a reason that piece costs $600. It is made poorly and out of poor materials.

[Cody Colston]

About how much do you think it would cost to build it out of cherry or mahogany?

You could probably build it out of Cherry with a secondary wood like Poplar for $600 including hardware but excluding your time.

You are probably looking at $1000 if you used African Mahogany and $2000 or more if you use Honduras Mahogany.

Those estimates have a lot of variables, the biggest being where you live and the local price of hardwoods. Where I live, Cherry is around $8.00 per bf and Mahogany is almost impossible to find. I'd have to mail-order it or drive 200+ miles.

Building your own furniture is a great challenge and affords a lot of personal enjoyment but doesn't save money. Regardless of materials used, it's just not possible for a one-man shop to compete with production shops cost-wise. If you start comparing to stuff like Ikea furniture, it's even worse.

I am planning to replace all of our master bedroom furniture with period inspired furniture that I build myself from Walnut. It certainly won't be cheaper but the designs are timeless and I'm drawn to that style. I don't intend to do reproductions but rather interpretations of the various pieces, thus the decision to use Walnut exclusively. I can get it locally in abundance and reasonably priced.

[Darius Ferlas]

As others said a lot variables:

tools - a couple thousand $$$ on a very thrifty side
lumber - $100 to $500 (depending where you live and what the prices are)
finish - about $50
hardware - $50

Since I already have tools and my cost of limber is low ($0 to $2 bf), I'd probably be able to make this for myself for about $150 to $250. If I were to build it for someone and hoped to make a dollar or two I could not compete with the $600 price tag. Not even close.