15 Clever Ideas on How To Use Wood For Your Next Home DIY Project

When you have a lot of free time despite work and other priorities, pursuing a new hobby might be a good way to spend your time. Yet if you have no idea what to work on, one of the best and most fulfilling would be woodworking.

It enables you to develop different DIY projects, ranging from small and simple to bigger and more complicated ones. It might indeed be pretty tricky at first. Yet, you’re sure to enjoy working with wood in creating DIYs as soon as you get the hang of it. 

If you’re wondering what types of output you can produce with wood, it could be building things for your own home, from furniture to permanent fixtures like walls and flooring. For instance, you may want to refurbish the look of your house interior by changing your flooring to wood. Yet wood can be a complicated element, so you might have to check wood flooring comparison guides and not simply prioritize the design. 

Apart from wood floorings, below are more ideas to use wood in your next DIY projects. 

1. Shoe Rack

To avoid shoes left all over your front door, you should consider putting up a shoe rack in organizing your footwear. This doesn’t have to be big and fancy; it can just be a small wooden rack to leave your shoes on before going inside the house. 

A simple shoe rack you can easily build yourself. Find out how here.

Now, you might argue that there are already quality pre-made shoe racks you can buy. While this proves to be true, building your own out of wood could help you achieve a durable and uniquely-designed shoe stand. You would love it more than anything else when you’re able to incorporate your style and design preferences into the product. 

2. Farmhouse Flower Basket

If your home has a rustic look to it, one of the best woodworking projects you can do is a small flower basket. You can have that in lieu of a vase to house fresh flowers from your garden or market.

To enhance its style, you may also paint it in any color you desire. White can be a good choice when you don’t have any idea of the color to use, as it’s commonly preferred by many. Lastly, fill it up with burlap or jute inside to hold your flowers.

Tiered flower boxes. See more ideas here.

3. Wooden Mirror Frame

Are the mirrors in your bathroom looking plain and blah? If that’s the case, you might want to try dressing them up with wooden borders. Wood could help achieve a classic and elegant look, so using it for your mirrors can instantly elevate your bathroom’s charm. It could be as simple as a round wooden design or a rustic wooden frame, depending on your style preference. 

A Hand made Wooden Mirror that integrates local wooden combs as a decorative element for the frame of the mirror. Courtesy Royal Art Consultants in Lagos, Nigeria. See more cool mirrors here.

4. Timber Bench

If you want your backyard or patio to have a uniquely-furnished appearance, one of the easiest ideas would be to create a timber bench. Wood is very accessible, so the materials you’ll need would be commonly available in many hardware stores. Also, the process is quite straightforward too, with many tutorials online you can watch. If you dedicate a weekend to it, you can finish one small timber bench within the day.

5. Caddy

Whether it’s for decoration or storage purposes, you could see a caddy in almost every home.  It’s a multi-purpose container that can be a great embellishment to kitchens and bathrooms. You could build a tea or condiment caddy for your kitchen and just choose the style, color, and size that matches your home’s interior.

A nifty DIY project that turns an old wooden art box into a spice rack for the kitchen. Check it out here.

Apart from that, other ideas for your wooden caddy can also include pencil and utensil holders, organizers, and caddy bags. 

6. Towel Ladder

Towel ladders are usually placed in bathrooms. However, it acts more like a rack or a stand, rather than the true purpose of a ladder. These ladders are also perfect for plant enthusiasts. If you’re growing your own yard, it could be useful for your vines or plants or crawl through. When making one, all you’ll need will be pieces of sandpapers, hardwood dowel, and varnish. 

While it’s easy to construct, they prove to be a great addition to your home as well.

7. Raised Plant Beds

Maintaining your own vegetable garden built on flat ground can be a tad challenging for pet owners. For instance, pets, such as dogs, can easily run over your plants when they’re outside the house. Therefore, having raised plant beds could help manage it as would now be harder for your pets to reach your plants. 

DIY tiered wood garden boxes. See more wood and gardening ideas here.

The great thing about them is they aren’t permanent in nature. Thus, you can transfer them anywhere you want in your yard. 

8. Coat And Mitten Rack

If you don’t have one already, a coat and mitten rack is another useful thing to have in your home. When you want to avoid having coats or clothes lying on the floor, placing clothing racks can solve it. You can hang this by your entryway, garage, and even on your back door porch. 

The best part? A coat and mitten rack is another easy, small DIY project to make as the materials are accessible and can be finished within a few hours.

9. Console Or Side Table

If you feel your home is in dire need of new furniture, another excellent woodworking project you can create is a console or side table. A lot of design ideas can be searched on the internet, so you won’t have any problems with the style to follow. Even when you’re just new to woodworking, this DIY project is simple to complete. Also, it could be a great practice to help enhance your woodworking skills. 

A Clever center table idea made from wood pallet/baskets. See more wood pallet upcycling ideas here.

10. Curtain Valance

Curtains are a common decoration to every house window. In some curtain displays, the curtain rods are usually exposed. Yet, adding a hint of class and elegance to your home can be as simple as ‘hiding’ your curtain rods behind a wooden valance.

It’s a small project to work on, so it’s one you can do by yourself in your shed or garage. Finish your wooden or rustic curtain valance with a wood-stained color or in black or white, to keep it neutral. That way, your finished DIY wood valance will still match any curtain design or color you wish to have in your home.

11. Wooden Coasters

If you love table scaping, you might have a great collection of centerpieces and table decorations, such as coasters. Although they come in many shapes and sizes, a classic must-have in your dining room should be wooden coasters. These look great, while also durable and easy to clean. Unlike cloth coasters, you don’t have to worry about stains as all you have to do is wipe clean the wooden coasters after use.

They’re also a great idea as handmade gifts could prove to be more meaningful and valuable. 

12. Mixed-Medium Garden Trellis

For those who have a green thumb, creating a mixed-medium garden trellis is another good way to use wood for your DIY projects. With a garden trellis, you would have a place to cultivate and grow vines. Trellis can also act as stands or posts for herbs if you want to maximize space and have a vertical garden.

A simple trellis that you can make for $20. Find out how here.

13. Hanging Wall Bookcase

If you’re a book lover, you’ll greatly appreciate having a hanging wall bookcase at home. It’s a good project to make if you’re running short on storage space at home. You can make use of the vertical space you have by hanging a wall bookcase. However, even if you don’t have books to store, it can be a multi-function wall shelf to store all sorts of knick-knacks or memorabilia.

Recycled Leather and Wood shelf. Try your hands on this DIY project here.

14. Paper And Kitchen Towel Dispenser

Sure, there are plastic kitchen towel dispensers you can easily buy from the department store. But why buy one when you can make one that’s also a lot more durable? Even when you have no experience with making DIY projects using wood, it’s one of the easiest novices can do. With a simple design to follow, you can easily make your own according to your style preferences.

15. Cutting Board

If you love cooking and entertaining guests, having cutting boards of multiple sizes should definitely be a must-have in your home. Wooden cutting boards are nice to have because they look classic and are very versatile. 

Like coasters, cutting boards are also some of the simplest ways to use wood for your home DIY project. To add some elegance and style to your cutting boards, you can also study some tutorials online for engraving your name or your family name’s initials.

Although it’s normally used for cutting and chopping food, cutting boards can also be used as decorative pieces in your living space. On top of it, you can arrange candles and other decorations to make it look more elegantly styled.

Final Words

Woodcrafts are very popular when it comes to DIY home decor and furniture simply because it’s versatile, easy to make, and very durable. With the list above, you might never run out of any ideas as to how you can use wood for your DIY projects. Even if you aren’t a seasoned woodworker, there are projects you can still do with ease. Take ideas from the list above and work on one project at a time as you furnish and improve your home.

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