I dug through old photos to revisit the DIY pieces I built before starting this blog. (Currently riding out COVID at home with too much free time…)
I wasn’t blogging at the time, so there’s no build process saved — but hopefully these can spark ideas.
TV Stand
First up, a TV stand. The TV’s silver frame really dates the photo.
This was early in my DIY journey, but it’s around the time I started using stain to upgrade the look, and learned the technique of applying varnish to get a smooth surface.
POINT 1: Oil-stain finish
If you’re new to DIY, you might not know oil stain (I didn’t), but it’s a really easy way to dramatically upgrade the look of a piece. Highly recommended.
I have a separate Japanese article on oil-stain finishing → here (English version forthcoming).
POINT 2: Varnish for a glassy-smooth surface
Bare assembled wood collects dust, and a cleaning rag tends to catch on the rough surface — annoying.
Sand before varnishing, then apply varnish, then sand again with finer-grit, then varnish again. Repeat for a glassy-smooth surface. Details → here (Japanese; English version forthcoming).
Shelf
Just a basic shelf. Same oil-stain finish as the TV stand (Watco Oil, Dark Walnut).
The DIY advantage: build it to exactly the width and depth you need.
The oil stain I used on both the TV stand and shelf:
Low Table for the Tatami Room
A low table for our tatami (Japanese-style) room.
Just a board and dowels from the home improvement store, screwed and stained — simple, but I still use it. I’m fond of it.
If I were building it today, I might use a matte rather than glossy varnish.
● Finish
Stain: Washi Paint Pore Stain — Oak
Varnish: Washi Paint water-based urethane varnish — clear gloss
● About hiding screw heads
This is a small piece going in a tatami room, so I hid the screw heads (diagrams below).
※ Almost every DIY piece in this article uses this technique.
＜Without hiding the screw head＞
Doing nothing leaves the screw head visible.
＜With hidden screw head＞
Counterbore the hole, drive the screw down inside it, then plug it with a wood dowel.
Cleaner look. The downside: it’s a bit harder to disassemble later.
Pot Cart
A casters-on-the-bottom pot cart.
Square stock for the frame, casters screwed to the bottom of the legs (everything from the home improvement store).
…not important, but: there’s a lot of stuff piled on top in this photo. This is from before I discovered minimalism.
● Finish
Stain: Washi Paint Pore Stain — Maple (top)
Stain: Washi Paint Pore Stain — Oak (frame)
Varnish: Washi Paint water-based urethane varnish — clear gloss
The pore stains:
Phone Stand
I built the phone stand from thin boards and square stock to keep it visually slim.
Right around this time we got a robot vacuum, so any new furniture had to clear enough at the bottom for the robot to pass under.
Vanity Table + Chair
This was a vanity table and matching chair.
Water-based stain + clear varnish.
The chair has a fully vertical backrest, which screams “DIY” and is also uncomfortable to actually sit on. I’d love to attempt a sloped-back chair sometime — it’s a much harder build.
Kitchen Shelf
A storage shelf for the kitchen. Part of it is on casters and detaches.
Pine glue-laminated panel, finished with Watco Oil — Dark Walnut.
Sofa Side Table
A side table that lets you sip a drink without leaving the sofa.
It’s literally three pieces of 2×6 SPF lumber screwed into a U-shape — raw cut faces and all. Pretty rustic 😄
Oil stained. I did hide the screw heads.
If I were rebuilding it, I’d slim down the design — but the simple version is genuinely easy and costs about 1,000 yen (~$7) in lumber. Could be a fun weekend build. (Check out the SPF section at your home improvement store.)
By the way, this sofa side table met its end when I lost my balance trying to sit on the sofa, ended up sitting on the table instead, and broke it. Honored service.
Front Entry Wall Hooks
Wall-mounted hooks at the front entry, like in the photo.
Most days they’re just decoration — but they hold a wet raincoat to dry, or a Christmas wreath in season.
The base material is a wooden construction stake from the home improvement store. They were 148 yen each, so I gave them a try.
Out of the package the surface was rough and unusable, so I sanded the heck out of it until it was smooth, then finished with oil stain (Watco Oil, Dark Walnut).
As I wrote on this site’s homepage: applying a finish dramatically lifts the perceived quality of any DIY piece — definitely worth doing. Oil stain in particular preserves the wood grain, which I love. (Paint hides the grain entirely.)
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