/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2714118
Price it higher, make a good design, continue design language in other pieces if you have repeat, high-paying customers.
>t. Built and designed high end, low production run pieces.
Give it a shot anon. Don’t overthink it to start, begin with one bookshelf, learn the process, understand where it could improve for the next one, then try to sell it.

>>2714124
Thanks Anon, I'll give it a go.

>>2714118
If you do real hardwood that looks nice and get the right finishes and stuff, probably. Everybody is so used to cheap particleboard laminated crap from China, but those who buy real furniture will spend good money. $1000 for a medium sized bookcase from solid wood sounds reasonable.

Plus if you actually start doing it, I’m sure you will get repeat business, people want matching colors and styles, one bookcase could easily turn into a $2500 desk or like $10k to build a nice bedroom set. I’d almost rather do custom stuff knowing vaguely what the customer wants than make a random piece and wait for somebody to walk past like “Hey that will match the furniture in my den!”

Do the first one in a color that is popular right now…i.e not oak.

>>2714129
>finishes
Forgot to mention that here, >>2714124, the most expensive materials can end up looking like dollar store trash if you use some shitty generic poly on top.
I change up mine depending on the wood, piece, style I’m going for, but there are a plethora of YouTubers doing comparisons of 1000 different finishes side by side. I’d go down that route if I were you, find the ones people speak highly of and do your own test pieces.

It's gonna be a narrow market that'll be willing to pay that. When I had access to unlimited pallets and welding wire drums, I made chests with swivel handles off the drums and usually got around $75

Good luck tho fren

>>2714137
Thanks for the heads up! My bookshelves will be so beautiful though people will pay

>>2714137
>I made chests with swivel handles off the drums
Please post a pic of these handles or welding wire drums. I can't envision what you are talking about. All the welding wire i have seen comes on spools. I'm guessing these drums are from huge factories that go through a shit ton of welding wire?

>>2714151

>>2714151
Yeah, I worked for Hyundai and they went through a dozen drums a day/night. Everyone that wanted any already had them so they just trashed them.

>>2714129
>I’d almost rather do custom stuff knowing vaguely what the customer wants than make a random piece and wait for somebody to walk past like “Hey that will match the furniture in my den!”
Wisdom here.

>>2714376
The real money is in doing built-ins, either from scratch or using existing modular and/or free standing pieces to create things like book walls, display shelving, custom pantry and closet storage, hidden A/V equipment solutions, window and kitchen seating, etc.

A lot of it is basically cabinet work but of a type that typical kitchen cabinet people either don't want to do or charge up the ass for.

Could be as easy as using Ikea cabinets and some custom trim and other pieces to build out a study or office wall, or replicating existing built in furniture in a restoration or addition to a historical property...for a while converting chests of drawers and sideboards and similar casework into bathroom vanity cabinets was a big trend; doing the same thing to make built- in bars and wall cabinets and desks and such can ferch good money.

Freestanding furniture is a hard market to compete in; people just don't value heirloom quality like they used to and the choice to go with individual pieces is often based on utility...but a display or book wall or banquette seating or an antique dresser repurposed as a vanity or an armoire made to hide home theater equipment is a statement and lifestyle choice people will pay good money to have, that they can't just go out and buy.

>>2714419
>The real money is in doing built-ins
And yet every time I hear some woman say "day bed" I want to leap out whatever bay windown they intend to shove it into.

>>2714118
The real money is in natural edge coffee tables with epoxy riverscapes running down the middle.

I sold one for $1000.

Although I probably lost money on it, because the epoxy and the raw slab each cost almost that much.
I plan to make up the loss on volume, however.

>>2714836
>The real money is in natural edge coffee tables with epoxy riverscapes running down the middle.
Absolutely fucking terrible
Our decade's macrame
You should feel shame corrupting wood like that