Recreating Things from Magazines

purplefdu · 02-25-2008, 11:11 AM

We just got a copy of The Pottery Barn catalog and in the back is the nicest dogbed/cubby hole furniture. It has a dog bed under shelving thats divided into cubby holes that can hold baskets. Now while the couple hundred they are asking is more than reasonable for furniture we're thinking about asking my mother-in-law to recreate it. She has lots of wordworking experience and its not too complicated. Ours will be a desk/dog bed though as we need to be able to put the computer and printer we use for networking on it, but most likely we will keep it modular so it could be replaced should our needs change. Have you ever seen something in a catalog/magazine and thought "I could do that for cheaper"?

Kathryn · 02-25-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purplefdu

We just got a copy of The Pottery Barn catalog and in the back is the nicest dogbed/cubby hole furniture. It has a dog bed under shelving thats divided into cubby holes that can hold baskets. Now while the couple hundred they are asking is more than reasonable for furniture we're thinking about asking my mother-in-law to recreate it. She has lots of wordworking experience and its not too complicated. Ours will be a desk/dog bed though as we need to be able to put the computer and printer we use for networking on it, but most likely we will keep it modular so it could be replaced should our needs change. Have you ever seen something in a catalog/magazine and thought "I could do that for cheaper"?

A pretty good way to go about this is to repurpose/remix old furniture--it can come out cheaper to buy an old dresser, desk, or kitchen cabinet that you can cut up or rework than to buy new furniture-grade wood, and it can also cut down on the amount of skills, time, and tools the project requires. Also, as a kindness to your MIL, don't underestimate the amount of time involved in building decent-looking furniture from scratch. If she loves woodworking and has the free time, she'll probably love to do it for you, though!

khorrell · 02-25-2008, 11:39 AM

My best friend had her FIL make her those neat Pottery Barn bookshelves, the ones with two side bars and shelves that get larger as they get closer to the ground. (They look like this.) They are beautiful, he said they were relatively easy (he's very experienced) and they were really cheap!

lucille · 02-25-2008, 04:31 PM

I used to get the pottery barn catalog. So many of the room styles could be done for a fraction picking similar items at places like Target or sewing them yourself.

Making your own recreations is not out of the reach of someone with the right tools and some woodworking skills or ambition. I love reading woodworking magazines and books because I find all these great tricks to do things right or some small little widget that makes doing a step work right every time.

Another option for recreating some of those high end furniture looks is to get a very basic piece elsewhere like a plain bookcase. Then go to the hardware or lumber store and get wood trim, crown molding, medalions, and wood feet. Use that to finish out a basic piece of furniture to make it look expensive.

purplefdu · 02-26-2008, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathryn

Also, as a kindness to your MIL, don't underestimate the amount of time involved in building decent-looking furniture from scratch. If she loves woodworking and has the free time, she'll probably love to do it for you, though!

She is a full time grandma and girlfriend

Her life consists of gardening, cleaning, and changing diapers these days. More likely than not my husband would help her out anyway. We might get away with finding a premade top piece but the dog bed portion definitely has to be made by us.

This is what we're actually looking at making:
dog bed cubby
Those shelves are really cute too.

gt0163c · 02-27-2008, 07:20 AM

I've made some shelves that I designed myself. Not exactly from a magazine, but from looking at various things in stores, ads and such. I built a "cd tower" to hold my CDs. It was pretty easy. Plywood for the sides, 1x10 (I think, might have been 1x8) for the top, bottom and shelves. I also built a two shelf book shelf in a similar manner. After I built these, I covered them with muslin (cheap, natural cotton that hasn't been washed, so it shrinks a bit when it's painted) using neutral colored "oops paint" from Home Depot (working in small sections, paint the wood, paint the back of the fabric, press the painted fabric onto the painted wood and paint the front side of the fabric, smoothing everything down as you go. The fabric shrinks a bit and holds everything nice a tight as well as giving you a nice looking surface that covers up the inexpensive wood and giving you a great surface to paint whatever color you want). Then I sponge painted them to match the colors in my then apartment. These took some time to make, but I was able to build them to the exact sizes I needed. I still use them and they still look great.

I also made some pillows using inspiration from some design show I watched. On the show, they used thrift store sweaters to make pillow covers. I had some pillows I wanted to cover, but I didn't want to use sweaters. Instead, I used thrift store button down shirts. I cut off the collar and sleeves and sewed up those holes and along the bottom. The old (and ugly) pillows are now recovered in solid colors that match my decor, the covers are machine washable and the pockets come in handy for holding a pencil or pen when I'm studying on the couch. Plus, they're interesting conversation starters. I've gotten a lot of comments on how cool people think they are.

penny pinscher · 03-01-2008, 10:47 PM

I like the pillow covers from shirts idea. Cute. Have you seen the shopping sack from T-shirts idea?

Our best furniture has been 're-dos'. Our favorite was an old, solid oak entertainment center that was in great shape but we were getting tired of how heavy it was. We cut it in half horizontally. The top half was finished into a nice desk for my youngest son. The bottom half became a lego table, complete with storage cabinets. Turned out great, was free, he loves it, saved the landfill and now it's much easier to move.

Miss Rosie · 03-02-2008, 12:26 AM

My favorite design magazine is ReadyMade, which is mostly about DIY furniture and design.

My favorite blog? ikeahacker.blogspot.com I don't even like Ikea, but I love the blog.

02-25-2008, 11:11 AM	#1
purplefdu Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Eliot, ME USA Posts: 538 Reputation: (27)	Recreating Things from Magazines We just got a copy of The Pottery Barn catalog and in the back is the nicest dogbed/cubby hole furniture. It has a dog bed under shelving thats divided into cubby holes that can hold baskets. Now while the couple hundred they are asking is more than reasonable for furniture we're thinking about asking my mother-in-law to recreate it. She has lots of wordworking experience and its not too complicated. Ours will be a desk/dog bed though as we need to be able to put the computer and printer we use for networking on it, but most likely we will keep it modular so it could be replaced should our needs change. Have you ever seen something in a catalog/magazine and thought "I could do that for cheaper"? __________________ Homeward Bound Puppy Blog&Personal Blog best general coupon site & organic grocery coupon help

03-01-2008, 10:47 PM	#7
penny pinscher Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 20 Reputation: (10)	I like the pillow covers from shirts idea. Cute. Have you seen the shopping sack from T-shirts idea? Our best furniture has been 're-dos'. Our favorite was an old, solid oak entertainment center that was in great shape but we were getting tired of how heavy it was. We cut it in half horizontally. The top half was finished into a nice desk for my youngest son. The bottom half became a lego table, complete with storage cabinets. Turned out great, was free, he loves it, saved the landfill and now it's much easier to move. __________________ pennypinscher.net

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02-25-2008, 11:39 AM	#3
khorrell Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 439 Reputation: (60)	My best friend had her FIL make her those neat Pottery Barn bookshelves, the ones with two side bars and shelves that get larger as they get closer to the ground. (They look like this.) They are beautiful, he said they were relatively easy (he's very experienced) and they were really cheap!

02-25-2008, 04:31 PM	#4
lucille Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 511 Reputation: (33)	I used to get the pottery barn catalog. So many of the room styles could be done for a fraction picking similar items at places like Target or sewing them yourself. Making your own recreations is not out of the reach of someone with the right tools and some woodworking skills or ambition. I love reading woodworking magazines and books because I find all these great tricks to do things right or some small little widget that makes doing a step work right every time. Another option for recreating some of those high end furniture looks is to get a very basic piece elsewhere like a plain bookcase. Then go to the hardware or lumber store and get wood trim, crown molding, medalions, and wood feet. Use that to finish out a basic piece of furniture to make it look expensive.

02-27-2008, 07:20 AM	#6
gt0163c Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 250 Reputation: (33)	I've made some shelves that I designed myself. Not exactly from a magazine, but from looking at various things in stores, ads and such. I built a "cd tower" to hold my CDs. It was pretty easy. Plywood for the sides, 1x10 (I think, might have been 1x8) for the top, bottom and shelves. I also built a two shelf book shelf in a similar manner. After I built these, I covered them with muslin (cheap, natural cotton that hasn't been washed, so it shrinks a bit when it's painted) using neutral colored "oops paint" from Home Depot (working in small sections, paint the wood, paint the back of the fabric, press the painted fabric onto the painted wood and paint the front side of the fabric, smoothing everything down as you go. The fabric shrinks a bit and holds everything nice a tight as well as giving you a nice looking surface that covers up the inexpensive wood and giving you a great surface to paint whatever color you want). Then I sponge painted them to match the colors in my then apartment. These took some time to make, but I was able to build them to the exact sizes I needed. I still use them and they still look great. I also made some pillows using inspiration from some design show I watched. On the show, they used thrift store sweaters to make pillow covers. I had some pillows I wanted to cover, but I didn't want to use sweaters. Instead, I used thrift store button down shirts. I cut off the collar and sleeves and sewed up those holes and along the bottom. The old (and ugly) pillows are now recovered in solid colors that match my decor, the covers are machine washable and the pockets come in handy for holding a pencil or pen when I'm studying on the couch. Plus, they're interesting conversation starters. I've gotten a lot of comments on how cool people think they are.

03-02-2008, 12:26 AM	#8
Miss Rosie Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 101 Reputation: (27)	My favorite design magazine is ReadyMade, which is mostly about DIY furniture and design. My favorite blog? ikeahacker.blogspot.com I don't even like Ikea, but I love the blog.