Black & Decker Readymade Home Furniture Easy Building Projects Made from Off-the-shelf Items

by Peterson, Chris

• ISBN13: 9780760361627
• ISBN10: 0760361622
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-12-25
• Publisher: Cool Springs Press

Summary

You might not think it, but home stores carry all the furniture you'd find in a show room; it's just not assembled yet. Black & Decker Readymade Home Furniture shows you how.

You can find just about any furnishing imaginable in the aisles of the home goods store—coffee tables, wine racks, chandeliers—with just a little assembly (and creativity) required. In Black & Decker Readymade Home Furniture, you will learn how to re-imagine the big-box building center as a source for stylish, customized home furnishings that are inexpensive and easy to make yourself.

Metal connectors, pipes and ductwork, rope, sheet goods, glass, and all varieties of hardware are just a few of the ingredients you can shop for to turn yourself into a furniture maker—without the need to buy a lot of woodworking tools and learn complicated joinery.

Inside this book, you will find a wealth of insightful information on how to convert everyday building materials into fine furnishings, along with 24 projects, complete with instructions to get you started. Unique and custom styles and colors, durability (select the quality materials you want), low cost, and a sense of satisfaction are just a few of the benefits you will experience by doing your furniture shopping at your home center or hardware store.

A few of the demonstration projects included in Black & Decker Readymade Home Furniture are:

• Shoe rack from concrete forming tubes
• Copper pipe tubing pot rack
• Nuts-and-bolt candle holder
• Door desk made with axe handle legs
• Modern media center from angle iron and melamine board
• Door handle coat rack
• Ductwork coffee table
• Bagged concrete planters
• Faux rock and pump waterfall

Grab your tools, because it's time to get creative! One trip to the home center will save you a dozen to the furniture showroom; not to mention time, money, and having to deal with salesmen.

Author Biography

Chris Peterson is a veteran home improvement and design author. Among the many books he has written are 5-Gallon Bucket Book, Building with Secondhand Stuff, Manskills, four books in the Ideas You Can Use series, and many books in Cool Springs Press's BLACK+DECKER Complete Guide series. He has also co-authored numerous home design books with noted media celebrities. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • The hardware store is, in a way, like the supermarket. You can find some finished dishes in the deli at the supermarket, but you’ll find many more individual components that you can use to create unique and even original dishes.
  • This book uses only items commonly found at large hardware stores and home centers.
  • The projects presented cover a range of applications. In the home, out in the yard and garden, and in the workshop. You can use them as described, or let them serve as departure points.
  • Styles: Where these projects will fit the best—although they are all handsome and anything but slapdash, the materials generally don’t create traditional or understated looks
  • Although these projects all tend to be substantial, you should keep your eye out for more modest, easier repurposing of hardware store buys, i.e. spice rack tool drawer.
• Chapter 1: Hardware Store Basics
  • The most useful components (materials and pieces)
  • General design strategies to make these projects look as good as possible/personalize projects
  • Fastening pieces together (methods, adhesives and fasteners)
    • The importance of secure joining for longevity and durability.
    • The challenge of joining dissimilar materials
    • Techniques for using the fasteners as design elements themselves (vs. hiding or blending fasteners)
    • Best methods and materials for:
      • Plastics
      • Metals (w/breakdown of types of metals)
      • Wood
      • Other (i.e., stone and melamine)
  • Fastening pieces to a surface
    • A better solution for tricky/problematic materials
    • H2 find a stud
    • H2 secure to wall board/paneling (selecting and using anchors)
  • Basic Techniques
    • Drilling
      • The rules (when to drill a pilot hole, how to measure bits, etc.)
      • Specialized bits that can help in customized crafting
    • Cutting Guidelines
      • H2 cut pipe and tubing
      • H2 cut flat metal
      • H2 cut plastics and wood without splintering
    • Measuring
      • Understanding nominal sizes
      • Measuring tools, full listing
    • Sanding and Finishing
      • Sanding options
        • Tools
        • Materials
      • Finishing your creations
        • Paint basics
        • Clear/protective finishes
  • Special Section: Safety First!
• Projects, Section 1: Indoor Ingenuity
  • Mud Room Organizer
  • Shoe Rack (forming tubes + contact paper + come-along strap)
  • QUICK HITS: Rope-and-stake Doormat
  • Copper Pipe Rack
  • Wine Rack
  • Rolling Bar Cart
  • Shelf-Support Chair
  • Urban Chandelier
  • QUICK HITS: Nut-and-Bolt Candle Holder
  • Door Desk with Ax Handle Legs
  • Stenciled Dropcloth Screen (room divider)
  • Modern Media Center (angle iron + Melamine)
  • Aluminum Sheet Table Lamp
  • QUICK HITS: Door Handle Coat Rack
  • Ductwork Coffee Table
  • Copper Pipe Magazine Rack
  • Bedroom Bench (joist hangers + posts)
• Projects, Section 1: Backyard Beauties
  • Concrete Planters (or Hypertufa)
  • Faux Rock and Pump Waterfall
  • QUICK HITS: Funky planters
  • Bird Feeder (tubing and sheet metal)
  • Compost Bin
  • QUICK HITS: Edgy Edging Options
  • Garden Bench
• Resources
• Index