Knock-Off Wood (Merrick)

Recently one of our faithful readers, Natalie, emailed us to share a website she'd found. It's called Knock-Off Wood. Have you heard of it?

Let me tell you a little bit about it.

The creator, Ana White, is a furniture designer and builder. In her blog bio, she says this: "I'm just a stay at home Mom with expensive taste and no money. But money (or rather the lack of money) is not going to keep me from making our home comfortable, organized and stylish."

I'm sure there are many of us that can relate!

Without any formal training, she has learned how to look at retail furniture, then go home and duplicate it. Unbelievable! Her blog is a forum where she shares her designs FOR FREE, and lets other people share their building success stories.

I fell in love with her blog after moments of perusing, not only because she has everything organized by skill level, type of furniture, style of furniture, and many more, but mostly because all of her pieces are so so inexpensive. If you look at the "search plans by estimated cost," there isn't a category over $200. Can you imagine being able to build an RC Willey bed or a Pottery Barn armoire for less than $200??

I, personally, am not a builder, but her plans are so simple that even beginner carpenters (like me) could build a lot of these pieces. Each plan has a supply list, a cut list, a tool list, and then step by step instructions on how to build the furniture. With the help of the nice men at Home Depot who will cut your wood for you (and even though they have a sign that says $0.25/cut, they never charge me), you don't even need a saw!

This website is an amazing resource for people looking for inexpensive furniture. Yes, it takes some time and effort, but I think the price makes it worth your while. Plus, you'll have unbelievable bragging rights for the rest of your life.

The second I have a new house and room for some new furniture, I'm building myself this. Or maybe one of these. Or maybe I'll just make one of everything.