Introduction

I’m not sure of the date when humans moved from hunter/gatherers to an agrarian society, but I’m pretty sure it was about that same time that we started bringing things into the cave or hut and started storing them. Whether for temporary storage, or because we needed to know where something was the next time we needed it, we’ve been storing items in our homes for thousands of years. That’s not a bad thing, unless hoarding is an issue. Thats’ where this book comes in. That may be an oversimplification, but let’s say that by building furniture to store our items, we’re successfully limiting ourselves to only store what we have space for — unless we build more.

Regardless, this book is about celebrating our human nature for storage. The projects in this book fit into two largers categories of storage: open or enclosed. There are cabinets for storing the items that don’t need to be displayed, and there are shelves for those items that we want to share with others, or just need available for easy access. And there are a few projects that don’t fit perfectly into either category, but I know we’ll find things to store in them.

The projects range in skill level from some very simple furniture pieces requiring very basic skills and only a few tools, to other projects that are best attempted by those with some woodworking experience under their toolbelt. Either way, we’ve provided step-by-step instructions, cutting lists and diagragms that should make every project approachable to the average builder.

While each of the projects offer instruction to build exactly as shown, we encourage you to step outside your comfort zone and customize the projects as you see fit. Let’s face it, we don’t all live in the same size house, or have the same size items to store. Feel free to adjust the project to better fit your needs.

Along those same lines, the projects in this book represent a number of different furniture styles. You may find a bookcase that is the right proportion for what you want, but Arts & Crafts isn’t your thing. Again, customize as you see fit. Style is usually a function of a couple of design details that can be switched between pieces to best match your furniture style.

Lastly, have fun, and be safe. Plan out your project and the steps involved and things will go much smoother.

— DAVID THIEL, EDITOR