Beautiful DIY Solid Wood Frames – You can build these!

I found these gorgeous DIY solid wood frames  on Pinterest that led me to the Shanty-2-Chic website.  They looked like frames you would find at Pottery Barn for major money, but they weren’t.  They were custom frames that were designed and built by one of the sisters that runs the website.  I JUST HAD TO HAVE THEM!!!  But, the only way to get them was to build them myself.  I had NEVER done any kind of wood working, or used any tool more complicated or powerful than a hammer and screwdriver.  But reading the Shanty-2-Chic website and seeing these 2 women building all this furniture and home decor for CHEAP inspired me, so I decided to give it a go!  Luckily, hubby just finished having a large shop built, and being a big car guy and DIYer, he does have quite a few tools that I could use.  But, to build these frames, you really don’t NEED to have the big, bad tools (but I must say it does make it easier).  Here is the link to the plans for the frames on the Shanty-2-Chic website.  And here are some pics of how my frames turned out:

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pics during the building of the frames.  I did make good use of hubby’s compound miter saw though!  At first it was a little intimidating to use (I was a bit worried about cutting off a finger or worse, I’m the type who ends up cutting my fingers anytime I use a knife, so a giant powered saw was a bit scary!).  But, once I started using it and making sure my fingers were clear of the blade before each cut, I realized that it was pretty easy! And, even if you don’t have a compound miter saw, you can use a basic saw with a miter box.  It will take much longer to build the frames, but it can be done!  According to the Shanty-2-Chic website,  the frames cost about $15 per frame.  I found that they were a bit more expensive though.  I’m not sure if wood here in CA is more expensive, but I spent about $70 in wood to make three frames.

I did have to purchase a Kreg Jig to build these frames, as hubby did not have that tool.  I purchased one of the cheapest and simplest models, the R3 Jr.  It can be purchased on Amazon, see link below.  I HIGHLY recommend the Kreg Jig if you are planning on building any furniture or frames.  It is extremely easy to use and makes building anything out of wood so easy!  The R3 is about $40, but it is so worth it.

I did not have a brad nail gun or finish nail gun at the time that I built these, so I did have to put the frame on using a hammer and finish nails, that did take a while to nail them all in.  If you have a finish nailer or brad nailer, it will make that part of the build go much faster.  Since building these, I have gotten a Ryobi Airstrike Finish Nail Gun as a Christmas gift, and it definitely would have sped up the build on these frames. The Ryobi Airstrike Nail Gun can be purchased on Amazon as well.  They are fairly pricey at around $220 for a brad nailer with the battery and charger, but you can also purchase a factory reconditioned model for around $100 (without the battery and charger).

In all, it took me about six hours to build three frames.  Since these were my very first try at building something with wood, it took me longer than it would have taken someone with experience.  I did purchase a little extra wood to account for errors (some of the angle cuts can be tricky), and I did make a few mistakes along the way.  I would suggest practicing making the miter cuts on scrap wood until you get all four corners right, and then use that scrap wood as the template when it is time to make the cuts on your actual wood.  Here is a pic of the completed frames prior to staining:

I used Minwax Dark Walnut stain.  I had never stained wood before, so that also had a learning curve.  On the first frame I stained, I just brushed the stain on with a foam brush and let it dry.  That frame came out WAY darker than I liked:

So, for the remaining two frames, I brushed the stain on with a foam brush, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then wiped the excess stain off with a rag. Those frames came out a much nicer and lighter shade of brown, which you can see in the pictures at the top of the post.

If you like these frames and are new to working with wood,  they are an easy introduction into wood working and you should definitely give it a try!  I’m so happy I did!  I also ended up making four more of these frames and giving them away as Christmas gifts.  All the recipients absolutely loved them!