Jun 04, 2025 07:00:00

DIY chair made from a single piece of wood from a hardware store

DIY enthusiast

More Cowbell shows how to make a space-saving DIY chair using just one piece of wood.

One Board Minimalist Chair : 8 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables
https://www.instructables.com/One-Board-Minimalist-Chair/

This is what the space-saving DIY chair looks like. It is made up of a seat board and a back board that are combined together to stand on their own.

The lumber you need is 2 inches thick x 12 inches wide x 8 feet long. 2-inch thick lumber is called '2x4 lumber' in Japan and is readily available at hardware stores. Of course, lumber that is 2 inches thick x 12 inches wide x 8 feet long is also available at many hardware stores.

Once you have prepared the wood, just cut it according to the design diagram below. You can cut two boards from one piece of wood. Note that the sizes in the diagram are in inches.

Blueprint
(PDF file)

https://content.instructables.com/F41/9D53/I6DHZHAK/F419D53I6DHZHAK.pdf

The board that serves as the seat is shaped like a giant key.

The board that will be the backrest needs to have a hole cut into it so that the board that will be the seat can fit snugly into it. It is easier to mark the hole using a scrap piece of wood.

Cut along the marking lines with a jigsaw or similar.

It's OK if the boards fit together like this.

The chair can be assembled simply by preparing and cutting the wood. When not in use, it can be disassembled and stored as two thin boards.

The idea for this modular chair was not invented by More Cowbell from scratch, but was thought up by an American hunter around 1700. More Cowbell also saw it at a Boy Scout site in the last century.

If you search for a similar chair on Google, you will find multiple hits for African folk art, some of which are expensive. For example, the 'African solid wood chair' at the link below is sold for $1,854.28 (about 265,000 yen).

African Solid Wood Folding Chair Design Ethnic Carved, circa 1970 For Sale at 1stDibs | african chairs, african chair design, solid wood chair
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/chairs/african-solid-wood-folding-chair-design-ethnic-carved-circa-1970/id-f_22512782/