Celina builds her own furniture

Celina Lykke Dam’s son sleeps in a raised cot with a little den underneath. Her family eats at a round herringbone dining table. In the kitchen, a large noticeboard frames family photos and children’s drawings, while the huge built-in bookcase fills the wall from floor to ceiling and showcases vintage ceramics, books, and vases. All the furniture has one thing in common: only this one copy exists. They are built by Celina and her husband. The couple both build their own furniture and ’hack’ readymade furniture in order to have the look and function match their home perfectly.

Why do you have so much self-built furniture in your home?

The furniture that I would like to have often just does not exist. Both when it comes to function, look and price. This has resulted in my husband’s mantra: ”If it is made of wood, we can build it ourselves.” People often ask us how we find the time to build so much. But for us, it is a hobby. Instead of playing badminton together or watching Netflix, we can easily spend three hours painting a wall together and listening to music.

Round and personal. Celina and her husband, Jesper, have designed and built the round coffee table themselves.

What is import for you when you build furniture yourself?

It is very important for us to recycle materials. We never throw anything out, not wood nor paint. Our TV stand is built of excess wood from the bookcase in the kitchen. In my son’s room, there is a bookcase that my husband’s boss built for their office. When they were about to get rid of it, we got it instead and painted it to give it new life. Behind my stove, I have made a splash plate which consists of terrazzo-printed foil behind a glass plate. The foil was left over from when I ’hacked’ my daughter’s play kitchen. I also spend a lot of time researching before we start a project. Preparation really pays off, so you do not waste time and resources re-doing the furniture over and over again. I can spend hours researching colours and searching for photos of rooms and furniture painted in the different colours I am considering for a project.

Creative corner for children | Søstrene Grene

A home with a piano. An older, white piano sits in the living room where it is perfectly in tune with the many pictures on the wall. Celina is thinking about restoring and painting the piano.

Which piece of furniture are you most proud of?

I am most proud of our large, built-in bookcase in the dining room, without a doubt. It really is a statement piece. It gives so much to the room. But it has also been our most demanding project yet. It started with me looking into the prices for having a special-made bookcase built, but it was really expensive. So, my husband and I started looking for guides on building it ourselves. He drew it in a computer programme and then my father cut all the wood for us as he works at a hardware store. I spent a lot of time researching colours because I had decided that the wall and the bookcase should be painted the same colour. We ended up spending four weeks just painting all the components of the bookcase. All pieces needed four layers of paint, and we could only paint in the evening after the children’s bedtime if we wanted to avoid little handprints in the paint. It was definitely the painting process that was the most demanding part.

Harmony. The built-in bookcase in the dining room is painted in the same colour as the wall behind it. It invokes the feeling that the bookcase is an integrated part of the house.

Precision. The bookcase consists of small, squared rooms in different sizes along with longer rooms. A build like that takes precision in planning and measuring.

What was the first project you decided to give a go?

The first larger project was our round herringbone dining table. When we moved into the house, I noticed instantly that a round dining table would look most harmonious in the room. The tabletop is made of solid wood floorboards – which is pretty handy when you have small children, because we can always sand it down and oil it if there are any spots and stains. I got in touch with a blacksmith through Instagram and he was able to make the steel frame for us based on the hopeless hand drawn sketch I sent him. The biggest challenge was acquiring the wooden band for the edge. It took us a really long time. But it pays off to be a go-getter and we never give up. In the end, we had to buy a roll of 50 metres. When we had used the few metres we needed, we sold the rest by the metre to others who also just needed a little bit. When we finished the table and saw how well we accomplished what we set out for, we thought to ourselves that if we can build this, we can build almost anything.

For notes and memories. The large noticeboard consists of a chipboard covered in fabric. On the back, a rail is mounted horizontally so the board can hang off the wall.

What will be the next project?

The next project will be an update of my son’s room, so it becomes more adequate for his age. He has been really happy with his bed with the wooden slats and the little den underneath, but he is approaching school age, so it is time for something new. We would like to take advantage of the fact that the ceiling is so high, so we are thinking about building a loft bed with a desk underneath.

A lovely and safe bed. Celina and Jesper have cut the wooden slats for the child’s bed in a wavy pattern. For the den underneath the bed, Celina has bought a ready-made curtain and adapted the length.

What are your long-term dreams?

We have talked about how we have built almost all the furniture we can in this house. The next step might be to renovate an entire house. But we will probably wait until the children are a bit bigger. And we would definitely make a built-in bookcase in the new house as well.

Splashes of colour. Celina’s love of colours is also evident in her daughter Vilma’s room. From the ceiling hangs a homemade garland of felt. A quick and festive DIY project.

Mountain scenery. Celina had some left-over paint so the wall in the child’s room was decorated with a simple mountain landscape and a friendly giraffe.

Hacks for beginners

Start by ’hacking’ furniture. This could be a new, cheaper piece of furniture or an older piece from a second-hand store. Find an old dresser, sand it down and paint it. Maybe change the grips.

Practice makes perfect

When you start building furniture from scratch, begin with furniture that is not going to carry anything heavy. It could be a small side table where it does not matter if it is a bit crooked. Get some experience before you take on building something like a bookcase where everything must be precise and durable.

Keep it simple

Do not let the fact that you do not have a large tool collection scare you off. You can start out with just a few tools. Regular sanding paper and a brush can get you far. If you still want to invest in a few tools, I can recommend starting with a hand sander and maybe a jigsaw for cutting wood. You can also rent various tools at hardware stores.

A trip to the hardware store

You can get wooden boards cuts by your own measurements in many hardware stores. Living in a small apartment without workspace it not an obstacle.

Train the eye

If you would like to start restoring second-hand furniture, practice looking for things with potential. The first few times you visit a second-hand store it might be difficult to spot anything you can use, but that is something you can learn. A good advice would be to look for furniture made of solid wood. These can be sanded down and painted.