*This post is sponsored by DAP Products. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product or payment in exchange. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Like most of my DIY furniture builder friends, I started out building things we needed. Before long, I had friends and family members asking for custom pieces. Before long I was building full time, advertising on Craigslist and taking custom orders from strangers. Custom work it hard guys! My hat goes off to all of you guys who work with customers. I'm so glad there are talented people who love designing and building for clients. Luckily, I never had any nightmare experiences, but constantly worrying and second guessing myself was super stressful.
Another thing I discovered when I was taking orders was how hard it was to build the same thing twice. I love the learning and creativity of putting a piece of furniture together, but trying to duplicate the exact same thing is huge challenge. So admittedly, I've avoided going back to old projects, even just to update them. But, I want to be a better builder and that includes fixing my mistakes (or less than ideal design choices). For example...