Furniture Design and Construction for Beginners
A course by Patricio Ortega (Maderística) , Furniture woodworking instructor
Joined January 2019

Learn the essential steps for designing, planning, and building wooden furniture in your own signature style
Would you say that your home reflects your personality? Say goodbye to generic furniture and dare to start creating it with your own two hands. With the help of Patricio Ortega, architect, carpenter, and co-founder of the Maderística workshop in Chile, you can learn the skills, discipline, and creativity to become a custom furniture maker with truly professional work.
In this course, learn the steps for building a rack-type wardrobe with a sliding door and discover the fundamental techniques for creating other similar projects. If you admire woodworking and would like to build on your skills, you can also learn with Patricio’s other course, Professional Woodworking for Beginners.
What will you learn in this online course?
27 lessons & 22 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (3K)
- 116,973 students
- 27 lessons (5h 18m)
- 22 additional resources (6 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, English
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Build a rack-type wardrobe with a wooden sliding door and learn the essentials for creating furniture with simple and functional lines.

Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who would like to get started in the woodworking trade, as well as amateurs who would like to expand their skills and achieve more professional results.
Requirements and materials
To take this course, no previous experience is necessary. You will need some basic tools like a ruler, a carpenter square, a combination square, presses, a jigsaw, a circular saw, a router or trimmer, sandpaper, a hammer, and some other minor common objects.
In any case, if you do not have all these tools available, this course could also be a very useful guide for learning more about the role of each and the possibilities they offer. You can organize and acquire them later as needed.

Reviews

Patricio Ortega (Maderística)
A course by Patricio Ortega (Maderística)
Patricio Ortega is a furniture maker and founder of Maderística, a small workshop specializing in handcrafted furniture design. With 14 years of experience, he has focused on mastering plywood, developing innovative techniques, and sharing his knowledge with over 1,800 students. As an architect and self-taught instructor, Patricio blends creativity and technique to create functional and durable furniture.
Content
-
U1
Introduction
-
About Me
-
Influences
-
What Will We Do in This Course?
-
-
U2
Structural, Functional and Basic Aesthetic Notions for Furniture Design
-
Basic Structural Notions
-
Functional Considerations
-
The Aesthetic Dimension
-
Review of The Functional and Aesthetic Structural Dialogue in The Furniture of Maderística 1
-
Review of The Functional and Aesthetic Structural Dialogue in The Furniture of Maderística 2
-
-
U3
The wonderful World of Woodworking
-
Thinking Like a Carpenter
-
Materials and Tools 1
-
Materials and Tools 2
-
Work Bench
-
Design and Dimensioning 1
-
Design and Dimensioning 2
-
-
U4
The production
-
Selection of Material, Cutting, Identification of Parts and Sanding 1
-
Selection of Material, Cutting, Identification of Parts and Sanding 2
-
Selection of Material, Cutting, Identification of Parts and Sanding 3
-
Marking and drilling of screws
-
Entarugado 1
-
Creased 2
-
Discounts
-
Body mounting
-
Legs 1
-
Legs 2
-
-
U5
Finishings and Design Details
-
Finishings and Details on the Body
-
Texture Work
-
Final Details and Finish
-
-
FP
Final project
-
Furniture design and construction for beginners
-
What to expect from a Domestika course
-
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
-
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
-
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
-
Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
-
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
-
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
-
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
-
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
sandra_hergert
Great course and easy to follow in depth explanation. Thank you very much!
juanzolecio
PlusMuy bueno curso, la verdad es que es muy didáctico, muy fácil de seguir. lo recomiendo.
View translation
Hide translation
amesam
Me gustó mucho este curso, pues el profesor tiene una manera libre, técnica y emocional de expresar lo que quiere enseñar, se toma el tiempo de enseñar los detalles importantes para diseñar y construir, recomiendo este curso y me encanta aprender este arte a través de cursos como estos :)
View translation
Hide translation
luzcalidasur
Pluslejos este curso define a lo que me quiero dedicar, lejos lo simple pero pulcro y novedoso es lo que me gusto de este mueble , lejos mas que el mueble, fue la cantidad de tecnicas que no conocia, atesoro lo aprendido en cada de detalle que desde ahora formara parte de mi proceso como futuro mueblista.
View translation
Hide translation
ccgh91
pensaba que sabia de mueblería pero este curso me enseño todas las bases necesarias para ser un mueblista de excelencia
View translation
Hide translation