Last year, ‘cooking’ was an important cultural trend represented by lots of TV cooking programs. But this year, ‘self interior,’ which refers to people designing their own houses by themselves depending on their own personal tastes, has become highly popular. Looking at Lotte Mart’s sales in 2015, its Do It Yourself (DIY) furniture sales soared 37.3 percent year-on-year.

A self interior Internet cafe called Lemon Terrace had 10,000 members in 2005, and its membership reached 2.87 million in January of this year. In addition, new TV programs about interior decorating such as “My Room’s Dignity” on tvN and “Old House, New House” on JTBC are now filling the airwaves and exemplify the strong public interest in the new trend.

The Argus visited the wood shop, Hash The Wood, where those interested in interior design activities visit. People who want to make their own furniture come here and learn to make what they want after listening to the lectures of professional instructors. This self interior movement is also evident on Yonhap and SBS News. Culture Trip looked specifically into this trend.

Visit to Hash The Wood

Hash The Wood is a wood shop located in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To match its name, it currently has diverse courses on how to make wooden furniture such as lamps, chairs, speakers, and kitchen boards. If a person registers for a certain course and pays tuition, they get professional education from the instructors at Hash The Wood and can make their own furniture. According to an instructor at Hash The Wood, Oh Young-cheon, participants of various age groups go there and take the courses.
On March 5, The Argus visited Hash The Wood. On that day, a beginner’s class was held and three participants were present. Inside the workroom, each of the students were preparing to make their own wooden cutting board under the guidance of Oh.

Outside the room, three previous participants who had already taken such courses were talking with Oh. The Argus noticed that several completed pieces of furniture were on display. Before the class started, The Argus asked Oh and the participants to show some of the completed items, to which they readily agreed. Oh then brought three items made by the previous participants. The Argus observed what each item was and listened to explanations about them as well.

Previous Participant Items

The first item was a wooden lamp made by a male worker who lives alone in a studio. A light bulb was inside a wooden box and it glowed when Oh plugged in the bulb. The maker said, “I wanted a pretty lamp that fits well in my room. But lamps in the market are a far cry from what I wanted and they usually cost a lot. So I decided to make this by myself for a cheaper price.” The Argus raised the question, “Is it difficult to make a lamp?” He said, “No,” and added, “Making the lamp was enough for one day. I like reading books after work at home. After I completed this item, I often read books under the light, which makes me feel relaxed. Additionally, I use the wooden box as a bookstand after reading.”
 

The next item looked like a wooden chair. “I am a newly married man and made this chair for my baby who will be born soon,” said the man. He asked, “You know what the most surprising thing is?” Then he laid down the chair. Suddenly, the chair became a rocking bed. When asked why he made this piece of furniture, he replied, “I hoped for my baby to have some comfortable furniture. I thought that wooden furniture would be the best choice as it is not harmful to the baby’s body.”
Oh mentioned that the man himself conjured up the idea that the furniture would play two roles: a chair and a bed. “At the beginning, this item was just a chair, but I wanted it to also serve as a bed. So I designed the back side of the chair to have a rounded shape to allow it to be used as a rocking bed,” the man added.

Oh put his phone inside a speaker and played music, which revealed what was special about the object. The speaker produced a sound although it was not plugged in. It was a wireless speaker made of wood. The woman who made the speaker explained why she created it. “I like to travel alone by car. When I drive, I often use a Bluetooth speaker, but its battery soon dies during long drives. That is why I wished for a wireless speaker and came here to make it.” She said that the sound comes out of the groove. “I usually use this speaker when traveling. I do not have to worry about the battery,” she added.
After being introduced to the items, The Argus reporter walked into the workroom and watched how the beginners made their wooden kitchen boards guided by Oh. The production was divided into four steps.

Making a wooden cutting board

(1)  Decide on the size and thickness of the cutting board that you want to make.

After bringing pieces of wood, participants should make decisions on the size and thickness of their boards. One of the participants said, “Cutting boards on sale are usually thick and heavy. I live alone and do not need such a thing. So I designed a thin board.”
 
(2) Process both sides of the wood with a plane.

(3)  Cut the wood after sketching the cutting board based on your own design.

In this step, participants do not just follow the instructor’s directions. They sketch their boards’ shapes by themselves. How did they design their own boards? A female beginner answered this question. “This is my sketch. In my sketch, I made a handle on my board and also put a hole in the handle.” When asked why she did so, she said, “I currently cook for myself. The house I live in is so small that there is no space to put anything. So I added the hole to allow for the board to be hung on the wall. I think it will be more convenient.”

(4) After sanding down the board, apply oil to it.

The Argus spent one day with Hash The Wood and saw how people make their own furniture and use it in their houses. It was a good opportunity to examine the cultural trend of self interiors in detail.
Why does the self interior concept appeal strongly to people? “I was not very interested in making furniture until I visited this place. However, it is really meaningful that I made something for myself,” one of the beginners said regarding how he feels after having finished the board. “It was neither by someone else’s hands nor by someone else’s design. I made my own furniture by myself with my design. This is the thing that charmed me most about self interior,” he added. Likewise, the self interior approach, in which the furniture of a house is made not by other people's hands, but the home owner's own hands, is becoming an attractive cultural trend in our daily lives.