DIY Satisfaction | I'll let you crack the egg
Like the song says "I can't get no... Satisfaction". Did you know there is a great deal of satisfaction in a Do It Yourself (DIY) project? If you ever forced yourself to repair a bike, make a flower garden, or just paint a room, you know this is true.
It is called the IKEA effect. Now I know what you are thinking, putting together an Ikea bookcase is hardly a DIY project. IKEA Effect was a term first used in a Harvard study by Michael I. Norton. It is simply:
"labor alone can be sufficient to induce greater liking for the fruits of one's labor: even constructing a standardized bureau, an arduous, solitary task, can lead people to overvalue their creations."
Basically you put higher value on things you build. This effect was known and studied well before IKEA was a household name. For example in the 50's homemakers were resistant to using the newly marketed cake mixes because it made the job "too easy" and didn't feel like baking. To fix the problem companies changed the pre-package mixture to require that an egg be added. That cracking of an egg made them feel as if they were baking and sales of cake mixes soared.
My job as a furniture designer and maker is to create things with my hands. I will create several pieces of custom furniture weekly and I get a lot of satisfaction from my job. There is something about stepping back and taking a look at something you made and saying "I did that". The Murphy beds I create give me the highest IKEA Effect of all my projects. I think it is partly because they are unique. You don't see murphy beds everywhere. Murphy beds still give people that "Wow Factor" seeing a bed where a cabinet once stood. Unfortunately for me that is short lived. I must box my creations and ship them out for the customer to enjoy.
I found a way to pass that IKEA Effect to others. I recently launched a new product that allows even the novice woodworker to quickly build a Murphy bed. It is my Pre-Cut Murphy Bed. I supply not only the mechanism needed but the wood components as well. The difficulty that a lot of people have with large woodworking projects is the cutting of full sheets of plywood. Either they don't have the require tools or they are afraid of making the wrong cuts. I take that fear away. Not only do I cut each part, I also veneer the raw edges, drill for the mechanism, break the edges, and sand the panels. I do just about everything but "crack the egg". I let you do that. The header needs to be built (I got a video to help with that) and finish need to be applied. When completed you have a Murphy bed that you can be proud of. And because you built it, a greater value will be placed on it.
To get more information on the Pre-cut Murphy beds or to get a copy of the plans check out our Murphy Bed Plans page.
