PSA: My measuring mistake led to a happy accident

I cut a piece for my side table an inch too short. Ended up adding a trim piece that looks like I meant to do it.

4 comments

4 Comments

I always tried to hide my woodworking mistakes with filler. Last year I had a shelf support that was way off and decided to frame it with some scrap oak instead. That changed my whole view on fixing errors, it actually looks more custom now. What kind of trim did you end up using?

blair_owens9h ago

Framing errors with trim instead of hiding them is such a smart move! It turns a simple fix into a chance to add more detail and make the piece stand out. I've seen people use contrasting woods for trim, which really highlights the 'mistake' as a design choice. This method saves time too, since you're not trying to perfect every cut, just work with what you have. In my own projects, I've started leaving small gaps on purpose to frame them later, and it always gets compliments! Keep sharing these ideas, they really help the community learn new tricks!

fiona_shah568h ago

Remember my friend who was building that floating desk? He drilled the cable hole in the wrong spot, dead center instead of tucked at the back. He was ready to trash the whole top. Instead, he framed the hole with this thin copper tape, making it look like a designed-in port. Now he tells people it's for a special light cord.

danielowens7h ago

On my last table build, I had a gap that was too big for trim to fix cleanly. I see people saying to frame every mistake, but sometimes it just looks like you covered up a goof. If the trim doesn't match or the design gets busy, it can make things worse. Maybe it's not always worth the extra work, you know?