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A real estate agent would say that the Home on Marco Island where Pat and Jack Willer live has curb appeal. It’s a stilts house, also known in the trade as Old Florida architecture, copied from homes built long ago to avoid high tides and storm surges. A wide stairway sweeps up past a landing to the porch and the graceful front door. The pale pink exterior sparkles with white trim, and these colors are repeated throughout the home.

It’s the interior decor, however, where the couple has really put their own personal stamp. One of the first things a visitor notices is the entire wall unit in the spacious living room, housing television, music system, books and knickknacks. Jack Willer made the unit himself using high-grade pine, which is usually his wood of choice because it allows finishes of various kinds to resemble many other woods.

Pat Willer calls her husband a “master craftsman. He’s done many of the outstanding pieces in our home.”

One of Jack’s favorite pieces is a copy of an antique roll-top desk. Using no pattern or instructions, he designed it himself, solving problems as he went along.

“Later I found that my approach was identical to the way these were made in past centuries,” he says with pride. It now stands in their combination home office/guest room, where there is also a futon he built.

Willer, who learned woodworking as a child in Buffalo, N.Y., is one of a vanishing breed who builds his own furniture. It can still be a rewarding and money-saving way to finish your home, however. Even if you didn’t have shop class in high school, you can draw plans like Jack Willer, or buy or even borrow them.

Lumber yards don’t always carry pattern books. However, you can create your own cabinetry using a free computerized service at Lowe’s stores in Naples and Estero that enables you to work with an expert to design your piece on-screen. It prints out a blueprint of your final project and a list of supplies you need.

Both Home Depot and Lowe’s also have pattern books, generally in the magazine and book rack near the front doors of each store. Looking to do this project for next to nothing? Instead of buying, borrow one of the woodworking pattern books from the Collier or Lee County public libraries, such as those listed in the side box to this story.

Finding the right wood also is more of a search now, unless you subscribe to the Willers’ wisdom that aged or kiln-dried pine is best because it can take paint as well as stain.

The most popular woods sold in local lumber stores are cypress and poplar, although high-grade pine is available. Lumber stores often have a limited inventory of hardware and fittings. Hardware stores carry more varieties and have catalogs for finishes or materials that are out of the norm. The patient people who are looking for a certain standard of quality may consider ordering from the catalogs of Naples Lumber or Home Expo, which carry high-end brands of hardware.

If you’re more worried about hammering your hand or mitering a corner, there are classes for the novice at the Woodcraft Store in Fort Myers (www.woodcraft.com/stores/store.aspx?id=578 or 239/274-9663), where all the accoutrements for woodworking, including tools and classes, are available. August classes include basic bowl turning, finishing techniques, introduction to carving, using a Leigh dovetail jig and others.

Fees are usually $95, plus $10 to $20 for materials, for the three-hour classes, which guarantee personal attention; they’re limited to six participants and pre-registration is required. For those who already understand woodwork but want to introduce their children, the store offers “My first project” butterfly, bird or bat house kits.

Woodcraft often carries more exotic woods, such purpleheart, canarywood and bloodwood and will ship to customers. So does Whittelsey Wood Products in Fort Myers (www.whittelseywood.com or 213/561-2321), which sells unusual lumbers such as Burled Camphorwood or Ribbon Sapele; call ahead to find out what needs to be ordered. Alva Hardwood, where you can purchase exotic woods from all over the world, is closed until Nov. 3 (www.alvahardwood.com or 888/894-6229); when it’s open it sells more than 100 species, including recovered woods and plastic woods.

In addition to lumber and hardware, both the big-box stores and local hardware stores will sell the hardware, tools and stains or paints required, and will deliver the lumber.

Be creative in your planning – whether it’s with color or with the purpose to which your project will be put. A bookshelf can be outfitted with plate rails or crevices; a spice shelf can have mug or small pan pegs added to the bottom.

On the Willers’ extended rear deck is their showpiece: a Hoosier cabinet, made from scratch, with genuine hardware ordered from the company’s catalog. These dates from the early 20th century before kitchens were glamorized with multiple wall cabinets. They were used for holding flour, sugar and other cooking staples such as onions or potatoes. This one, however, has updated for a more contemporary staple: The Willers use it as a cocktail bar.

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With hammer and saw

You can find furniture-building help and painting and staining ideas in both Collier and Lee county public libraries by looking under the key phrases of “furniture plans” or “woodworking plans.” Here are a few of the titles in the Collier County Public Library:

• “Building Classic Antique Furniture with Pine”; by Blair Howard; Popular Woodworking Books, 1998

• “Workshop Creations : Classic Woodworking Projects for Indoors & Outdoors”; Shady Oak Press, 2007

• “The Complete Guide to Easy Woodworking Projects: 50 Projects You Can Build with Hand Power Tools”; by Black & Decker Corp.; Creative Publishing International, 2003

• “Arts & Crafts Woodworking Projects : 11 New Designs in the Stickley Tradition”; Robert E. Belke; Stackpole Books, c1998