Have you ever considered building your own chair? For most people, the answer to this question would be a quick and easy No. After all, at first glance, it might seem like a daunting task—rightfully reserved for skilled woodworkers and furniture designers who have spent years perfecting their craft.

But some of these craftspeople themselves would beg to differ. The late Italian furniture designer Enzo Mari even encouraged people to “self-design”—a loose translation of Autoprogrettazione, the title of his book, in which he proposed a recipe for “making easy-to-assemble furniture using rough boards and nails.” 

Originally conceived in 1974 as part of an exhibition in Milan to show how furniture is made (and to galvanize people into demanding well-designed furniture at lower p...