The author shares their journey of developing a browser-based tool to design customizable MDF furniture for their house, showcasing the power of CSS grid layout. They realized they needed a way to communicate their ideas clearly and efficiently to the designer overseeing the furniture manufacturing. By utilizing a unique text-based language input format, they were able to describe and tweak designs in real-time within the browser. The tool allowed for easy sharing of complex data through URL hash and featured options for locking text areas, adding comments, and exporting designs to PDF. Despite its simple code and lack of testing, the tool proved to be a cost-effective and efficient way to prototype unconventional cabinet designs. The final design was successfully implemented and used throughout the construction process, ultimately achieving the desired results. The tool can be accessed and explored on the author’s website.
https://alnvdl.github.io/2023/01/07/designing-furniture-using-the-css-grid.html