Casket Furniture

Caskets are sooooooo incredibly expensive. Why not build your own? In fact, why not build your own, paint it as a piece of furniture, and keep it as a treasure chest until the time comes? Arkwood Caskets offers "some assembly required" caskets that are meant to be part of your life before they're part of your death.


A treasure chest-turned-coffin makes the final piece of furniture in your life evermore meaningful. It's not some strange, alienated box that suddenly shows up when you're no longer around, but an intimate part of your life. Kent Caskets offers eco-friendly, free trade caskets that you can build yourself. You could even have all your friends and family write messages on it long before the time comes. There are also articles at Squidoo.com on how to DIY your final destination.

Why wait? You know you need the storage!

Mourning Dove Studios

Want to create your own memorial item but don't know where to start? For those who live in Arlington, Masachussetts, there's Mourning Dove Studios. There are drop-studio hours as well as workshops to help make the perfect item. It's kind of like paint-your-own pottery studios, but for grieving. Mourning Dove also has a Reading Room, Home Wake consultations, as well as access to resources, from deathbed choirs (!) to eco-friendly funeral directors.

I think the most important resource, however, is the sense of community offered at a place like this. How often do you find Grieving Rooms? It's a much needed place to connect with others going through the process, or who understand what you're experiencing. I hope that Mourning Dove Studios becomes a franchise!

IKEA Coffin?

We live in an era when our taste in furniture is transitory and disposable, fun yet economical. Should death be any different?

This tongue-in-cheek yet earnest coffin, designed by artist Joe Scanlan, provides the perfect DIY delivery to the big Ikea in the Sky. And at only $27.50, it's quite a deal! And of course, some assembly required. Available at www.thingsthatfall.com.