Right— it’s easy to think of them in a more abstract way, like types of building blocks / lego. Sheets for panels, plywood, or other flat sections of furniture & constructions. 2x4s for structural connectors, braces, and longer bits of furniture & constructions.
Building furniture w/o sheets (“makeshift” or “plank” furniture) sounds like a good spinoff or addition to more makeshift items. 
That being said, I’m loving that some more interesting details are being added to the woodworking side of things.
–I just looked at the item browser. Are chairs somehow no longer craftable?
http://cdda-trunk.chezzo.com/search?q=chair