Furniture plays a crucial role functionally and visually in a living space. Nowadays, it’s more common and more accepted to incorporate mass-produced furniture into a home. As far as cost and convenience is concerned, this is understandable. However, custom furniture pieces offer a lot of value and potential that its generic counterparts can’t quite live up to.
In this article, we’ll dive headfirst into all things custom furniture and help you understand what you need to know and consider when ordering your next piece.
What is Custom Furniture?
Custom furniture, sometimes called bespoke or made-to-order furniture, is precisely what it sounds like: Furniture that is made to the custom requirements, requests and preferences of a customer.
In contrast, mass-produced furniture is made from a predetermined template where every aspect of its design, dimension, material and finish is identical. Custom furniture allows you to choose the specifics of each of these factors and aspects.
Should You Order Custom Furniture?
As with all home design and decor decisions, the right option will vary from person to person and depend on a number of highly personal factors.
To help you with your decision, however, we’ve highlighted some of the considerations to take into account.
Advantages of Custom Furniture
1. Tailored to your needs
Starting with the obvious, custom furniture is made just for you. If you have exact specifications, need it to meet particular functional requirements or have narrow aesthetic preferences, custom furniture may be the way to go.
2. Unique
By definition, a custom piece of furniture is one of a kind and reflects your personal style and taste. Mass-produced furniture is made to look, feel and function identically.
3. Quality
If you find a high quality furniture maker, these skilled artisans offer high quality craftsmanship. There’s often a deep sense of pride and a meticulousness in attention to detail that results in higher quality and also higher durability.
4. Material options
With custom furniture there is far more versatility in material options. You could have a preference of feel, love luxurious, premium materials, or want to veer towards eco-friendly options – the choice is up to you.
5. Perfect fit
Custom furniture is made to order and for that reason will fit your room’s layout and dimensions perfectly. When it comes to creating a cohesive look and optimising the functionality and accessibility of a space, there’s nothing better.
6. Flexibility
Mass-produced furniture is limited to set and pre-existing designs. Custom furniture is not. You can work with your chosen supplier to create a piece that perfectly brings your vision to life.
Disadvantages of Custom Furniture
1. Cost
One of the main reasons why people choose to go the mass-produced route is cost. The labour involved in personalised design and one-of-a-kind craftsmanship means that the price of the furniture, regardless of material, will be significantly higher.
2. Lead time
Custom furniture is made specifically to suit your order so there’s a lot of fresh designing, building and delivering that needs to go into it. For that reason, you need to be aware and accepting of the longer lead time until your order is completed and in your home.
3. Limited warranty
Custom furniture, due to their nature, comes with either a limited warranty or none at all. Mass-produced furniture provided by large, commercial furniture retailers on the other hand often provide extensive and competitive warranties.
4. Design challenges
While customising a piece of furniture offers near endless possibilities, it can be overwhelming for those who are new to the process or unsure of their preferences to determine what they want and what will work.
5. Hard to change
By their nature, custom furniture is hard to change. Once the piece is finished, making significant alterations can be either impossible or, in the cases where it is a possibility, highly expensive.
Examples of Popular Custom Furniture
Dining room tables
Dining room tables are popular pieces of custom furniture. Apart from the size and material, custom dining room tables can be made to exact shapes, sizes and proportions as befits your dining room. For those who love hosting family, friends and guests, having the perfectly created dining room table can be invaluable.
Couches, chairs and sofas
Much like tables, seating furniture offers a lot of different customisable aspects depending on your preferences. Style, upholstery, level of cushion firmness are all examples of ways in which your couch, chair or sofa can be customised.
Bed frames
A unique bed frame can be an excellent way to take your bedroom aesthetic up a level. Whether you choose a minimalist platform bed or an ornate, upholstered headboard, the personal nature of a bed lends itself perfectly to the inherent intimacy of a bedroom.
Desks and workstations
For many people, the ideal workstation or workspace will incorporate all of the functionalities and features they need to be at their most productive and creative. A custom designed and produced desk will not only be perfectly functional if designed with consideration but can be visually appealing by matching the room’s decor and overall interior design.
Shelving and storage
Storage solutions are an aspect of the house where the more customisation the better. Custom cabinets, bookshelves, wardrobes, drawers and bookshelves allow you to not just meet your specific needs in totality, but also ensure the shelving and storage incorporated complements the rest of the space perfectly.
