The world of furniture is often overwhelming - there are so many different options available and countless places to shop. For today’s Good to Know post, we wanted to break down the custom furniture process to make it less intimidating and more accessible.

When we’re designing a furniture plan for our clients, we prefer to use custom furniture as often as we can. There are a few reasons why but one of the most influential reasons is the time-saving aspect. We can always visualize what would work best in a space so instead of spending time sifting through products looking for the right size, color or material, we can draw it up and have it custom made.

If you’re ready to fully re-furnish and deciding between shopping at a showroom or using a design firm, a deciding factor might be the option for custom pieces. If you know you want a certain look that a single showroom can offer, that’s great and might be the best option for you. However, more often than not, one showroom won’t have the full breadth of options that are available to you and your home. Designers are also not typically guided or motivated by certain brands to influence their choices. Plus, a few design firms (including us) will mix your existing furniture along with new custom furniture and antiques in their designs. This is one of the reasons we’re biased toward using a designer to create your furniture plan. Not only will everything selected be just right for your space but it will also be cohesive as a whole. While it’s definitely an easier answer to choose pieces that are in stock, custom options are the difference that truly elevate a room and make it feel unique.

Custom chest we designed for beside the fireplace inside our Bear Lake project

Lead times for custom furniture vs special order furniture are often comparable. In some cases, custom can be quicker, especially in the current climate of massive supply shortages. Another benefit of custom furniture is the quality of the end product. We strive to use locally made products that are ethically sourced and made. Since these pieces aren’t being mass-produced, corners aren’t being cut and there is higher quality control. Dining tables, coffee tables, consoles, benches and sofas are the pieces we custom design most frequently - not everything in your home needs to be (or should be) custom. Although it is definitely possible to create custom furniture without a designer, make sure you find a carpenter or tradesperson who is willing to help you design something - many of them aren’t willing to do so.

Hopefully these tips will be helpful when it comes time to furnish your home. Don’t be intimidated by custom options if you’re wanting to create a completely unique home, just for you.

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