No one enjoys moving, but there is nothing more frustrating than finally getting into your new place and having a piece of furniture fall apart on you as you try to reassemble it after driving it across town (or across the country). Cheap furniture isn’t built to last, and it’s certainly not built to survive multiple moves. Some doesn’t even survive one move!
Custom furniture makers want to bring you something different. According to these custom furniture makers serving Temecula, CA, the quality difference in custom furniture can be seen and felt in every detail of the piece, from the type of wood used to the construction methods.
Here are some ways in which custom furniture makers are creating pieces of superior quality and displaying craftsmanship you simply won’t find in the vast majority of retail stores.
Solid Wood Construction
One immediate difference in the quality between custom furniture and furniture sold at most retail stores is the fact that custom pieces made by artisans are typically made from solid wood. You might be thinking—isn’t most wood furniture on the market solid wood? Not only is the answer to that question “no,” but it can also be very difficult to tell at first glance.
A lot of retailers—including ones that are typically thought of as “luxury” or “high end”—are selling furniture that is at least partially made from MDF or some other type of engineered wood. Engineered wood has its advantages: It is typically less expensive, it can tolerate temperature and moisture changes relatively well, and it can create some interesting design possibilities that aren’t possible with solid wood.
But when it comes to durability and pieces that will stand the test of time, solid wood wins every time. Engineered wood, especially low-density particle board, can break apart, and when this happens, it literally crumbles in your hands. It cannot be repaired, sanded, painted over, or adjusted in any way. Its life is over. A solid wood piece, on the other hand, can almost always be fixed in some way. You also may choose not to repair a wood piece that has been nicked or dented—those imperfections may add to the character and uniqueness of the piece!
The other reality is that solid wood is less likely to get damaged in the first place. You know this if you have ever moved. Solid wood furniture is heavy and much more likely to damage your walls (or you!) as you move it around than it is to be damaged. A piece constructed out of veneer or MDF can easily split or come unglued when jostled around in a truck or carried up and down flights of stairs.
Higher-Quality Construction Techniques
Another major difference between custom furniture and something you might purchase at a retail store is the way the piece is constructed. If you have purchased furniture from a factory warehouse like IKEA, you are likely familiar with the hardware packets, Allen wrenches, dowels, and cams that come with furniture you purchase in flat boxes and assemble at home. All it takes is accidentally tightening a fastener too tight or reading the instructions wrong and putting a piece together backwards to cause a real problem with the structural integrity of the piece. Many a frantic homeowner has ruined a piece of furniture simply by assembling it!
Custom furniture makers use much more meticulous construction techniques. In custom pieces, you’ll see dovetail joinery or mortise and tenon joints that are sturdier and frankly, more attractive. These types of classic woodworking techniques are done with durability in mind, and they are a big reason why custom furniture is usually robust enough to last through multiple moves and can even be passed down to future generations.
Attention to Fine Details
When it comes to mass-produced furniture, it is not uncommon to see things like unfinished edges, unpainted sides, and unnecessary pre-drilled holes. Maybe this isn’t the biggest deal in the world to some customers—after all, who in their right mind is going to come over to your house, crawl under your dining table, and point out that the underside of the table is unfinished? No one is going to do that, but that’s not the point.
The point is that custom furniture makers take the time and care to complete every detail of the piece, regardless of whether or not that part of the piece is seen. This speaks to the quality of the work more broadly and should make you feel confident in the value of what you are purchasing.
Every piece of custom furniture should look beautiful and work properly. You’re not going to have sticky drawer glides or misaligned latches in custom furniture. The edges will all be sanded and finished. Pieces you sit or stand on will be square, level, and stable. Knobs and handles will be secure. These are the types of details that add up and make a huge difference when you start comparing custom work to pieces you can purchase at a large retail chain.
You simply cannot argue with the quality of custom furniture. The craftsmanship and time spent on a custom piece is in a completely different league than what happens in a factory or on an assembly line. If quality materials and construction are important factors in your next furniture piece, then working with a custom furniture maker is worth exploring.
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