Interior Designers love working with custom furniture pieces because they allow us the freedom to select sizes, shapes, fabrics, and finishes to perfectly suit our client’s needs and aesthetics.
Custom furniture is designed to be unique to your home and is tailor-made to suit your needs. It offers a level of luxury that is impossible to replicate with lower-quality furniture. Well-crafted custom pieces grow finer with age, are more sustainable, and can be enjoyed for many years to come.
We know it can be tempting to outfit your home with lower quality, easily obtainable furniture from a big box retailer. However, custom furniture delivers more than short-term gratification.
This blog will explore how custom furniture elevates your home and why you should consider it when shopping for new furnishings for your home.
Custom furniture is a sustainable choice. When you invest in bespoke furniture, you avoid the material waste and forest destruction associated with fast furniture. You will also avoid having to replace it in a few years.
Fast furniture is ultimately destined for the landfill, while custom furniture is built to last. Even if you decide to redecorate, custom pieces can be repurposed, sold or donated so that nothing ends up in the landfill.
Fast furniture is built for the short term, creating a frustrating experience of frequently replacing poorly made pieces. Additionally, over time, you’ll spend more money and time replacing fast furniture than if you had invested in custom furniture. A one-time investment in handcrafted custom furniture will last a lifetime.
When planning your home’s design, it can be fun to follow trends, but you don’t want your home to be identical to others. High-quality custom-built pieces have a special, handcrafted look and feel that makes a home feel more expensive, unique and inviting.
Hard furnishings, such as tables and cabinets, are often mass produced and come in limited sizes, shapes and finishes. Having these items customized or custom made provides freedom from these restrictions. You can create a custom media cabinet that fits perfectly in that niche in your living area, or add floating shelves or a built in desk into an awkwardly shaped, under-utilized space. Or, you can create a dining table that truly fits your family’s needs.
We recently designed a beautiful live edge square dining table with a heavy metal base. It comfortably seats twelve and fits beautifully in our clients’ square shaped dining area. Plus, it’s a gorgeous statement piece which will last for generations. We surrounded it with custom dining chairs which have fabric on the backs, and leather on the seats for durability and wear.
When working with your designer on furniture design, it helps to educate yourself about the materials available. Here are some key considerations to keep in mind when deciding on your furnishings.
When it comes to upholstered furniture, frames and decking are essential components that contribute to the overall quality and longevity of the piece.
The frame provides the structural support for the furniture, while the decking serves as the foundation for the cushioning. A well-built frame should be made of solid, durable materials such as hardwood, and should be constructed using tried-and-true joinery techniques such as mortise and tenon or dovetail joints. The decking should be made of strong, supportive materials like steel or webbing.
For a custom sofa or chair, ask the type of wood used to build the frame. Kiln-dried wood makes for the highest quality furniture because the process of removing moisture from the wood ensures your piece will not crack or warp over time.
Ensuring quality construction across the board will avoid worn, misshapen cushions or sagging seats that detract from the comfort and from the overall look of your home.
Consider the type of springs (coil vs. sinuous), the type of foam, and whether the cushions will be wrapped in batting or feathers and down.
In addition to the structural components, the pattern matching of fabric and leather is also an important consideration when it comes to furniture quality. A high-quality piece of furniture should have precise pattern matching that ensures a seamless and uniform look, without any visible seams or misaligned patterns.
Talk to your interior designer about your fabric choices. Materials can vary greatly in quality and cost, so getting advice from a design professional skilled in achieving style goals on budget is essential. There are many beautiful performance fabrics available that may be a great fit for your high use areas if you have children or pets. In areas where aesthetics are more important than durability, you can select fabrics which can create those wow moments, but may require a bit more care.
While there are many high-quality furniture pieces made overseas, American-made furniture is often associated with superior quality and craftsmanship.
American-made furniture is typically made using the highest-quality materials and construction techniques, and may also be more customizable and tailored to individual preferences. And, buying American-made furniture supports local businesses and promotes job growth in the United States.
When it comes to the quality differences between good, better, and best furniture, the differences can be significant.
Book a discovery call with Gallagher Interiors if you’d like to explore custom furniture for your home.
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