Why Buy Handmade Furniture
Before I was a furniture maker, I was a furniture consumer. And like everyone else, I experienced time and again the pain of owning low quality furniture. It is such a universal experience that the Washington Post felt inclined to run an article titled “Why Furniture Got So Bad”. The furniture problem is so widespread, in fact, we as consumers basically expect it at this point. We anticipate our furniture to break, chip, warp, and fail. But things used to not be that way. We all can recall that family heirloom, that piece of furniture at our grandparent’s house that, while old and maybe a little dusty, still does its job and looks incredible. So, with that context, allow me to flip the conversation, and tell you why handmade furniture is awesome and worth your consideration.
Handmade Furniture is Made from Real Hardwoods
Ever accidentally bump into a cheap table and notice an entirely different wood color beneath the surface? You likely just broke through the veneer; the impossibly thin layer of wood glued onto cheap plywood. In my work, all pieces are made directly from rough-sawn hardwoods that I painstakingly pick out from the pile at a specialty lumberyard. I plane each board to the exact thickness my design requires. In addition to the amazing strength and durability of hardwoods, bumps and scratches are easily repaired by sanding and refinishing. No need to head right for the dumpster!
2. Handmade Furniture is What You Dream it To Be
Forget about “comes in these 3 stains, and either 4, 6, or 8 feet long”. Furniture should fit exactly to you and your home, and I am here to help make it so. Along with guides for sizing and picking a wood species, I love working directly with clients to design a piece that perfectly fits their home and vision, not whatever standard offerings there are online.
Beyond the functional design aspects, it is really important to appreciate that handmade furniture just looks different. As a small maker, I am not beholden to a massive brand identity, a singular industrial build tool, efficient packaging requirements, or anything of the like. If you like Shaker design, but maybe want to mix in a little mid-century, I can do that (and I have!). My design methodology allows me to create furniture that brings real joy as you experience it every day. Don’t believe me? Hear from some of my past clients.
Custom furniture starts as a doodle, gets generated into a CAD design, then gets built exactly to those specifications!
3. Handmade Furniture Grows with You
I design and build furniture that is meant to look just as good on day 1 as it will in year 100 (albeit a bit different!). If you can remember some special family heirloom pieces, you begin to appreciate that well-built hardwood furniture is a living, breathing thing. When built right, a piece will endure seasonal weathering and gain a beautiful patina that is signature of heirloom quality. And unlike the big-brand furniture that you expect to throw away in the near future, handmade furniture is meant to survive all of your future moves, and in the best of cases, outlive us and be handed to the next generation.
Exact same Cherry table, but six months apart with a natural oil finish and some sunlight
4. Buy Once, Cry Once
Maybe you have heard this saying before, and it’s absolutely true. When buying a quality custom piece, not only do you save yourself another trip to the furniture store in 5 years when the flimsy cheap thing breaks or wears down, you will save money in the long run by buying one quality piece of furniture, instead of 3, 5, 8(?) in that same time span. This is good for your wallet, and even better for the environment. All that big-box furniture is made using manufactured materials and nasty chemicals, all in a factory far away from the United States. It gets freighted over here, only for you to probably have to put it together yourself. Instead, support a local maker using real domestic hardwoods and safer non-toxic finishes. Your future self will thank you.