The Definitive Guide to Ordering Custom Furniture
Ordering custom furniture can be daunting no matter if you’ve been in the design industry for decades or are just starting out. Experience matters when manufacturing custom furniture, and we would like to share some of our knowledge we have gained from our 70+ years of experience. Our effort is to help your custom furniture project go smoothly and successfully. Over this post we will focus on the questions you should ask yourself when considering ordering custom furniture as well as what to ask during the process. Let’s jump into it!
Is custom furniture right for me?
Custom furniture is not right for every project. As a custom furniture manufacturer, we are not looking to discourage new business, but with much more affordable and available furniture pieces “off-the-shelf” sometimes the best option is the straightforward option. Our business model is to step in when your furniture options aren’t quite so straightforward.
When considering custom furniture, you are most likely going to have a vision in your head of your dream piece. This vision can come from a furniture magazine, a Pinterest inspiration board, something you saw at the store, or from deep in your imagination. The first question you should ask yourself is “Can I buy this piece, or something close to it, from a retail furniture company?” It is all but assured that the retail production piece will be more affordable and more quickly available. If you can find it, go for it, but if you are hitting a brick wall then maybe custom furniture is right for you. Let’s move on to the next consideration.
How much does custom furniture cost?
We all know that a custom approach to any product is going to cost more than what we can buy at the store, but sometimes we are willing to pay that price to get precisely what we are looking for. Often needing custom furniture means just needing the piece to be an exact size or fabric, or maybe you have a design no one has come up with yet. The question then becomes, what is this exact fit or unique design worth to you and your project? You know it’s likely to cost much more than a retail production piece, so let’s talk about why that is and what value you get out of a custom piece of furniture.
A custom approach to making furniture is going to rely on custom components and quality materials. What would be the point of having something specially built for your client just for it to wear out prematurely from cheap parts? A combination of top-quality components with the challenge of engineering and creating a new, one-of-a-kind piece will add a premium to the cost of your custom furniture. The basic manufacturing of a custom piece of furniture can cost about 2-3 times more than a retail piece of furniture of similar quality, but it is usually the custom additions that can increase the cost of your piece. For example, a $2,000 upholstered banquette can easily balloon to $3,000 just depending on your choice of fabric or leather. Wood species can also greatly affect the price of a piece.
One of the first things you’ll notice about our custom furniture is that it is much heavier than modern furniture you are used to buying from the big box stores. These “fast” furniture retail pieces aren’t really built to last like furniture was decades ago. They use more economical, softer woods that cut costs, weight, and durability. When paying a premium for custom furniture, it is important to be sure that the manufacturer will avoid these cheaper materials and thus make you a piece you are sure will last. Here at Corn Upholstery our custom furniture is made with high quality hardwoods inside and out. We use commercial quality internal components from our springs to our high-resiliency polyurethane foam. We only upholster with proven durable fabrics and leathers. And all of this is built and assembled in the USA by our skilled craftspeople with decades of experience.
What are the first steps to ordering my custom furniture?
So, after considering availability and cost you have now decided that a custom furniture piece is right for you? Great! Let’s go through some first steps of getting the process started.
Size and style are the first main considerations. Is your furniture going to be free standing or built-in? If you plan to have your client’s new piece built into your space, then determining the size of the space will lead you to the dimensions of your custom furniture. We always recommend a professional field measurement be conducted before manufacturing built-in furniture, but before we reach that step, some simple initial measurements can get the process rolling. Gather up as many measurements and photos of the project’s space to help with conceptualizing the size of the piece, and then we’ll move onto the next step, determining your piece’s style.
When we talk style, we are referring to the shape, fabric, and finishes of your furniture piece. Many custom furniture pieces are built from an “inspiration image”. These images are pieces of furniture that have already been manufactured that inspired the piece of furniture you’d like to commission. But whether you are creating a custom piece of furniture from an existing inspiration, or your design is completely dreamed up in your mind, it is your input moving forward that makes your furniture a custom build. You may want a certain size, shape, or style that isn’t available. Pinpointing these details is where to begin. Will your seating need to fit 2 or 10 people? What upholstery material will be used? What color material? These details cannot be overlooked when creating your custom piece.
“We are going make sure we have a clear vision of your intent before we start putting saw to wood and thread to fabric.”
At this junction of the project, we would recommend making a design/mood board to gather your style choices. Put your fabric choice next to your wood or metal finish choice. Seeing your style choices side-by-side can help you decide on the final outcome. As you can see from the images in this article, custom furniture encompasses different fabrics, metals, woods, and stitching to achieve your overall style. Take the time before you reach manufacturing to ensure you know what you want and your project will run smoothly and on-time.
What is my role in custom furniture manufacturing?
With everything being custom, we’re here to create your vision. We guide you through the manufacturing process and within that we look to have you guide us through your design. If you have a loose idea or are unsure of some of the details, we can help with recommendations of choices you may like, but ultimately we look to you for the final design decisions. The design consultation can often turn into the longest step of the project. We want to build your piece to your exact vision which prevents us from filling in any design gaps with our own ideas. We are going make sure we have a clear vision of your intent before we start putting saw to wood and thread to fabric.
If you are the customer/homeowner looking to commission your own custom piece of furniture, we recommend bringing on an experienced designer to assist with all the details and logistics. And if you are the designer on the project, we recommend having an in-depth conversation with your client prior to our design consultation to bring a clear picture to the table to help achieve the “mind meld” that is custom furniture manufacturing. If timeline is a big consideration for your project, having your design buttoned up before reaching out to us will best ensure an expedited project.
When can I expect to receive my custom furniture?
Speaking of timeline, what is the typical timeline for custom furniture manufacturing? Here at Corn Upholstery, we try to be realistic with our lead times. We want to keep expectations within reason so you or your client aren’t over-promised and ultimately disappointed when unrealistic estimates aren’t met. We have been making custom furniture for over 70 years, and in that time we have seen just about everything that can happen when working through a project. We have built in these contingencies into our lead times to offer a conservative estimate for completion. Keeping our timeline estimates conservative leaves open the possibility that the project could be completed earlier if all goes well but gives an assurance that it won’t take longer than the lead time given. If you have had difficulties in the past with builders who continually miss their predicted deadlines, you won’t find that with us.
Our quoted lead time breaks down into 3 categories: design, fabrication, and delivery. Once the initial consultation is completed, the design is clear, and the project deposit has been received, we currently quote 3 to 5 weeks to produce shop drawings of your design. These drawings are crucial for both parties. You get to see what the final piece will look like, and we use the drawings to actually fabricate your custom piece. Following client approval of the drawings, as well as fabric selections, and a field measurement (when making built-in furniture), we quote 8 to 10 weeks to complete fabrication. We can ship and install nationwide or if you prefer to pick up from our workshop, we are happy to assist with that as well.
Is my space ready for custom furniture?
There are two types of furniture we manufacture here a Corn Upholstery. Free-standing furniture that can be placed anywhere, and built-in furniture made to fit into a certain area. There is little that needs to be done to ensure your space in ready for free-standing furniture. The biggest consideration is if doors, hallways, or elevators are large enough to allow the piece to be brought in. Many times, custom furniture is built in multiple units if the entry points are small but the client desires large furniture. We have completed several custom upholstery projects where we have split a piece of furniture in two to later be assembled back together once it is moved into its final location (See example below).
Custom Upholstery Project Separating a Chesterfield Sofa into Two Sections
When it comes to built-in furniture, there are more preparations that need to be taken into account. Built-in furniture comes with what is known as a “critical fit”. The term covers the measurement of the space the piece of furniture will fit in, and thus the critical measurement the piece needs to be. Too large and the piece won’t fit. Too small and the built-in effect looks incomplete and sloppy. You can see why this measurement is called “critical”.
When your custom piece is quoted, an approximate measurement can be used to create budget numbers, but once production begins these measurements need to be exact. At this point we recommend having us conduct a field measurement. Our engineers use a combination of hand measuring as well as 3D laser scans when needed to ensure the dimensions of the piece match the dimensions of the space to achieve that critical fit. Once these measurements are taken it is important that the space does not change from there on out. If there is a plan to add any trim, flooring, or other dimension changing accents they either need to be added before the field measurement or left out from the built-in furniture’s space. Unfortunately, these unforeseen changes have scuttled many installations in the past and have caused clients to spend more time and money to either remodel the space or modify the furniture.
How will my custom furniture delivery and installation go?
If your space is ready, construction is complete, and interior decorations are going in, it is time to deliver and install your furniture as well. In this day and age, we are all very familiar with how deliveries make it to our door. Custom furniture can be very similar or vastly different depending on the size and application of the piece. Typically, here at Corn Upholstery we deal with larger pieces of furniture that many times require being installed into a built-in space. Our installation professionals come in with an expert knowledge of our engineering and construction to ensure proper assembly and a great fit. Delivery and installation are included with all of our quotes as an optional line item. If you have a capable team who’s able to provide assembly and installation themselves, we can then just send the furniture custom crated to the most convenient loading dock for you to install yourself. We will include all install hardware and instructions when needed.
If you are ordering a free-standing piece of furniture then installation becomes very simple or unnecessary all together. We are happy to offer our delivery and install services for delivering free-standing furniture, but it is possible you may feel comfortable taking on moving the furniture yourself. We understand clients choosing this option and just want to advise that many freight services don’t come equipped with a lift gate and require a loading dock to deliver to. A local furniture receiving company specializing in FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) or a “white glove” moving service may be your best option when handling your own installation. You may also just drop by our warehouse during business hours to pick up your new furniture yourself.
What if I have more questions?
While we have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in this article, we know you may have more question regarding ordering custom furniture. We are more than happy to answer these questions for you! You can reach us through our Contact page with any inquiries or requests you have. We would love to hear from you!
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