5 (Unexpected) Reasons to Buy Custom Furniture

Last updated Dec. 26, 2020

Written by: Jacqui + Ben LY Designs
Published: 12/26/20

From supporting local, independent artisans to actually saving money (I know, I’ll explain), there are some serious perks to custom furniture that you might be overlooking!

There’s no denying custom furniture has a ton of benefits — one of a kind items, a reflection of your unique style, a perfect fit in your space — but there are more reasons to purchase custom homewares than most people would guess.

Saves Time

Now this isn’t to say you’ll get the same instant gratification as buying furniture in a store and taking it home that day. Custom furniture is always going to involve a production window — anywhere from 2-6 weeks for most projects. What the process of designing and purchasing a custom piece will save you, however, is the hands-on time and the headache of wandering endless furniture warehouses looking for the thing you’ve pictured to fit your style and your space. Often after only one consultation, a custom builder can design the perfect piece and start building. Then, after just a few short weeks, you get to feel like a kid in a candy store when your furniture arrives! And don’t even get me started on how much time and, frankly, angst you’ll save when your item arrives fully assembled instead of you tearing your hair out trying to decipher instructions that you’re positive are trying to ruin your life.
Superior Quality

I really can’t overstate this point. Having a skilled craftsperson build you a custom piece of furniture or decor is going to result in something so much more solid and well-built, you may never give a certain Swedish chain your money again. Custom furniture makers put their name and reputation on the line every time they deliver a piece, and their pride in their craftsmanship shows. Instead of flimsy, veneered, mass-produced materials, independent makers source high-quality, solid components that come together to make an item that will last a lifetime.
Better Value (In the Long Run)

Ok I promised I’d explain, and here it is — based on the significant upgrade in quality we just talked about, your custom furniture will last you many times longer than a piece you can buy in a big chain store. To begin with, the price for a custom piece may be much lower than you’d expect, because you aren’t footing the bill for a large company’s huge warehouses, shipping logistics, and national ad campaigns. And with your investment in handmade homewares, you’re getting the longevity of time-honored craftsmanship. Instead of replacing your items every few years when they inevitably break, your custom furniture will stay like-new longer and stand up to repainting or refinishing to your heart’s content.
Supports Local

When you buy your furniture (or anything, really) from a local maker or artisan, you’re keeping your dollars in your local community. Rather than making an internet billionaire richer or expanding a chain by one more warehouse, the money you spend on a custom piece puts food on a local family’s table. Plus, the decision to spend your money locally has knock-on effects all the way down the supply chain, because local businesses often source their materials from other local businesses.
Less Environmental Impact

With more and more of us looking for ways to make our lives greener, custom furniture can be an unexpected way you can reduce your carbon footprint. By definition, local, independent builders aren’t mass-producing pieces in factories halfway around the world and using planes, ships, trucks, and trains to get them to you. Even big box stores that claim to be “green” are incurring the effects that these large-scale logistics inevitably produce. Add to that all the options you have to select locally-sourced, sustainable, and/or reclaimed materials for your custom project, and you’re looking at something that can be beautiful, unique, and eco-friendly!

A few LY Designs custom orders:

(click image to enlarge)

Custom children's picnic table with removable top for a sandbox

Custom entryway bench (discount available if purchased with a dining table)

Custom dining table with matching bench on one side

So, is there anything still stopping you from getting your hands on some custom furniture or decor? Do you still have some questions? Get in touch with us at LY Designs, and we’ll get you started on the design process so you can enjoy these perks yourself!

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