“Swedish mass production” or wooden furniture to size?

There comes a moment in the life of many people when they decide to buy furniture. Probably the first thoughts of such a person are directed towards huge large-format shops with a marked sightseeing path (but with good meatballs in a catering outlet).

In fact, these scenes have become so cult in the life of most Poles that such associations are not surprising. But there is also another way – to use the services of a carpenter. Which option is better? There are some advantages and disadvantages to both solutions, which should be kept in mind.

A carpenter who is unequal to a carpenter

The most important thing to realise. There are different professionals in every area of life and it is important to find the right one.

Before you decide on someone, check their portfolios, get the opinions of people who have used their services, make an appointment and think well about whether you want to entrust this specialist with the task. Real wood furnishings are a long-term investment (about that later), so if you don’t want to suffer for years to come looking at your furniture, do good research.

Design

Furniture made on an industrial scale has a feature that is inseparable from anything that is made in bulk. I am thinking here of the limited possibilities of designing your dream home furnishings. For example, the ‘Swedish Colossus’ offers several types of widths of kitchen cabinets and the colour palette is reduced to a few/a dozen fixed colours.

An interesting option is to take advantage of the interior design programme offered by the furniture giants or to commission design services of the same company. Let us remember, however, that the designer will still use limited resources.

If you have done a good review of carpenters on your market, you should deal not only with an outstanding furniture maker but also with a good design psychologist. Together with such a specialist, you can design every detail. You can decide for yourself: what kind of wood will be used, what colour will be used or what layout of cabinets will be in your kitchen.

However, you can sometimes get lost in all this, so the psychological skills of a carpenter will help you to advise you on certain details so that it all fits together.

Endless opportunity to look at the carpenter’s hands

Furniture from the factory has this to do with the fact that you are not able to follow the process of its creation. Of course, you can see all the information, e.g. what kind of wood it is (often chipboard), but you won’t find out who exactly was responsible for its creation. This is important for people who value “furniture with soul”.

The situation is a little different when you order furniture from a carpenter. From placing the order to the final completion of the project, you can keep up to date with what is happening. You can visit (turn the guitar around) your carpenter every day and ask him various control questions (nosiness), and when he comes to assembly with the finished piece of furniture, you can spend the whole day with him looking at his hands (oh God…).

Of course, the above text is just a grotesque description of how such cooperation sometimes looks like. If you want to “feel” the creative process, then cooperation with a carpenter is for you. Think that there can be an enchanted part of humanity, professional character and your inventiveness in your furniture. This changes the form of things. And it is also easy to account the professional for his work…

Technicalities, or “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…”

Wholesale furniture is very often made of chipboard. It is a sandwich made of glue and small pieces of wood, which have been pressed under high pressure. The advantage of such a solution is the resistance to stresses connected with the change in air humidity.

However, we cannot afford many things. Sculpting in such a material is impossible and the screw joints loosen after some time.

Furniture made of real wood “works” when air humidity changes (cracks increase and even some element may crack). However, a clever carpenter can deal with this disadvantage using various manufacturing techniques and then there are many advantages.

Natural wood is like plasticine, with which a lot can be done (e.g. stairs with a slide).

Furniture that will survive you, your children and grandchildren…

If the warranty period is some indication of the durability of the equipment, then natural wood furniture is a definite winner. On the Internet, we can easily check the warranty time of wholesale furniture. The longest is 25 years.

A carpenter making solid furniture can safely give a lifetime guarantee… Ba! If they are used normally, I think (and I can bet on £100) that they will survive several generations in peace. Terrible, right?

 
And ecology?

Furniture made of natural wood on an individual order, which will survive several generations versus mass-produced furniture with a guarantee for several years? Simple.

 
Ask your wallet for an opinion.

Unfortunately, furniture ordered from a carpenter is more expensive. Much depends on the degree of complexity, but it is about 10-30% more. So before you decide to make such a purchase, ask an expert about the valuation, which is often free of charge, and analyse the result with your home budget.

However, let’s remember that this is an investment for many years and it may turn out that allocating more money now will pay off with great satisfaction in the future.

Blue or red pill?

Buying furniture can be compared to buying a car, a house or choosing a name for a child. This is something that stays with us for many years, sometimes for life. It is worth taking a professional approach to this subject and thinking about your decisions very carefully.

We warmly encourage you to use a local professional. Just as some people design their homes from A to Z and call it an interesting adventure, also ordering furniture from a carpenter can be an experience.

For us, ordering custom-made wooden furniture will always be a choice of the red pill.