Years ago I never would have thought about custom making my furniture. I always thought it was waaaaaay too expensive. You know, something that only rich snobs did. But actually, you might be surprised (I know I was!). I spent about 10 months looking for a new bed for my room. Technically I haven't owned a bed for the last 7 years or so (I've been using the free bed frame thing they give away with mattresses). Honestly I didn't care. But I've been changing a lot of things in my life lately, so I thought what the heck, right?
Anyway, so I set out to look for the perfect bed. My requirements were BEYOND simple, but it was just impossible to find! All I wanted was a full sized platform bed with a FLAT headboard. No frilly crap. No holes, no weird textures, and NO LEATHER! I want my head to feel a flat surface behind me when I sit up in bed. But alas, I searched for 10 months and I just couldn't find it. The headboard was either super weird or way too short. So I decided to have my bed custom made.
I had the job done at a local furniture store. All their pieces are real wood. I mean, real wood. Not ugly looking Amish wood. Just real wood. And stained. The furniture is so well built, you can actually STAND INSIDE the dresser drawers when they're pulled out! I didn't buy a dresser, but the bed is made of the same stuff.
Anyway, I was looking at regular beds (that were NOT custom built) from $1,100 to $2,000. So I figured a custom job with real wood like this would be something ridiculous like $5,000. When it was all done it was only about $2,500 including delivery!
Now I know what you're thinking. What a rich snob I am, spending $2,500 on a bed and thinking it's cheap! But look at it long term and it makes a lot of sense. Barring a house fire, this bed should last at least 200 years. All their custom made furniture comes with a 100 year warranty.....and they've been in business since 1812 so I think they'll make good on that warranty!
I'm pretty excited. I think I'll have them build a custom dresser and some tables now. If I'm going to use this stuff until I'm dead, I think I can afford it! This is soooooo much better than buying some cheapo painted pressed board crap from Becker furniture for $1,500. It comes with a 1 year warranty, but you can buy a 5 year warranty for an ADDITIONAL $500. NO THANKS! I'll go 100% solid wood custom built for a few hundred more.
EDIT: I'll post pictures of my room in the "show us your room" thread later. Then you can actually see the bed.