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Handcrafted Living Space

How A Handcrafted Living Space Can Change Your World

How often do you just go with pre-built cabinets, shelves and furniture as a quick and easy way to complete a room?

The truth is, a handcrafted living space might take a little longer, but it can completely change your world. From how you feel when you first come home to never having to fight with IKEA directions again, handcrafted does make a difference.

Think of it as an investment in a better living space and a happier you. And yes, it really does make that big of a difference.

Create A Stress-Free Area

Did you realize your living space can actually affect your mood? In fact, it can affect how you feel each day and how well you sleep, among other things. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to a stress-free area? Handcrafted furniture allows you to create something specifically designed to boost your mood. For instance, the soft scent of cedar furniture might make you feel calmer or even more energized.

The right paint color or custom embellishments might be just the thing to make you smile every time you walk into the room. Plus, when everything’s made just for you, you feel more like you belong, which helps reduce stress too.

Get Exactly What You Want

If Burger King lets you have it your way, why shouldn’t you have furniture that’s exactly what you want too? With a handcrafted living space, you get the privilege of walking into a room that’s built just for you. Want specialty cabinets to display your unique collection of vintage action figures? No problem. Love an eclectic mix of different styles and colors? Handcrafted has you covered.

Design For Your Personality

A handcrafted living space also lets you design specifically for your personality. It’s not just about adding some funky pillows or ensuring you have the perfect color scheme. Your furniture makes a difference too. A chair that’s built to perfectly fit you and your two furry friends showcases your love of animals. A cube-style bookcase with various sized cubes might show you’re a bit of a wild child that doesn’t conform to normal shelving.

No Obsession With Constantly Changing

When you don’t get exactly what you want, you always have that nagging voice in the background saying “change this, change that.” No one wants to deal with that. Plus, you always feel like others are judging the room. After all, if you’re not happy with it, why would anyone else be?

A handcrafted living space helps eliminate that obsession to constantly change things in the hope that it’ll be better this time. Instead of hoping, get exactly what you want the first time around.

Create A Lasting Look

Since you don’t always have to change your furniture, you have a lasting look. You’ll create a space that everyone remembers as that perfect spot. It may even be the room that inspires others. Your handcrafted pieces become the centerpieces that bring the room together, no matter how many different design trends may come and go.

There’s a reason so many people go after antique furniture. It’s handcrafted and built to last. Even if you decide to move, your furniture easily comes with you since it’s made of real wood. Use it to create the perfect room no matter where you happen to move to.

Feel More Like A Home

Most importantly, a handcrafted living space makes your house feel more like a home. Even in a tiny apartment, handcrafted designs help make the space feel larger and homier. It might seem overly simple, but there’s something about coming home after a long, stressful day and feeling like you’re in a place where the rest of the world just melts away. It’s this distinction alone that makes handcrafted worth paying a little more for.

Ready to start creating your own handcrafted living space? Start by contacting us today to learn more.

Image: Clint McKoy

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Benefits of Bespoke Furniture

7 Benefits Of Bespoke Furniture

When choosing the right type of furniture for your home, bespoke furniture could be the best choice.

While pre-made furniture pieces are cheaper, the quality usually can’t come close to having something custom made. With the right craftsman, you get superior quality that lasts.

The great thing is bespoke furniture fits with any style. So, no matter what design you’re going for, hand-crafted furniture is always a great choice.

1. Custom To Your Needs

What you buy in a store doesn’t always fit where you need it or has the same wood grain as your other furniture. For instance, if you’re remodeling your kitchen, you’d probably prefer if your cabinets and hutch matched.

Bespoke furniture is completely custom to your needs. From the type of wood used to the style itself, everything is designed based on what you want. This is ideal for ensuring the perfect fit in your home and a perfect match to your interior design.

2. Lasts Longer

While bespoke furniture tends to be more expensive, you have to consider how long you’ll use it. For instance, if you want a hutch that you’ll be able to pass down, particle board isn’t going to work. By using solid wood versus pressed wood, you get furniture that lasts decades longer.

When the laminate on particle board is damaged, it doesn’t take long for the piece to fall apart. Unlike solid wood, you can’t just repair it either. You have to replace it entirely. If you want something that will last and stand up to heavy use, go with bespoke options.

3. More Cost-Effective

Many people choose cheaper options because they’re more cost-effective. However, that’s only the initial cost. For instance, if you choose pre-fabricated cabinets that usually use particle board or similar components, you may only be able to use the cabinets for a limited time before they start to wear out. This means you’ll replace them far more often.

With bespoke furniture, the upfront cost is more, but you won’t have to replace the furniture for a long time, possibly ever. In the long term, the more expensive option is actually the most cost-effective.

4. Easy To Modify

Want to revamp the color or style a little? Not a problem. With a little sanding or tweaks, your bespoke furniture looks like a completely new piece. For instance, cabinets can get a major facelift just by modifying the doors a little.

With alternatives, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to modify the original without completely replacing it. This costs you more if you tend to remodel often.

5. Great For Reproductions

Did you see an incredible piece of furniture, but it belonged to someone else? Not to worry. Remember how bespoke furniture is completely customizable? Get your own version of whatever furniture you see. Even if it’s a one of a kind piece, you can get one made similar or just like it.

This is also a great option if you find something you love, but it’s out of your price range. An expert craftsman can help you design something similar that’s more affordable.

6. Always Fits Your Home

Everyone’s home isn’t designed the same. This means all the pre-fabricated furniture out there isn’t always going to fit. In most cases, you’ll have to get creative to make things fit the way you want.

Why not get something that fits exactly right to begin with? Bespoke furniture is designed based on the space you have available, not what someone else thinks you should have. Need cabinets with extremely odd sizes? Go custom and get exactly the sizes you need.

7. Exclusive Designs

While pre-fabricated pieces look good, they look the same in every household. Bespoke furniture is unique and exclusive to you. Want something that will make your friends envious? Get an exclusive design based on your vision. This is how you make your house a home. Skip what everyone else has and do your own thing.

Are you interested in custom designs that last for generations? Contact us today to find out how we can help.

Image: Ian Schneider

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How To Achieve Handcrafted Excellence For Your Hutch Design

You could go with a cookie-cutter hutch design, but it’s the handcrafted pieces that truly stand out in your home or office.

Extra care goes into handcrafted wood furniture. A custom hutch instantly adds an extra elegance to any room and continues to look great for generations.

Plus, you get the benefits of a hutch designed specifically for your needs. Pre-fabricated hutches never quite live up to what you need them to be.

Stand The Test Of Time

Why choose a handcrafted hutch design? Instead of particle board and plexiglass, handcrafted hutches are made from real wood. The hardware is made of durable metals. The end result is a hutch that will stand the test of time. Instead of you needing to buy a new one in 5-10 years, you have something that you’ll be happy to pass down to your children one day.

Choose An Experienced Builder

Not everyone can build an elegant hutch customized for your home. The first step to achieving handcrafted excellence is to choose a proven builder. Not only should they know how to work with a wide variety of woods and finishes, but they should be able to take your design idea and turn it into a reality.

At Edgewood Cabinetry, we work extensively with every client to help turn their visions into stunning finished products using only the best wood and hardware.

Unique Designs

Your hutch design should reflect your personality and the atmosphere of your home. It’s only with handcrafted hutches that you get unique designs that fit your home perfectly. From the most simple hutch to intricately carved molding, you choose the look you want to last a lifetime.

For instance, you may want doors with glass panels or solid doors. You may want drawers in the bottom half or just shelves. Some have a roll-top desk style, while others simply have a flat top in the middle. It’s all up to you and by working with an expert builder, you get the design that best suits your needs.

Choose The Right Wood

When you buy directly from a store, you don’t get any options as it pertains to the wood used. Many furniture stores use pine because it’s cheaper, but pine tends to scratch and dent more than other woods. Plus, different woods tend to change color as they age or they may react to stains differently.

It’s important to carefully consider what type of wood you want to use for your hutch design. Before you fall in love with any specific wood, look over the pros and cons of different woods. In most cases, oak and walnut tend to be popular, but are more expensive. A more budget-friendly wood is maple, which still holds up well over time. Cherry is a nice option, especially if you like the natural red color, but it tends to be much more expensive.

Another thing to consider is the look of natural grain. Pre-fabricated pieces don’t have the same natural look. The grain never looks right, if there is any grain at all. Part of the beauty behind handcrafted hutches is the unique personality the grain gives each piece. It’s easy to create an elegant or antique style just by choosing the right wood.

Custom Finishes

The final step to achieving the handcrafted excellence that makes your hutch design stand out is choosing the right finish. Depending on the wood you choose, you’ll want to be careful about what type of stain or paint you choose. For instance, some woods tend to absorb more stain, which may result in a much darker color than intended.

Experienced wood builders know which stains and paints work best with which woods. They also know how to give you a matte or shiny finish. You could also choose between a more modern finish or go with an aged antique look.

Are you ready to add a handcrafted hutch to your home? Contact us today to see how our expert builders can bring your design to life.

Image: Wikimedia Commons / Daderot

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