Good communication essential to building custom furniture

DEAR DESIGNER: How difficult is it to have custom furniture made? I have two areas in my home that need special sizes. I need a table for my entry and a desk that will fit in my small office. Where do I start? -- Owen.

DEAR OWEN: As you have deduced, there are times when custom-built furniture is the best answer. With all the furniture stores in town, it can be hard to believe there would be any need whatsoever to have a custom piece of furniture made, but here are a few of the situations that lead to designing your own.

* Size: Sometimes a niche or wall can be too small or large for the average console or chest.

* Style: You may find all the right sizes, but not the style you want.

* Finish: The style and size may be perfect, but the finish is off just enough to make it look like a mistake.

* Quality: Unfortunately, much of our retail furniture today is built in factories and lacks the personal craftsmanship of old.

* Uniqueness: It makes for great conversation to have a piece of furniture that doubles as a one-of-a-kind work of art.

I will guide you through the necessary steps to ordering your furniture, but first I must say this: I often extol the virtue of designers, how helpful they are to homeowners in sticky situations. This is no exception.

A designer's experience in designing and ordering custom furniture is priceless. Not only do designers have tried-and-true resources, they are experts at making sure your/their vision is communicated to the furniture craftsman to achieve the best outcome in the shortest amount of time.

Because of their vast experiences, they can foresee and alleviate potential design problems, saving you time and money. Also, designers often introduce you to new techniques and finishes. Now I'll step down from my little soapbox and tell you how to accomplish this task on your own.

Your biggest obstacle will be finding a reputable company you can communicate with and build what you need. The Internet is quite helpful in situations like these.

However, be sure to do your homework. Look at the company's portfolio and get references. Call the references to be sure the company not only does great work, but that it is timely and communicates well.

After you have located a couple of resources that can build what you have in mind, you will want to communicate your vision to them. In order to do this, you can sketch a rough idea onto paper and/or take a picture of a similar item. An "inspiration picture" is helpful in showing the craftsman what you are trying to accomplish.

Because a picture or drawing can be interpreted in many ways, it's important to add detailed notes and dimensions. A drawing is most valuable for the sizes it shows. When you have absolute sizes for your design, your communication to your builder is solid. He will need to know how big you want the legs, how tall and wide, how deep you want the cabinet, and how thick you want the top.

Specifying every detail is important because wrong interpretations can significantly change the look of your piece. In order to be sure all my specified sizes are balanced and look good, I put the designed piece of furniture into my CAD (computer-aided design) program. If I've drawn a leg that is too big, I can see on paper that the size doesn't balance and correct it right there. Don't lose heart if you don't draft or have CAD, your craftsman will usually draft the design to scale (correct proportion) for you to approve before he cuts any wood.

Next, you will select your finish. Sometimes the company you order from will have stain samples for you to choose from. If you are matching an existing piece of furniture, take a drawer or sample of the wood you wish to match to the builder. He will need to see the actual piece to determine what type of wood was used so his construction and finish will be as similar as possible.

When working with a new craftsman, it's wise to request a mock-up of the wood finish. It's quite an art to match another finish exactly. It's much easier to tweak the color on a mock-up than on the final piece.

Now your work is done. You can sit back, relax and wait until your custom piece is finished. Finally, when your piece is ready, before you have it delivered to your home, go to the shop where it was built to take a good look. If it's everything you hoped for, you take pride in owning a quality piece of furniture that meets the needs of your home.

Cindy Payne is a certified interior designer with more than 25 years of experience, as well as a licensed contractor. E-mail questions to her at deardesigner@projectdesigninteriors.com or send them to her at Project Design Interiors, 2620 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 189, Las Vegas, NV 89109. She can be reached online at www.projectdesigninteriors.com.