Hey everyone! I'm really curious about commissioning a custom furniture piece, especially since I have no background in woodworking or anything related. I've had my eye on this transformer table that usually costs around $4,200 for both the table and bench, but I've heard some not-so-great things about the company selling it. I'm wondering if it makes sense to look into having a local woodworker create something similar for me. Do you think this would be a complicated project that would end up costing a lot? I'm not looking for anything fancy—just something practical and sturdy without any special extras. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
From my experience as a custom builder, your question is totally valid. It can be a fair price compared to mass-produced ones. Typically, I estimate how long a project like this would take (around 2-3 weeks in this case) and multiply that by my hourly rate plus the cost of materials. So for something like a transformer table, I’d expect my final price to be between $5,500 and $6,500. Just a heads up though, it can sometimes take longer than expected, so plan for some budget fluctuations!
Just a heads up, commissioning a woodworker might not save you any money. They’ll have to do a lot of research to get everything right for you—find the right hardware, ensure all the features work properly, and basically start from scratch. Mass-produced furniture usually has the edge here because companies already have everything streamlined for efficiency. So unless you're looking for something really specialized that you can't find in stores, you might end up paying more even for simple builds like cabinets.
Thanks a lot for the insight! It definitely helps to understand the process better, especially since I'm totally new to this. Guess my hopes for a discount are a bit unrealistic! ?
That’s really helpful to know! It’s comforting to see that the mass-produced version isn't marked up too crazily. I’d prefer to support a local woodworker, but I'll have to keep my budget in check. Thanks for sharing!