Whenever we take orders for bespoke furniture, we ensure we fully understand the customer’s vision. Doing this helps make our work easier and ensures we build furniture that genuinely captures the customer’s vision. However, at times, it becomes challenging when trying to clearly picture their thoughts.
Cases like these are rare because we try our best to help customers draft the idea using our experience in craftsmanship. Inasmuch as this is standard practice, it’s always a good idea for you to express your concept freely. Therefore, this article will share a few tips that will help you communicate the vision effectively to an artisan.
What Does Custom Furniture Entail?
With custom furniture, you have the freedom of choosing the material, colour, finish, size, and other customizable aspects of a piece of furniture. In other words, custom furniture is built to your exact specifications.
The furniture customization process depends on the route you decide to take and the craftsman’s standard operating procedure. However, generally, the steps follow in a sequence such as ideation, design rendering, approval then building. Once you agree on other details such as cost and delivery terms, the process is finalized, and the furniture is delivered to you.
Oftentimes, you’d need a custom carpenter in Singapore to build this for you, or engage in a custom furniture building company like us, be it for home or restaurant renovation services.
How to Express Your Custom Design Ideas
You don’t need to be a skilled craftsman to express a rough idea of the shape, size, or colour of the furniture that you need. Instead, your goal should be to help the craftsman picture the idea you envisioned. Here are a few tips to help you achieve that goal.
1. Demonstrate your idea with visuals
A visual representation of an idea is an easy and effective way to communicate a concept with your furniture maker. Visual communication is way easier and more effective than using words only because visuals carry more details than words. What this means is that, for instance, a drawing of a desk is going to communicate faster than a text message describing the same.
To make a good visual representation, write down the fine details you want, such as shape, color patterns, and size. Then, use your imagination to try and sketch the end product using these details. Here are three ways to create informative visuals;
- Sketch the idea on a piece of paper. Using your imagination, picture the ideal desired outcome of the piece of furniture you wish to customize and draw whatever feels natural to you. You will be surprised by how easy it will be to add details to the sketch.
- Use free sketch apps. You can use many free sketch apps to brainstorm bespoke furniture ideas. These apps have tools such as color pickers, rulers, and realistic renders.
- Hire a sketch artist. If your budget allows for it, you can use the services of a sketch artist to create a unique piece of art. A sketch artist can help you transform the idea in your head into an actionable blueprint to take to your furniture artisan.
2. Borrow inspiration from stock images
Even though you are going for an original look, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel completely. Stock image sites contain many free images that you can use to design your bespoke furniture.
The best part about using stock images is that you don’t need a license because you are not exactly using the image as it is. Moreover, there are sites dedicated to sharing interior design inspiration. A good example is Pinterest. Here, you will find several unique furniture ideas you can implement in your home.
Other stock image sites include Houzz.com, Pixabay.com, Unspash.com, Pixels.com, etc.
Use free stock images to get inspiration on how to design your own bespoke furniture, and let us put it together for you.
3. Brainstorm custom furniture with an artisan
An artisan can be a huge resource when conceptualizing bespoke furniture. These craftsmen have the design experience required to transform a raw thought into a finished product. Therefore, consulting an artisan is a great way of visualizing your concept efficiently.
Artisans understand the various aspects of design and functionality. As such, they can criticize or approve of an idea based on this knowledge. To elaborate, an artisan will be able to help you think through what’s doable and what’s not.
Even though bespoke furniture pushes the limits of design due to intricate specifications, artisans have to consider other aspects, such as the items’ functionality. This is why you need to involve the artisan in the ideation process for expert opinion.
What to Consider When Sketching Custom Furniture
If you want to have the best experience in your quest to customize furniture, there are a few things you need to consider. These include;
- Practicality. Besides serving an aesthetic appeal, bespoke furniture should also have utility value. This factor, of course, is irrelevant if the furniture piece is for purely decorative purposes.
- Cost. Unlike mass-produced furniture, bespoke furniture is a lot more expensive to produce. The whole process takes time and effort and hence the huge costs. However, if you are on a budget, an artisan will advise on what’s feasible.
Other factors you should consider in this case are your personality and existing interior design. Ultimately, you need to be able to enjoy the final product, provided the investments you put into the whole process.
Create The Best Custom Furniture with Desace
In conclusion, the process of creating custom furniture offers a world of possibilities, allowing you to bring your unique vision to life that perfectly suits your style and needs.
At Desace, we understand the importance of grasping our customers’ visions and employ our expertise in craftsmanship to bring these visions to life, while also offering residential interior design, upholstery services, and office renovation to cater to diverse needs. Whether you need a customised sofa, or any other custom carpentry solutions, we are dedicated to creating the best custom furniture that exceeds your expectations. Get in touch with us today.