Contents
Better to buy ready-made furniture or custom-made
There is no shortage of cabinets, sofas and dressers in stores, but not everyone buys ready-made copies, preferring to order furniture. Together with the experts, we find out if this makes sense.
February 1 2017
“Interior items made taking into account the wishes of the client have advantages and disadvantages,” says furniture production technologist Gleb Pavlichenko.
Pros:
– You can choose the material, color, fittings, which means that a headset or a sofa can be ordered after the repair has been made, because the furniture will be in harmony with any interior.
– The headset or wardrobe will fit exactly into the room, even if the layout is far from perfect. For example, the shape of the living room is a trapezoid (such options can often be found in new buildings).
– It is possible to vary the height of the shelves and the size of the cabinets in accordance with the growth of the customer, his wishes. For example, a wardrobe designed for storing men’s and women’s clothing can be designed so that in one half of the part with shelves there will be more part with a bar for suits that are supposed to hang from the hangers. Not to mention the non-standard length of the sofa bed. Often, tall people cannot pick up a ready-made model.
– If some part fails during the warranty period, the manufacturer will quickly replace it, since there is always a necessary element in the warehouse. Broken fittings of finished furniture have to be picked up independently.
Cons:
– Furniture is made for a specific room. If you are planning a quick move, be prepared for the fact that the headset or sofa will have to be left in the old apartment. It may simply not fit into new furniture. Even if the dimensions allow, after additional assembly / disassembly, the structure will lose its ideal appearance.
– Often the customer chooses a material of rare color or unusual upholstery. If the furniture is damaged, it is difficult and expensive to rectify the situation, you will have to wait for the manufacturer to order the desired item. Most likely, it will not be cheap, because a single copy is always sold for more than a whole batch.
– Furniture manufacturing time is quite long. In addition, not all manufacturers fulfill their obligations in good faith, both violating the delivery time, and choosing raw materials of a lower quality than originally stated.
“Finished furniture also has strengths and weaknesses,” says sales consultant Ruslan Gudanov.
Pros:
– The price of finished furniture is often lower than that of custom-made furniture. Therefore, if the apartment is large and there is no need to use every centimeter of the area, you can save money. A typical option is suitable if there are no deviations from the standard layout in the room. Most manufacturers make headsets for a specific series of homes. Information is indicated on the price tag. You should not overpay if you do not need a headset, but only a bedside table or chest of drawers.
– Ready-made furniture can be received literally on the day of purchase.
– No need to include imagination, the factory designers have already done the project. Of course, custom-made furniture is also designed by a specialist, but he asks the client many questions. Ultimately, it is the buyer who must make the final decision on the color, shape, configuration.
Cons:
– We have to put up with the fact that the complete set of finished furniture is not exactly what you dreamed of.
– If the room is far from ideal, for example, the kitchen is very small, it is difficult to choose a set of furniture that can visually increase the space. So it is with individual needs. For example, a standard kitchen unit usually has a fairly large work area. But is she really needed by an old bachelor or a workaholic woman who cooks little? Such customers usually want a bar in the kitchen or more space for household appliances.
Want to order furniture but have a limited budget? There is an opportunity to cut costs.
Try to ditch the trendy details, they increase the price tag by about 30%. For example, cabinets with radial (rounded) fronts are always more expensive than conventional ones.
On boxes that you will not use constantly, you do not need to install closers. Please note that this does not mean at all that you can save on the quality of the fittings: the locking mechanisms must be reliable, otherwise replacement, and therefore additional expenses cannot be avoided.
Think, maybe it is better to ask to make two kitchen cabinets of 50 cm, than four of 25 cm? The functions will be the same, and the general appearance will be slightly different. However, for four small lockers you will have to pay almost twice as much money as for two.
An artificial stone countertop can be replaced with a moisture-resistant chipboard, it is four times cheaper, but the characteristics are almost the same.
If you decide to place an order, make sure that your requirements are clearly spelled out in the contract. The color of a headset cannot be defined only by the words “walnut” or “oak”. After all, there are many shades. Numbers are used to indicate the color scheme. The term of production can be in calendar or working days. Before you ring the bells about the late delivery of goods, check what is written in the contract. If the manufacturer is really delaying the process, write a claim. For violation of the terms, furniture makers must pay a forfeit (make sure that such a condition appears in the contract). By the way, it is worth making a claim even if the product shows flaws. It will be possible to return the furniture or demand its replacement or elimination of defects at the expense of the company. The latter solution is ideal for the manufacturer. After all, it is difficult to attach then a wardrobe or a kitchen made to specific sizes. When placing an order, do not agree to pay in full right away. It is highly likely that, having received the money in full, furniture makers will not rush to get the job done.