In this day and age, customizing your furniture is a common concept—even for consumers. Anyone who has perused a mainstream retailer’s website can pick fabrics from a drop-down menu and feel like they’re in the driver’s seat. But that’s a far cry from creating a truly custom, one-of-a-kind piece.

Like so many aspects of interior design, custom furniture exists on a spectrum. Just as a design job can range from a simple paint refresh to a full-home renovation, specifying custom furniture can be a choose-your-own-adventure, from selecting your own fabric for an existing frame to sending CAD drawings to a furniture maker. Here’s how to navigate the design and production process—and end up with a personalized piece your clients will cherish for decades to come.

BESPOKE BRANDS
Many trade brands have created programs that allow adjustments to the dimensions and finishes of products in their catalog without starting from scratch. By making selections within a predetermined range of options, designers wind up with a unique piece while benefitting from baked-in workflow efficiencies on the manufacturing side.

Design Furniture Holdings creative director Grant Trick, who is also the founder of an eponymous furniture line and workroom, hand-sews upholstery onto the arm of a chairKris Ellis