Decorating Guides
Ready-Made vs Custom Furniture: Which Is Better?
Planning to buy new furniture? Understand the difference between ready-made and custom furniture before you commit
When it comes to purchasing new funiture for your home, one has to decide between ready-made furniture which is readily available in the market and custom furniture which is designed as per the homeowner’s taste and requirements. But with so many furniture options on offer, there is confusion and a debate on which is a better choice and why. In this article we explore the pros and cons of buying ready-made furniture verses custom-designed furniture so that you know which is the right way to go.
Custom furniture
- Custom furniture is specifically designed and fabricated as per the homeowner’s specifications so that the furniture reflects the homeowner’s style.
- The furniture provides exclusivity because there are very few units of the same design.
- Custom-designed furniture follows the traditional method of carpentry, which involves skilled workers and craftsmen, and the use of authentic raw materials. Premium materials like BWR (boiling water resistant) plywood and different types of wood are used for making highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, luxurious pieces of furniture.
Pros
- Custom furniture is tailor-made as per the individual’s taste and preferences.
- Custom furniture is designed to maximise the potential use of space and is fabricated according to the actual site measurements. The furniture can blend with the decor or stand out as a statement-making accent piece of furniture.
- The best part about custom furniture is that one can mix different design styles and incorporate unique details in the design. Also one has the flexibility to decide upon the colour, finish and upholstery.
- Custom furniture is highly durable because the homeowners opt for premium-quality raw materials. Therefore custom furniture is an investment that adds more value to the home.
- There is quality assurance as the homeowner knows the cost-wise break up of different components of the furniture. Also there is flexibility of controlling the cost by strategically changing the specifications of raw materials or external finishes.
- Custom furniture is comparatively expensive.
- One disadvantage is that custom furniture takes more time for fabrication because it has to go through several quality checks and approvals at different stages before the product is finished and ready for delivery.
Ready-made furniture
- Ready-made furniture involves mass production of factory-made furniture.
- The manufacturers design the furniture as per standard sizes.
- Ready-made furniture is available in various furniture showrooms and online e-commerce portals.
- The basic framework of factory-made furniture is made with synthetic materials such as particle board, MDF (medium density fibre board) or HDF (high density fibre board). The furniture is externally finished with 0.3-0.4 millimetre-thick paper laminate and edge binding.
Pros
- Ready-made furniture is affordable.
- It is available in abundance so one gets to choose from a wide range of colours, styles, designs and fabrics.
- Another plus is that ready-made pieces of furniture are usually available in stock or the fabrication of a new piece of furniture consumes less time because it involves machine production.
- The biggest advantage of buying this type of furniture is that one can check the dimensions and workmanship of the furniture when buying from a showroom.
Cons
- The size of ready-made pieces of furniture cannot be altered.
- One cannot decide the specifications of the raw materials.
- Another disadvantage is that one cannot assess the quality of the furniture. If the furniture is made with inferior quality raw materials then the furniture will not be durable and is prone to damage caused by moisture. Therefore it is essential to purchase ready-made furniture from reputed brands which offer a good warranty period.
Verdict
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Tell us:
Do you prefer ready-made or custom furniture for your home and why? Share your thoughts and experience in Comments below.
- Ready-made furniture is perfect for those who are looking for budget-friendly furniture.
- If you are looking for premium-quality furniture, then it is highly recommended to go for custom-designed furniture. Additionally, custom furniture gives you the opportunity to get creative and design your own furniture.
- However, if you are living out of the suitcase with frequent relocations then it is advisable to go for ready-made furniture which can be light in weight.
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What Is Ergonomic Furniture ?
Tell us:
Do you prefer ready-made or custom furniture for your home and why? Share your thoughts and experience in Comments below.
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