As the top Seattle + Bellevue, Washington based interior designer, creating a home you love because it hugs your people shouldn’t be reduced down to simply making things look pretty. Designing a home you never want to leave is about valuing the art of how things are made. It appreciates the quality of handmade furniture as a skill that’s perfected with expertise, hard work + years of experience.

Because every home is (+ should be) uniquely different there tends to be a whole lot of mystery swirling around the topic of what it costs to bring a space to life. What is the cost of everything you see in the room? The floors. The millwork... The doors... The hardware... The lighting... The furniture... The art... The accessories... Each of these has a cost. 

And to be frank, interior design is an investment but the reason you rarely, if ever, see the full cost of the room unpacked to show what everything really costs is because “cost is relative” to what you’re paying for. So, hypotheticals around the amount of money for what dining chairs cost is irrelevant, because we don’t know exactly which materials are being used, how it’s being made, where its being created or by whom.

Now that we’ve shifted our thinking around understanding, “what the real cost of handmade furniture is,” it's clear as day + easy to see why it can be challenging to nail down the exact cost of handmade furniture –– because the nature of each project is uniquely different, hence the word handmade. 

Ready to dive in a bit further + ground that perspective? Lets begin to wrap our beautiful minds around the real costs of handmade furniture + truly understanding the difference between custom + store bought furniture. Both are fantastic, but in order to peel back the curtain, we must first understand the language of furniture + how (much like nutrition labels) the terminology can be incredibly misleading when buying new furniture.

Furniture Terminology 

Handmade Furniture

Understanding the concept of handmade furniture isn’t really an issue because in most cases, it’s pretty straight forward. Handmade furniture is built with craftsman hands which makes each piece uniquely different even if they appear closely the same.

With that said, handmade furniture can also be a bit deceiving.

What is Handmade vs Hand Assembled?

Are these two things the same or are they different? Well, my friend, they're very different which is why I need you to brace yourself for what I’m about to say.  Because despite there being a drastic difference when it comes to handmade vs hand assembled, big box store retailers who mass produce furniture tend to use these terms interchangeably + knowingly lean on the handmade label as a way to create that warm, fuzzy, voice around their products. Devilishly deceiving, right? 

They’d likely argue that hand assembled furniture is in fact assembled by hand therefore it is handmade. But hand assembled furniture while still being stunning furniture + perhaps even well “worth the cost” has obviously lost its artisan feel that would otherwise come with furniture that is truly handmade.

How do you tell the difference? 

Well my love, that’s easy. Ask the retailer if this is truly handmade (one of kind) or if it’s simply hand assembled.

Most furniture by large manufacturers is going to have a furniture production process that focuses on efficiency (i.e. making the furniture) which helps make an affordable piece for all of us + for your home.

But therein lies the problem with this distortion of something being “handmade” when it’s actually been “hand assembled” because what we deem to be fair or affordably priced is relative to what other options are made available to us in the marketplace (a la other retailers) not what materials the furniture is actually made with. 

In other words, because something has been labeled as being handmade we write whatever the retailer prices it as off as “fair priced” even if a truly handmade piece of furniture could have come in the same style with far superior materials at a similar price point.

Catchin my drift, boo?

3 Reasons Why Handmade Furniture (Not Hand Assembled) Matters

Uniqueness

This may sound rudimentary but at its core handmade furniture is unique, it’s one of a kind. While there may be replicas out there… they are, as yours is, beautiful yet imperfect. They were made from the similar materials yet differ in color, texture + quality. 

Cost

While it’s easy to jump the gun, many people think that handmade furniture will be more expensive; However, that’s not always true. Much like custom furniture, handmade furniture may offer you the benefit of not only better materials + more durable construction but also the desire for the furniture maker to showcase their talents by creating something that is breathtakingly beautiful.

Mindset

When we buy things that are handmade we know two things to be true: it was made in a place with a lot of joy, love, appreciation and commitment to their craft and second we align with the values of those who made it. We know that we value and respect their art, their skill and the persistence to make the world a beautiful place with their hands.

Changing Your Perspective From Costs to Value

Designing a beautiful, functional + forgiving home for you to use + enjoy everyday, that  becomes a place you + your family truly never want to leave… this my friend, is the ultimate love investment. And it takes time. 

Home isn’t simply four walls filled with pretty furniture. No ma’am, the essence of home runs much deeper than stuff. In fact, a lot like your vacation home, it’s a place for you to retreat at the end of a long + exhausting day. It’s where you go to relax + unwind. It’s a place to soak up all of the well deserved love from family + friends that’s reverberating through the walls. 

My friend, home is a beautiful self reflection + it’s the part of your life you can’t wait to get back to.  It’s much bigger than the word HOME... it’s a love investment.

So instead of making decisions based purely on the way things look (which is certainly important) I challenge you to look deeper, to see the loving hands that created it. Instead of  simply filling our homes with meaningless stuff that looks pretty –– shift towards layering your home with things that are both drop dead gorgeous (looking at you boo) + made to last. 

Embrace a fresh perspective + your newly discovered appreciation for handmade craftsmanship that considers costs as it relates to the value of what we’re buying. In some instances, we can even still shop at the same stores we’ve always shopped at but with a renewed consciousness around “do I really want this?” “How was it made?” and “Why this piece?” 

Instead filling your home with a ton of things that seemed like great purchases at the time because they were affordable or on sale… pause for a moment to consider was this piece of furniture created by the hands of people who care? Was it handcrafted by someone who has similar values and beliefs? 

This sound overwhelming? 

Yeah, it does. But if it’s tugging on your heart a bit, that because it’s important + it matters to you. That’s why, what you want is an interior designer who understands how the furniture in your home was built, where it was constructed + with what material it was made out of. And in order to create a home that’s your ultimate guilty pleasure, an interior designer has to do this for every piece of furniture, material or product they bring into your home.

My point here boo, is that cost is + always should be relative to the value of what you’re getting in return + knowing why.

Perhaps in the case of handmade furniture, the value is in knowing that it was built by someone who cared about making a bench, a dining table or even a complete set of chairs for the same reason you valued buying it.

Maybe it was the artists’ story being translated through the hands of the craftsman who made it that caused you to value it so much.

In the end friend, the real cost of handmade furniture is relative to how much we value it. 

And while the industry tells us otherwise, handmade is a label that should be reserved for those who truly are creating ...not simply assembling pieces.

At Elegant Simplicity, we always say that creating a home that feels like the most comfortable part of your day is an investment in time, energy, money and love. Why? Because it isn’t a final destination.

Our homes should be curated + always reflect (in physical form) the best version of ourselves. They should embody the things we value + what we believe in. But just like everything in life, our values and beliefs evolve. So how could designing a home that feels like a guilty pleasure be a one time thing?

In order to create a canvas that evolves with you, what you want isn’t the cheapest furniture you can find but to find furniture that you value. 

What you want isn’t the cheapest design for your home, but a home that truly embarrasses the intimate moments + allows everyone in your family to be themselves.

As an interior designer this is what lights us up! It’s how we make decisions. It’s the lens through which we view every aspect of how you live and how we ensure every piece of furniture, material or product we bring into your home is absolutely perfect. That’s our promise. It’s a lifetime of knowledge that we’ve accumulated from first hand experiences. But lucky for you, we do the hard work. 

Don’t be shy, If you’re planning your next project, lets chat.