Customisation is a trend pervading many elements of modern life, and bespoke furniture, while not a new approach, is also riding the personalisation wave.
CEO and Co-Founder of House of Home, Carlinea Williamson, said that she is seeing renewed interest from consumers wanting furniture and decor for their home that is more meaningful, and more personal.
“Often it’s a dining table, but handcrafted chairs, stools, bedheads, vanities and more are all featuring. Sometimes the requirement might be for a full room of furniture, but often it’s for a single special piece that becomes a part of a room, adding to the story,” she said.
“Regardless of the size of the order, for many people the process of working with the designer and maker is just as important, and memorable, as the furniture that is created for them.
“Plus there are the added benefits of owning a unique, one-off piece of furniture; knowing that you’ve supported a local business, and a local craftsman, plus you’ve ended up with exactly what you are looking for.”
Ms Williamson said customers may be combining the piece with existing or chain store furniture, and are looking for a connection through material selection or working directly with the maker.
“Increasingly people are looking for furniture with provenance, furniture that comes with a story, particularly a story that they are a part of.”
House of Home has introduced a Custom Designers & Makers category on its website where consumers can browse by maker or browse products made by those makers, all in one location, without having to jump from site to site.
“We still have a large range of non-custom ready made product available on the site, it’s just that this is now separated out, “ Ms Williamson said.
“For example we now have two listings for Dining Tables – this one showing dining tables available ‘off the rack’, and then a separate listing under our Custom Designers & Makers section, that showcases craftsman who specialise in dining tables and examples of their work.
“We believe that making people aware that getting a bespoke made table is an option and then showing them the range of options available is a great way to support and promote the local maker community,” she said.
