Analysis of the differences between handmade furniture, finished furniture and custom furniture!

Today we are going to talk about the differences and characteristics of three types of furniture: handcrafted furniture, ready-made furniture, and custom furniture.

Strictly speaking, they cannot be considered a category of furniture. Whether handmade, ready-made or custom-made, they all represent a sales method. However, despite this, there are still many differences between the three.

Before introducing the three types of furniture in detail, let us briefly review the four stages of modern furniture manufacturing in China.

Four stages of modern furniture manufacturing

Handmade Era

Before the reform and opening up, furniture for Chinese households was mainly handmade by traditional carpenters. The quality and sophistication of the furniture mainly depended on the quality of the wood selected and the carpenter's personal craftsmanship.

Finished product era

After the reform and opening up, China's industrial manufacturing capabilities continued to improve, and furniture production began to enter the industrial age. A large number of ready-made furniture flooded the market, allowing consumers to purchase them directly at a lower price. Compared to hiring a carpenter to craft furniture, it was much easier and more economical. Traditional handmade furniture began to fade from the market, and purchasing ready-made furniture gradually became the main way to consume furniture.

Decoration era

Since the 1990s, with the development of the market economy and the continuous rise in urban residents' consumption levels, people have begun to pay attention to the beautification of their homes and desire furniture that can be personalized to the size and layout of their homes. Because ready-made furniture could not meet consumers' growing demand for customization, some independent carpenters began to build furniture for consumers on-site. With the emergence of interior design and renovation companies, they also began offering on-site furniture construction services, primarily for bedroom wardrobes.

The era of customization

In the late 1980s, customized integrated cabinets appeared; in the late 1990s, customized wardrobes appeared.

Since the 21st century, with the continued advancement of urbanization in China, consumers have increasingly demanded personalized furniture features such as spatial layout, functionality, and aesthetic style. Furthermore, environmental awareness has become increasingly prevalent, and ready-made and manufactured furniture have begun to fall short of meeting market demand. Starting in 2001, entrepreneurs with keen market acumen and foresight began to absorb the popular customization concept from abroad, combining the advantages of handcrafting, ready-made furniture, and interior design to create the earliest wardrobe brands, including Suofia and Baidesheng.

From then on, China's customized home furnishing industry began to enter a period of comprehensive and rapid development.

Differences and characteristics of three types of furniture

Handcrafted furniture

Handcrafted furniture is usually made of core board, solid wood, etc., using simple handheld or electric equipment to make it.

Since it is handmade, it is greatly affected by personal factors and the production process is difficult to guarantee, resulting in shortcomings such as unclear cutting edges and inadequate detail processing.

In addition, the carpenters who create furniture are limited by the styles they learned from their masters, and their styles rarely change and often remain unchanged.

Finished furniture

Finished furniture usually uses density board, particle board, solid wood, etc., and the use of modern equipment such as electronic cutting saws has greatly improved the production level and saved labor time.

However, for customers, the product selection is relatively limited, and buyers can only buy furniture sold by merchants. For some consumers with unconventional spaces, there will be situations where they cannot use the furniture.

In addition, from the perspective of personalization, ready-made furniture is lacking in some aspects, and purchase depends entirely on personal preference, with a lack of intervention in furniture style, function, etc.

Custom furniture

Custom furniture is primarily made of wood-based panels, with solid wood primarily used for whole-wood customization. Custom furniture is highly mechanized and information-based, significantly increasing production capacity.

The advantage of custom furniture is that it can be personalized for customers and designed to truly meet their needs. These needs include not only the appearance and style of the product, but also its function and space utilization.

summary

Handmade furniture: can be customized, but the craftsmanship is rough, not environmentally friendly, and lacks the ability to meet personalized needs;

Finished furniture: good workmanship, environmental friendliness is basically guaranteed, but cannot be customized;

Customized furniture: good workmanship, environmental protection can be basically guaranteed, and it can be customized to meet personalized needs.

Comparison between woodworking furniture and custom furniture

Space utilization comparison

Woodworking furniture: Because it is an on-site operation, different spaces can be measured and utilized in a timely manner, which can meet some of the customer's customization needs.

Customized furniture: Before production, professional personnel will conduct on-site measurements, and then design plans based on consumer needs, which can make great use of space and meet personalized needs.

Functionality comparison

Woodworking furniture: The craftsman will communicate with the customer, but the quality and functional design of the product are often related to the craftsman's experience and skills. This leads to a certain degree of instability and insufficient functional planning.

Custom Furniture: Sales staff confirms the needs of the homeowner, and designers and professional surveyors visit the home to personally measure and discuss design requirements with the homeowner before designing a personalized home solution. Both functionality and style are tailored to the homeowner's needs, ensuring a high level of professionalism.

Production process comparison

Woodworking furniture: It is basically completed by hand. The quality of the finished home furnishing depends entirely on the skills of the carpenter, and the owner needs to pay attention to it all the time, which is quite troublesome.

Custom furniture: Mechanized production and processing. Mechanized production can begin after measurements and design communication. While we can't guarantee 100% error-free results, the finished product can be installed directly after customization, saving a lot of trouble.

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