Custom Furniture Frequently Asked Questions

Why custom furniture?

There are many reasons you might want to consider custom built furniture rather than factory built furniture. Here are some common examples:

Size - With custom furniture, there are no size constraints. We can build a piece of furniture or cabinetry to precisely fit a particular space.

Function - We can help you design a piece of furniture that performs a particular function. We recently built a work/storage table for a local artist. The table is higher than normal to accommodate vertical storage of his canvasses underneath. No matter what your needs, we can design a custom piece to meet them.

Style - We can design and build a piece of furniture to exactly match one you already own or to complement pieces in your existing collection.

Craftsmanship - With custom built furniture, the quality and craftsmanship are second to none. While you may find staples, hot-melt glue, particle board, and other engineered materials in furniture from even the best quality furniture stores, you will not find them in any heirloom quality piece that we make. We use only the best quality materials and centuries-proven joinery techniques to make sure that the furniture we produce stands up to a lifetime of use.

Satisfaction - The personal satisfaction you get from owning a piece of custom built furniture is difficult to describe. Pieces that we have delivered to customers have given them great pride and excitement.

How much does it cost?

Each piece is individually designed and priced. Our prices are typically competitive with good quality vendors' prices for similar furniture. That being said, we cannot compete with prices from bargain stores or deeply discounted sale prices from quality vendors. We can provide a pricing estimate based on the general information gathered in our first call our meeting. In order to provide a precise cost estimate, we must first design the piece of furniture and make a detailed materials list. We have included pricing on some items in the portfolio section for reference purposes.

What kind of furniture do you make?

We make custom cabinets and heirloom and studio quality furniture. Our custom cabinets are constructed of solid woods and plywood. The combination of solid wood and plywood is well suited for kitchen cabinets and other casework with large amounts of surface area.

Our heirloom quality furniture uses hardwood as the primary material and secondary material. The pieces are designed and built in a manner to allow the wood to expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity and to facilitate repairs if they are ever necessary. The life expectancy of heirloom quality furniture spans generations.

Studio quality furniture places form ahead of function. Often, exotic hardwoods are used for parts or all of the piece. The woodworking techniques and life expectancy of the piece are the same as heirloom quality furniture, but the designs are each unique.

Our preference is to create heirloom quality pieces out of hardwoods like cherry, walnut, mahogany, maple, oak, and other quality materials. We will create a paint or stain grade piece at your request to be finished by the painter of your choice, but our preference is to finish your piece in oil, lacquer, or another clear finish to showcase the beauty of the chosen wood.

Do you have a showroom?

We do not have a showroom; however, we invite you to visit our workshop to see works in progress. Please call (210) 316-7150 to set up an appointment.

How do I place an order?

Call or e-mail us at (210) 316-7150 or mike@mikerobertscabinetmakers.com. Because every order is custom, there are several considerations that we will discuss with you in order to settle on a design. Once we have a design, we can figure out the final price, including taxes and delivery charges. A 50% deposit is required for us to start the project, with the balance due upon delivery.

How do you deliver the furniture?

We deliver our own work if you are within the San Antonio/Austin area. Charges for this vary with the distance and the size of the job. If you are further away, we ship using a delivery service. In either case, the furniture will be delivered to your house and assembled with care.

What kind of woods do you use?

We generally use hardwoods from America - cherry, maple, red and white oak, walnut, and ash. These woods are sustainably harvested. We also have access to many exotic and figured woods locally and would love to incorporate them into a heirloom or studio piece of furniture for you.

Where do you get wood?

We buy our solid wood and plywood through a variety of San Antonio and Austin lumber dealers.

What kind of finish do you use?

We use high quality, low VOC, waterborne wood finishes. There are several different products we recommend depending on the particular piece of furniture and its intended use. We typically use waterborne shellacs and lacquers. On pieces that require greater durability, we may recommend a polyurethane or an alkyd varnish. Whichever product we use, the result will be a smooth, satin finish that showcases the natural beauty of the wood and provides long-lasting protection from water, alcohol, stains, heat and cold.

How long does it take to make a piece?

We compute the delivery date of each piece upon receipt of the deposit and accepted quotation. The lead time generally runs from four to eight weeks, depending upon how busy we are and how complicated the project is.

If you have other questions that are not answered here, please do not hesitate to call us at (210) 316-7150 or send e-mail to mike@mikerobertscabinetmakers.com