Best Practices
Making a Choice: Standard vs. Custom Furniture
The common perception about custom furniture is that it is
expensive and out of the realm of possibility. The reality is that the
perception is not necessarily true. The decision about using standard or
modified standard vs. custom furniture should be based on making the right
choice – for your budget, for the function that needs to be performed and for
the design aesthetic of your library project. And let’s not forget the WOW
factor as patrons come through the door for the first time.
The price of furniture is primarily based on the cost of
materials and the complexity of the furniture, or in other words what labor it
takes to actually manufacture it. Standard designs as well as custom can have
costly materials and be complex to build or each can have relatively inexpensive
materials and labor costs. The advantage of a standard design is that it has a
published list price from which the purchase price is discounted. The list price
is constant whether you buy, for example, one or ten tables and it is constant
over the timeframe of the published “Price List”. Manufacturers may give deeper
discounts for larger quantities ordered. Standard designs can also serve as a
platform to be used to make modifications which can be as simple as adding a
space dividing panel to a standard table. Custom furniture is frequently priced
from “scratch” and is subject to material costs that are quoted from the
manufacturer’s vendors at the time of pricing. When custom furniture is priced
as a project it offers the opportunity to purchase larger quantities of material
at better prices.
Another factor in the decision making process is whether or
not you can find standard furniture to meet your functional requirements or
building features. An example of this would be the need to customize computer
furniture around columns in order to access power and to maximize space. Or
perhaps, a very specific display unit that accommodates multiple display options
or that needs to be flexible for future changes in media. Trends in library
functions may develop faster than manufacturers can develop standard solutions.
As a manufacturer, we frequently work with librarians and architects and
designers to create specific functional solutions on a custom basis. These
solutions may later become a standard offering.
The building and its interior design plays an important role
in furniture selection. The furniture should enhance and confirm all the
decisions made about design and space planning. Beautiful library projects have
used standard furniture designs to create incredible spaces – because the
“right-for-the space” designs were selected. If those “right-for-the-space”
standard designs are not available, then custom designed furniture becomes the
right option. Custom furniture is usually designed to incorporate features and
materials of the building interior and to further express or complement them.
Children’s areas or teen spaces may have themes supported by custom designs.
Furniture designed specifically for a project focuses on the details of that
project and expresses the creativity of the furniture designer.
The very first time a patron walks through the door should
provide a WOW factor. The environment should help to engage a patron in their
library experience. It is this environment that architects and designers work
diligently to create for your patrons so that you can WOW them with programming,
services and the delivery of those services.
Whether you select standard or custom furniture, it is
important to work with a manufacturer that understands the importance of budget,
function and design. The manufacturer must have the staff that understands best
engineering and construction practices and facilitates and supports the work of
the furniture designer. You should look for a manufacturer who meets standards
like Architectural Woodworking Institute Quality Certification and offers
warranties that assure you that they will be there for you over the long term.
You will need them when you need more furniture.
Linda Visscher is a Sales Manager with The Worden Company.
Worden has been designing and manufacturing furniture for libraries and learning
spaces for over 60 years.
www.wordencompany.com