Ruth P.'s review

For Custom Made Furniture

• Aug 29th 2020

I had been looking for the perfect dining room table for years. I knew what I wanted but I could not find a local maker. Everyone I met with had a different table in mind with wood from their pile. I was anxious about working with someone entirely virtually but I decided to try CustomMade. Erick Perez responded to my request within 15 minutes. He communicated very well. We went back and forth with drawings and measurements of the project dozens of times. We haggled over the price. I do think virtual planning and purchasing of an heirloom piece of furniture is not for the faint of heart. I had never met the builder; I had never touched his furniture; I had never used this platform before.

Eric made a beautiful dining room table and two matching benches for me and my family. They are extremely well made, beautiful to sit on and eat from. I walk by them in my dining room and trail my fingers over the surface. He designed them exactly to the specifications we came to. An early version of the bench was not wide enough and we kept adjusting it to become more comfortable.

My one piece of feedback to potential customers is to ask to see the wood ahead of time. Our table is made of fir which is what I requested. It is beautiful and has a very interesting grain. I had not realized how this would take the stain, however. I have become accustomed to the stain on the wood but I may have made a different decision if I has seen the wood ahead of time. Erick likely would have mailed me a piece of the wood and I could have stained it with a couple of products ahead of time to get a better sense of the end product. Ideally, I could have dropped by his shop and seen the wood (he happens to be only one hour away). This was not an option. I don't know whether this was a CustomMade rule, a rule of the builder, or a feature of the current COVID19 pandemic.

I am very happy with this lovely table and benches. One of my kids has already claimed it as theirs when we divide the house eventually.