A lost art. Handcrafted and hand tooled items are not a large part of what we find available for ourselves when we get ready to purchase items for our home and our office. As a result, creations made from woodworking cutting tools by skilled craftsmen are often in high demand. While many consumers may be satisfied with mass produced home furnishings that are never touched by anything but a machine, there is still a real market for unique, personal, and often special ordered items created with the finest woodworking cutting tools and a skilled woodworker.
Are You Unimpressed with the Cabinet Offerings at the Big Box Stores?
While cabinets, drawers, and other built in shelving units may be available in many of the large home improvement stores, those made to fit items are far from homemade, both in quality and in design. Finely crafted woodworking created by skilled craftsmen can become family treasures that will be passed down for generations. Not so with items purchased from a large showroom inventory of everything from kitchen cabinets to garage shelving. What is often less expensive and fast, simply cannot have the same quality and craftsmanship of a hand designed piece of wooden furniture.
In spite of all of the cabinet options at large retail centers, more than 88,000 cabinetmakers and bench carpenters in America still design and create custom woodworking. Crafted to meet the specific needs of a home owner, custom cabinetry items can be delivered in a variety of finishes and colors much more extensive than what can be found in any retail setting.
Woodworking Cutting Tools Are the Paintbrushes of a Fine Craftsman
If you have never visited a custom cabinet maker’s shop, you have likely never witnessed the tools of the craft and seen the skill of the artists who transform the finest selection of wood into family heirlooms. Offering to make everything from family storage chests and dining room tables, these craftsmen select specific wood cutting tools from their inventory that may have given to them by the craftsmen that they grew up with or trained under. The smell of the woodworking shop is one of wood shavings and rich stains that are hand applied to create a unique piece that simply cannot be found in a less personal setting.
A set of kitchen cabinets created by a local craftsmen can be designed to fit the exact space that is available. These finely crafted items will make your kitchen look like a unique setting that is unlike those of your neighbors and other family members.
As the years of recession come to a close, 48% of home owners indicated that they plan to remodel, build an addition or a custom home. The years between 2013 and 2015, in fact, saw a major push toward these new home building and remodeling projects. And although many home owners are all too happy to purchase their cookie-cutter cabinets from a big box retailer, more discriminating buyers have bigger plans.
In fact, some home owners and families continually return to the same skilled cabinet makers, using the same custom woodworking cutting tools, for any new home or remodeling project that they have. While styles in big box stores may change with the times, a custom cabinet maker can recreate a design to match a favorite piece create generations ago. And while custom woodworkers can create modern designs as well, they are not limited to offering their customers only the latest trends.
Different Homeowners Have Different Priorities
Today’s economy has created a couple of different kinds of home buyers and builders. While many first time home owners are interested in getting into their new home as inexpensively as possible, other buyers are looking for something different. Mature and selective home owners who have large amounts of equity in their current home may be looking for a quality craftsmanship that they could not previously afford. Paying close attention to fine woodworking details is as important to these homeowners as the colors that they select for their interior designs. Homeowners spent $130 billion on remodeling projects in the year 2013. And while much of this money was spent on getting bigger spaces and more options, some of that money was invested in quality.
