Have you ever been in someone’s home and seen their dining table and been impressed with one or more aspect of it? Maybe it was the sheer size of the table, and how perfectly it filled up the large dining room. Or perhaps it was the unique wood that it was made out of—a type of wood that you had never seen before and haven’t seen since. Or maybe the table had certain details that stood out to you, such as wood inlays, uniquely shaped legs, or a raw edge on the table top.
The table you saw was likely a custom dining table made by a local San Diego craftsman. (I guess it could have been made by someone outside of the San Diego area, but most people tend to work with local craftsmen because shipping a large dining table can get very expensive, and many people like to support local small businesses.) Custom dining tables tend to stand out from their store-bought counterparts because they built to suit the specific taste of the homeowner and also custom made to fit the dining room space. As such, custom dining tables tend to just look “special.” Sometimes, you can’t even put your finger on exactly what makes it stand out.
However, if you ask the homeowner about their custom dining table, they will likely have a story to tell you. Some people commission a custom dining table to be made from a specific species of wood, or maybe even reclaimed wood that comes from somewhere special. Others simply want something that is higher quality than what they can find in furniture stores or online. Still others want a style of table that is truly unique to them—something that has all of the elements they want, and none of the ones they don’t. The owner of the custom table would probably be happy to tell you all about the choices they made and how they all came together to produce their custom dining table.
Jack Ward, owner of custom furniture company Three Pines Wood Co., had this to say, “More often than not, our clients come to us after a long and fruitless search for a piece of furniture with very specific elements. They might need a table in an unusual size or a piece to match an existing piece of furniture in their home, or they may just have an idea in their head for how they want a piece to look and can’t find anything similar in a retail store to make them want to spend their hard-earned money.”
When you want a dining table with some specific details, custom is typically the way to go. You get exactly the dining table you want without having to compromise on any aspect of it. You may even be surprised at the cost of custom dining table in San Diego. Some local furniture makers can build tables for prices that are comparable to the prices at mid- to high-end furniture stores.
