Top Custom Furniture Builders Near San Francisco

I had seen John's custom furniture at a San Francisco gallery and loved it. A year later, I came across his work again and called. We met and reviewed his portfolio, then discussed my criteria for the perfect dining room table. We talked budget, then selected the woods to be used and discussed finishes. John came back several weeks later with a rough drawing and concept. We changed the leg style a bit and he was given the go-ahead to make the table. I gave John a 50% deposit to start building. 3 weeks later I received an update: the table was proceeding nicely and should be done in another week. At the end of 1 week, John called and invited me to see the finished product. It was beautiful! Not only exceeding my expectations and but even more beautiful than what I had envisioned. I could not believe how much I loved this table. It is a masterful work of art. I truly believe that John's work will be held in high esteem and increase in value in the future. So much so that I asked him to sign it for me! I couldn't be happier and I highly recommend him to anyone that wants a beautiful, custom, one of a kind piece of furniture (yes, I will be ordering more) for their home.

This place is great. I am glad they made it through the recession unlike most other stores (and I can see why). They make their own furniture (basic stuff but nice) and its well made and affordable. I bought a chair, a tv stand and asked them to make a table with specific dimensions and layout. Found they are easy to work with and make a good product. I will definitely use them in the future.

Two engineers looking at furniture is a tough proposition for any sales person to deal with. We went to all the furniture stores in town, looking at sofas and for what we needed, they expensive or just not available. We stopped in at the sofa showroom, just to see and got chatting with the sales guy (just one guy in the store). Very nice guy, very knowledgeable about his products (family run small chain of stores in the bay area). He sold us the sofa that we needed (not the one that he got the best commission on), helped us work though the different coverings (pro's and con's of each option etc) and explained about the manufacturing process and the business model. No inventory smaller stores lower costs passed on to the customer. Our new sofa is fantastic, fits our room exactly, very sturdy, well made (fabric and frame) and the sofa bed is firm, can't tell it's a fold-out bed like most sofa beds.

Avoid this company... We spent ~$15K on Dining and Living room furniture at the Oakridge store. We encountered a defect with the dining table and both the sales person (Carol Grove) and the Oakridge store manager (Ken) provided us zero help: The table was less than 3-months old. We received the table and chair delivery without any warranty nor care instructions.This is both extremely poor quality furniture and a company without regard to customer service. I would never use Ethan Allen again and do not recommend anyone spend time/money with this company. I've since reported this company to the local Better Business Bureau, please contact me for further details: I?d like to see this company out of business ASAP. Michael Hines [email protected] 408-839-2880

They are amazing. We ended up buying a cot from them once. They have a website but they also have a number of standard sofas that you can have them make to any height and any width that you want. If you want a certain back and if you want it to be made a little higher then they will make it a little higher. If you have a wall which is 68 inches and you want them to make it 60 inches because you want to stick the piece of furniture to the wall, they will make it 60 inches. They are very accomodating. The only adjustment that we made was the fabric. They had made the order out and then we saw a different fabric that we liked. They apologized as they had forgotten to show the fabric to us as it had just come in. They re-wrote the order and made it without any problems at all. We then said that the sofa would be going over the heating vent as the leg of the sofa was very short. They said that there was no problem and that we could choose another leg. So, we chose a leg which was two or three inches higher instead of the leg that it came with. There wasn't any problem at all. We had bought a sofa at another store few years ago which was a total disaster. So, we were thrilled with their service. The only thing was that they said that the sofa would be there in four weeks but it was not there in four weeks as it was there in three weeks. We had never dealt with a furniture company like that in our lives. The other store had promised us that it would be there by The Thanksgiving and it was not. Also, it was done improperly. We were very pleased with BuildASofa. When you have the sofa that you like, then you would sit on the great cusions. They would ask if you want the cushion to be soft, medium or hard. They would build your sofa from the scratch. We were looking for custom made sofa service providers on the internet and we found them with a five stars rating. When we went to their store, there was an interior decorator who was buying his sofa from them. We asked him if he had used them before and he said that it was his fifth or sixth time using them. He also said that all of his clients were thrilled. We would recommend them. The price was extremely reasonable for the size and quality of the furniture. Our son's friend is an interior decorator and her folks live near us. We will tell our son to have her come over the next time that she is down so that she can see it and that’s how satisfied we are.

I am so sorry I placed an order with Ethan Allen. It has been a horrible experience and it is not over yet. I am waiting for a chair I ordered in January. It has been delayed 3 times - initial estimate was end of March, then mid-April, then mid-May. Now, date is unknown. Original order: Jan 31, 2011 Initial estimate: Chair 1 = March 14 ; Chair 2 = March 28 2nd estimate: Chair 1 = April 4 ; Chair 2 = March 28 Chair 2 delivered on April 16 May 7, 3rd estimate: Chair 1 = May 9th May 9th - no Chair 1 May 17th - no Chair 1 After requesting the designer Kristin to call me on May 9th, I didn't hear anything. I emailed on May 13th: Hi Kristin, Can you tell me what is the status on my chair delivery? When we spoke on Saturday the chair was expected to be in the warehouse on 5/9. I have not had an update so I expect it is delayed again. thank you L and got this response: Still on target for anytime soon. The date has not changed which usually means that it is enroute. Thanks for your patience I know its hard. Kristin When I ordered from Crate and Barrel they called me to confirm delivery twice, told me how to clean my new furniture, had white glove delivery who told me again about care of my furniture, and finally they checked to make sure I was completely happy a few days after delivery which happened exactly on time and on the original schedule. Ethan Allen does none of these things. Never ever again will I buy from this store or this company. And I have no new estimate on when I will get the furniture I paid a large deposit for back on January 31st. This is now 106 days, 3 broken estimates and counting.

Sofa was good quality and reasonably priced. However, when the sofa was delivered, we incurred substantial damage due to the delivery -- including a grapefruit size hole in our wall. This company refused to pay for the extensive damage and did not return our calls.

I love my table - the quality is exceptional and the service was too. All went very smoothly. The table was delivered, carried up a flight of stairs, and set up as promised. My old table was removed at no charge. I can't say enough about the workmanship and customer service provided by J&L California.

We are extremely happy with the finished work and in fact, John is doing some additional projects for us. John was very helpful in the design process, although I had a general idea of what I wanted there were lots of details to be decided. John visited our home once prior to installation to take measurements and after that we worked very easily via email and fax. The installation process was really rather remarkable. John (and a colleague) arrived with the pieces to be installed and all the equipment needed for the installation. He set up "shop" in a portion of my garage and the installation proceeded without a hitch.

Robert was referred to me by my friend. He was happy to come by my office to discuss with me my interest and needs for the table. He followed-up with three design options and quoted the respective prices. I selected a craftsman style design and he went off to work. During the time he was crafting my table, I had the opportunity to stop by and see his progress. I truly didn't realize how much work was involved. Robert then delivered the table to my office when it was completed.

John does great work! We wanted a new table for our kitchen. But the space was small with very specific limitations. We couldn?t find a table that met the criteria, and suddenly we were needing something custom made. But we didn't have a fortune to spend, and we were looking for something quickly. We found John online ? and his reviews were great ? people seemed to like his work and working with him. We asked him to look at the space ? and immediately he came up with some great ideas. I was once again excited about the project! We went to his place to look at some of his completed works ? his tables are really gorgeous ? and very unique! And he could meet our timeframe ? but we knew he was out of our price range. Once more he came through! John worked with us to come up with a design and a selection of woods which could meet our budget constraints. In the end, we have a gorgeous table ? perfect for the space ? fabulously made ? all in about 3 weeks! WOW! Attaching photos ? check it out!

Jeff is the bomb. he listens, he has an astounding knowledge of materials and is really creative. also he's superbly pleasant and personable. I was afraid of working with a designer because I thought we'd end up with something they created but was not us. wow was I wrong. we got a look that is totally us, but infinitely better! Our job lasted an absurd length of time because we did most of the work ourselves, and Jeff was infinitely patient, and often helped show us the finish techniques we didn't know.

Of course, when I started the renovation, I was just going to redo the kitchen floor. It didn't take long before I realized that I moved the wall of one pantry then I could fit the washer dryer in there instead of the back porch and then . . .and then . . . 6 months later I have a new kitchen and 2 new bathrooms. And thanks to Hudson Cress, this kitchen is gorgeous. Hudson helped me with reconfiguring the space, including widening a doorway and ripping out that pantry and a closet, then replacing them with a new set of storage rooms. He installed new doorways and moved a window, and added trim. The carpentry was excellent, and he handled details such as making sure the new trim matched the older trim in the rest of the house. He was careful, clever, and fast. Originally I hired him to install a door. 9 months later he's become an essential part of my entire renovation. In addition to working on the building, Hudson also ended up building custom kitchen cabinets for me. I originally got a quote for new cabinetry from Lowes. Because of the 9' ceilings and several odd angles, they were able to cobble together a decent set of cabinets but the fit and quality weren't exactly exciting. In discussing this with Hudson, I discovered that he does custom cabinets and furniture as well as general carpentry. through a collaborative design process I was able to get exactly what I wanted (inset doors, figured cherry, shaker style, to the ceiling, and with special pull-out bins and spice racks and such), and with high quality craftsmanship. These cabinets are thoughtfully made down to details such as a row of drawer fronts being cut from the same plank so that the grain is contiguous all along the face of the cabinets. Yowza! I'll be hiring him for custom furniture next. He was an excellent listener, and his background in architecture meant that he 'got' the space and how to work with it, and provided detailed specifications and drawings. He was also great about alerting me to potential design changes and getting my OK. He was generous with his experience and was able to give me several tips with the renovation that were extremely helpful. I felt like I had a partner in this crazy renovation process, and not one more subcontractor I had to watch like a hawk.

My experience with Grey and the foam and cushion store was fantastic. I was literally willing to spend almost double at another well-known although snooty custom furniture shop, but I was treated so rudely, I left and will never go there again. Grey and his store was truly a breath of fresh air. Reasonable prices, nice customer service, and no arrogant sales people! Who could ask for anything more!

My husband and I had already decided to get a sectional with a chaise, because my husband spends so much time watching TV, when he's suffering from insomnia. Brad and his brother-in-law steered us towards the Clifford model, based on our criteria, and since my husband is 6'2", we decided to make the chaise extra-long -- 82" -- and extra wide -- 42". We had a huge selection -- 500 plus -- of "standard grade" fabrics and upgrade fabrics, if we wanted to pay extra. We went with a standard-grade fabric with piping and paid about 30% - 50% less than a "big box" store like Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, etc. Another invaluable piece of advice that Brad gave us, was to stay away from down or feather-filled cushions because they will eventually lose their shape and become lumpy.

I had a good feeling with them. They work with a furniture manufacturer near Modesto and I was able to have the bed frame customized. It was a really good experience from going there and looking and picking out exactly what I wanted. It is a really fine, wood furniture.

My wife and I needed a custom cabinet to fit an alcove in our Victorian home. Paul of Sable Studios very quickly understood our problem and designed a cabinet to fit perfectly with a pull-out shelf for our printer, built-in power outlets, drop-down desk, built-in file cabinet, several small drawers, and glass-fronted shelves. In two weeks he came by with one of his employees and installed it in less than a day. It matched the vintage woodwork of the room perfectly! And, moreover, it let us get rid of several bulky clunky pieces of furniture, with this new beautiful build-in cabinet perfectly flush with the wall containing all our stuff. I cannot emphasize how beautiful and perfect this cabinet is, and the price was reasonable for the quality and level of service his studio provides. I cannot emphasize enough how great his work is, and Paul is also a wonderful, funny guy.

Horrible. There was false advertising, lies, and basically, I had to get one of the local TV stations involved to resolve my issue. Our order was over 30 weeks late. So, we STILL have not received that nightstand. It seems that it was lost during the delivery. The shipping company they went to lost the shipment, again. According to their records its still somewhere in Dallas, Texas. The shipping company claims the paperwork made it to California but the nightstand did not. At this point, we have had to contact 7 on Your Side (ABC 7 News) for assistance to get our full refund back. The news reporters have reached out to the owners on our behalf. We haven't heard back from Mr. Basil Halta yet. I'll provide another update later. Basically, this is for a nightstand we ordered over 30 weeks ago, and MBW Furniture cannot get their act to deliver it or that sorry gift for not getting their act together. After a few exchanges with the company, the owner Basil Halta reached out to me to tell how sorry he was with the service I was getting. He stated that he would be personally taking care of the replacement delivery of our order. The delivery would be no later than March. Later I was told, no later than April. Then mid-April. Then end of April. It's May now. And we STILL haven't received it. Fed up with this I have reported this to the local news station for fraud. So 2 weeks ago we were told it would be delivered within a week. Then we were told that their driver would be heading in our direction and would personally deliver it by no later than Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Still no luck and no calls. We called them to find out that their delivery truck broke down in Cupertino, CA. From there it's only about a hour to an hour and a half to Pittsburg. The driver claims that the steep hills within the San Francisco Bay Area was too much for the truck and it broke down. The hills here in the Bay Area is nothing compared to the Sierra Nevadas or the Appalachians. So instead of fixing the truck and dropping off our nightstand, the driver has headed back to Atlanta, GA. They claim they have to switch vehicles and reattempt a delivery to our location. As of today, the driver is somewhere in Texas, 25 hours away. Our new anticipated delivery of our nightstand is mid-June, which would mean that we will have had to wait for over 11 months for a nightstand that was suppose to be done within 15-20 weeks. Rather than drive their broken truck 1-1.5 hours to our house, they have driven 25 hours to Texas where the route is much flatter, because there are no hills. Now what is wrong with that scenario?!?

They are in San Francisco. I spent $2500 for 3 chairs and leather. They are in my neighborhood and I drove there and talked to them and hired them and was really happy with the work they did. He had some sample in the window that looked really good and came over and looked at the chairs I wanted to be covered. He brought samples when I gave him an idea of what kind of fabric I wanted and he went back called me the next day like he said he would. He called with the cost, how long it would take and told me when he could do the job which was a week later. He did the work in the time frame he said he would and did excellent work, and it looked better than when it was new. I was really pleased. When I started asking around, I had a few people tell me that they were good.

The project was a failure by what was delivered and the inability of FLIPP to resolve defects mistakes and just plain poor choices. They don't give refunds so if they make mistakes or deliver bad goods, you are stuck like I am. I've been trying to straighten this mess out with Dan the owner for 6 months. Worst buying decision I've made. They had a 5 star yelp rating as well. I should have consulted Angie's list. Glad to leave some data on this horriff experience.