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Thread: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

  1. #1
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    Default What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    I've always loved the look of George Nelson's Case Study beds from the 50s, very hot right now with the MCM crowd!

    There's a 1 man show cabinetmaker/wood worker on Etsy who specializes in custom, solid wood beds & he makes an excellent copy of Case Study. He also charges about $3,500 for the bed in a queen size. Is that about the norm for a custom, solid walnut wood queen size bed?

    I don't remember his name off the top of my head, or have the link to his shop on Etsy but if you search "George Nelson bed" on Etsy it usually pops up in top search results.

    On a side note(but in same realm,) I really like the live edge look that's in now, yet some of these items are crazy expensive! Like, upwards of high 4 figures to low 5 figures!! Is live edge wood case goods(headboards, tables, etc) really that expensive to make? Or is the rarity of the live edge & artistry involved in the making of these items that commands those prices?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    The type of wood, the quality of the wood used, and the nature and quality of the workmanship will all affect price. That said, the fact that a furniture maker charges a high price is not of itself evidence that they're selling a quality product.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    You have to post photos if you would like comments - I don't have time to do searches for them!
    Duane Collie
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  4. #4
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    Quote Originally Posted by aaron View Post
    The type of wood, the quality of the wood used, and the nature and quality of the workmanship will all affect price. That said, the fact that a furniture maker charges a high price is not of itself evidence that they're selling a quality product.
    I did get the info on this maker from his Etsy shop profile:
    Pete Deeble Furniture outta Long Beach, Cali

    I'ts not letting me upload screen shots of the bed from Etsy, but after taking another look I realized I was quoting prices for a king sized modelbof another bed he makes.

    This particular bed is solid walnut with a hand rubbed oil finish. The ONLY metal used in the construction are the steel brackets supporting the headboard(the headboard "floats" above the bed frame.) Price for a queen with the standard 30"H headboard height is $2,150.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    Duane, Etsy doesn't let you save photos from the app directly, so I just screen shot them(using Quick Memo) & tried to upload them as attachments but it was taking forever!

    Lol, I'm not an IT gal, so dunno if it's due to my already having uploaded photos on other posts & should I delete those in my attachment folder? I'm good about deleting photos off my phone after I've shared them & no longer need them.

    I'll try again...

  6. #6
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    You have to post photos if you would like comments - I don't have time to do searches for them!
    Ok, found his own website where there were better quality photos & just downloaded them normally:
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  7. #7
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    Aaron & Duane,

    As you can see, this particular bed doesn't use a lot of materials & he does let you customize the size & height of the headboard(I prefer the "floating" look similar to the original Case Study bed, which is also the standard/default option.) For a handmade, solid walnut, (but not much of it LOL,) in a queen is $2,150 a reasonable price?
    Now, there are several DIY articles online for this bed going with either stiletto legs as shown here, or the classic MCM steel hairpin style legs. Admittedly, these are not experienced wood workers writing these articles, but just your typical, average Joe's. They're making these beds in their garage, over a single weekend using roughly $350 in materials from their local Home Depot! Haha, I must admit that's a pretty tempting route...

  8. #8
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    That bed is not my style, personally, and I don't see how the maker is going to control the warpage in the headboard, there is no evidence of breadboards on the ends and unless he has some hidden battens (and lots of them) on the backside, that headboard is going to twist like a pretzel over a few seasons. I cannot see the build / joinery in those photos, however the woodworking looks unremarkable and may have expansion/contraction issues as the season go by, hard to tell for sure.

    Anything made of Home Depot lumber is not properly kiln dried and I guarantee it will blow up inside of a year.
    Duane Collie
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  9. #9
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    That bed is not my style, personally, and I don't see how the maker is going to control the warpage in the headboard, there is no evidence of breadboards on the ends and unless he has some hidden battens (and lots of them) on the backside, that headboard is going to twist like a pretzel over a few seasons. I cannot see the build / joinery in those photos, however the woodworking looks unremarkable and may have expansion/contraction issues as the season go by, hard to tell for sure.

    Anything made of Home Depot lumber is not properly kiln dried and I guarantee it will blow up inside of a year.
    Haha well yes, it's def a style that's just a tad bit more modern than you'd carry at The Keeping Room. It took awhile to grow on me too. But now...I love it! It's got that low, almost Scandinavian style to it without looking IKEA-esque

    But...the headboard would warp? Even if solid walnut & supported by the steel brackets? Because they're thin pieces of walnut spanned over too large an area?

    I don't know what battens are & the purpose they serve? Breadboards on the ends? Lol sorry, but my only knowledge of breadboards are literally boards used for the serving of cheese & bread.

    I'll research these terms & perhaps ask if he's using these elements in the construction of this particular bed.

    Thanks

    Yes, the DIYs I've read were written by ppl wanting this particular style of bed, but not wanting to pay DWR or 1stdibs prices for it. They admit that YOU can choose to go to a lumber yard & select the higher grade woods & those will be a bit more expensive, but they went the Lowe's/Home Depot route.

    If you're mentioning warping of the headboard in a piece like this, is that also something to be concerned about in the live edge headboards? With a live edge piece, you REALLY are talking about a massive, single piece of lumber. Most have those wooden Japanese pegs that are wedged into any natural cracks or breaks. They serve to both strengthen the piece & are usually done in a different finish to achieve an aesthetic look.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: What's a reasonable price point for a custom wood queen bed?

    All wide-board furniture made of solids will seasonally move. It will shrink in the winter and expand in the summer. In addition to movement, the wood wants to cup, or return to its natural state as a round tree. The art of the cabinetmaker is controlling that movement through joinery techniques. When building using plywood, veneers or narrow strip boards this is not an issue. On that headboard, there is nothing to control that movement and curl unless the cabinetmaker has put in hidden battens (strips of wood running 90 degrees to the grain) which are complex in and of themselves to do. That's the only way you can control movement in a live edge piece. The vertical attachment points on that headboard do nothing to control edge movement. Here's something you can read into if interested, this only touches the surface and becomes much more detailed in fine woodworking.

    A sure sign of a novice or inexperienced woodworker is someone that uses hardware store lumber and has no clue as to how to control movement. Their projects will blow up, guaranteed.

    http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_bas...rstanding.html
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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