A nice, solid bed frame isn’t just useful for providing support to your bed; it can also be a huge aesthetic part of your bedroom. Many people struggle with deciding on a bed frame that they’ll enjoy for the long haul. It’s an investment, and if you’re planning to get a new one, it isn’t a decision to take lightly since you’ll likely have it for a long time. This article will go into the details of wood and metal bed frames and which one is right for you to give you a better idea of what will work better for your needs.
Size and Cost
If cost is a major factor in your decision, then the size of the bed frame itself matters quite a bit more. Smaller bed frames made of metal will usually cost you less than a comparable wooden bed frame. However, the larger your bed frame needs to be, the stronger the metal that it is made from needs to be as well. This can make larger metal bed frames more expensive and bring them closer in line to the price of wooden bed frames.
Sturdiness of Construction
Because larger metal bed frames use sturdier metal in order to hold the weight of the bed up, they tend to have the longest lifespans and can hold the most weight. Metal bed frames also boast a much higher resistance to accidental damage, such as something bashing into the frame. While wooden bed frames can sometimes hold more weight, they are more susceptible to damage over time from incidents and poor care.
Space Considerations
If you want to determine if a wood or metal bed frame is right for you, consider how much space you have to work with. Wooden bed frames are often bulkier and take up more of the space they occupy. On the other hand, metal bed frames usually have slimmer components, allowing you to use more of the space under and around the bed for other things.
Design Variety
In terms of design variety, a metal bed frame will give you more options. Customized wooden bed frames that aren’t very simple in their design can cost a lot more and take much longer to get. If you want a decorative bed frame for your bed, a metal frame gives you a little more flexibility in the shapes it can take, making it easier to match your bedroom’s aesthetics.
Econ Welding & Fabrication offers custom welded bed frames so you can enjoy the frame you’ve always dreamed of having for your bed. Call us today to get started on creating the bed frame that is perfect for you.
Choosing the Right Type of Table Base for Your Design
Many people don’t consider how much thought goes into making a piece of furniture until they have to do it themselves. Creating a beautiful and functional piece of furniture like a table requires careful forethought into its intended use and placement. Even if you know what you want the tabletop to look like, finding the right base for it can seem overwhelming when you look at all your choices. We’ll help you choose the right type of table base for your design so that you can get exactly what you need.
Seating Considerations
Depending on the shape of the tabletop, you may want to consider how the base will allow you to set up chairs around it. A round table allows for a more central base that can leave room for more chairs around it. However, if you have an ovular or rectangular table, the base’s design and shape can affect how many it can seat. If you know how many people will typically sit at the table, you can weed out table base designs that won’t work for you.
Choosing the Right Height
Height is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing the right type of table base for your design. If you can determine your table’s height by designing its base, like you do when you work with us here at Econ Welding, you have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to usability. Matching your table’s height to comfortably fit the chairs you plan to set around it makes for a much more functional table.
Solid Support
The materials you choose for both your table and its base will inform the designs you can go with. Heavier materials, such as denser wood or stone, will require a suitably sturdy base to withstand the extra weight. Your base may need to be wider or made from stronger material to support the weight of a heavier table over time.
Matching Finishes
Aesthetics matter just as much as functionality when you’re designing a table. You don’t want your table’s finish to differ wildly from the finish of the base itself. A stainless-steel finish for your metal table base can look impressive, but if it clashes with the design of the tabletop, the whole piece will look out of place and awkward. You don’t always need to match the finishes, but doing so can create a more cohesive piece of furniture.
If you’re looking for a high-quality base for your table, check out our store pages for some incredible options. A metal trestle table base might be exactly what you need to create a striking and eye-catching piece of furniture that you’ll love.
Difference Between Mass-Produced vs. Handcrafted Furniture
Finding the perfect furniture for your home might not take very long if you don’t particularly care what you’re getting. For those of us who value the look and feel of our home’s furniture, there are actually quite a number of decisions to make when looking at potential options. Differences in style are a common sticking point for many homeowners, but the source of the furniture should also be a factor that you consider. This is because there is a large difference between mass-produced and handcrafted furniture.
While one option isn’t necessarily better in every aspect, it’s important to know how they differ so you can decide what to invest in. This knowledge might help you avoid annoyances in the future that involve your furniture breaking down or going out of style. We’ll take you through some of the most important ways that handcrafted and mass-produced furniture differ so you can make a more informed decision for your home’s décor.
Quantity vs. Quality
Comparing quantity versus quality is one of the easier ways to see the differences between mass-produced and handcrafted furniture, it’s right in the name after all. Mass-produced furniture is all about cranking out as many of the same piece of furniture as possible as fast as the manufacturer can manage. This mass production of furniture does offer some benefits in terms of price, but you should know that you will have to settle for lower-quality craftsmanship, as most of these mass-produced pieces get made in enormous factories by machines.
If having high-quality furniture is something you strive for, handcrafted furniture is really the best way to go. Handcrafted furniture often contains much higher quality materials such as sturdier wood varieties or stronger metals. For example, our custom metal desk legs are made with high-quality steel that will last you a long time. When you invest in quality handcrafted furniture, you’re investing in a piece that will last much longer than a flimsy mass-produced one. Handcrafted furniture pieces are often passed down through generations because the careful craftsmanship ensures their quality for many years into the future.
Sustainability of Materials
Sustainability is a much newer concern for furniture buyers, but it’s quickly becoming something that people take into account very heavily. If you care about the sustainability of your furniture, you owe it to yourself to learn where a manufacturer or craftsman sources their materials. Handcrafted furniture made by a skilled artisan will usually take sustainability into account far more than a large manufacturer. Large manufacturers need to focus on making larger quantities, meaning they will skirt around sustainable material harvesting practices if it saves them money.
Another issue to consider is how your furniture gets to you. When you buy your furniture after it gets made in a massive factory overseas, it needs to travel a long way to get to you. This usually involves shipping it on enormous freighters that pollute our air and water. Buying from a more local artisan can cut down on the overall carbon footprint of your furniture, allowing you to enjoy the piece with a little less guilt over harming the planet just for a table or a place to sit.
Availability
If you need a piece of furniture and you don’t want to wait for it, you’ll have more luck with mass-produced furniture than with handcrafted furniture. The availability of handcrafted furniture is limited to how quickly the crafter can work on and finish individual projects. Mass production facilities don’t have this issue and they’re able to pump out scores of furniture pieces much faster than any small workshop could.
The downside of choosing the furniture that is always immediately available to you is that you won’t get something that you can count on for a long time. Corners get cut all the time in the construction of these pieces so that manufacturers can churn them out at a faster rate. If getting furniture that is higher quality isn’t a concern and you’d rather simply get a piece right away without waiting, you can go for a mass-produced piece. However, don’t be surprised if you have to head back to the store not long afterward to buy the same thing again.
Customization Options
One of the reasons that large manufacturers can create so many pieces so quickly is because every piece is made to the same exact specifications. Every one of them uses the same materials and they’re put together exactly the same way. For homeowners that want their homes to look unique and show off their individuality, you want to avoid these pieces of furniture. You’d be surprised how quickly your home can look like everyone else’s when you buy all your furniture from mass producers.
Customizability is one of the biggest benefits of choosing handcrafted furniture from an artisan shop. Maybe you have other furniture that you want to match it with or you’re going for a specific style that doesn’t match any of the options you see in big box stores. That’s where the ability to customize your furniture gives you a strong sense of empowerment. We are always ready to customize a piece of furniture so it will look exactly the way you’ve always wanted it to.
Price Differences
There’s no denying that there is a noticeable price difference between mass-produced and handcrafted furniture. Because large factories can take advantage of economies of scale, they can price their furniture cheaper than normal. Combine this with the fact that these factories use lower quality materials, and you can see why their furniture is usually such a bargain. If price is a concern, this furniture will get the job done, but probably not for too long.
Handcrafted furniture is often the more expensive option, but furniture is a classic example of, “You get what you pay for.” In the long run, this furniture will last you much longer, possibly saving you money down the line. Choosing handcrafted furniture is certainly a larger investment upfront, but it pays off in how much use you get out of the piece.
Here at Econ Welding & Fabrication, we take great pride in our handcrafted furniture. We don’t cut any corners when it comes to quality craftsmanship. If you have a piece you’d like to commission or customize, contact us today to explore your options.
When it comes to the big, eye-catching pieces of furniture in your home, you really have two options. You can choose a mass-manufactured piece from a factory far away, or you can choose to go for American-made furniture. Why does this distinction make a difference? We’ll go over some of the biggest benefits of buying American-made furniture so that you can make an informed decision.
Higher Quality Craftsmanship
Companies that mass produce furniture only focus on one thing: getting as many products out of the door as they can. This means they don’t take as much care with the quality of their craftsmanship. American-made furniture has much more thought in its design. Furniture creators in America don’t cut corners with cheap materials, giving you a much higher quality product.
Furniture That Stands the Test of Time
One of the biggest benefits of buying American-made furniture is how long it can last you. Because the focus is on quality instead of quantity, American-made furniture won’t let you down after a few years of use. You might find yourself passing down high-quality American furniture to your loved ones because it’ll still be functional and eye-catching that many years later.
More Focus on Sustainability
If sustainability is a concern for you, buying from a company that mass produces its furniture isn’t the way to go. Factories often don’t practice sustainable wood harvesting and lack proper material recycling programs. Getting an American furniture maker helps support more sustainable methods of building high-quality furniture.
Supporting Jobs at Home
By buying American-made furniture, your money directly supports people in your community. This goes beyond just the crafters; it also helps the designers and other staff who contribute to making that furniture. So you support all these community members instead of a random factory in a different country. This can allow smaller American companies to expand and create more jobs for more Americans as well.
Larger Customization Options
You probably don’t want your home to look just like everyone else’s. That’s why furniture customization is so important. Your local American furniture crafter can give you far more options for customization than you would get when buying from somewhere much farther away. You can check out our custom metal furniture fabrication to see how many options you really have.
Econ Welding & Fabrication is a company originating from the United States. For beautiful, customized furniture you can’t get anywhere else, you should check out our store page for more information.
