MORE homeowners are opting to have furniture, wardrobes and cupboards custom made to suit particular rooms, furniture makers and interior decorators say.

“Custom-made furniture is becoming more popular because people are beginning to realise that this is an option available to them. In the past, people wanted to get things specially made but there was no one to do it for them,” said U Thurein Yu, owner of home decoration shop Innerspace.

“Now, we have the technology and the ideas, which contribute evenly to the creation.”

U Ko Ko Lay, director of Three Friends Construction, said mass-produced furniture might not suit some homes, especially if residents were seeking a unique look.

“Custom-made furniture, on the other hand, is created to match the design of a house,” he said. “It started getting more popular three or four yeas ago.”
He said his company usually uses plywood and plastic-coated MDF plywood when making furniture to order.

U Thurein Yu, meanwhile, said plywood was malleable but difficult to carve, unlike solid timber.

“I prefer to use mixed media – wood and steel, wood and fibre. But choosing the materials depends on the room, the design of the home and the paints used,” he said.

For the luxury of having furniture that fits with a grand styling scheme, customers can expect to pay 20-50 percent more than factory-line furniture, manufacturers said.

U Ko Ko Lay estimated some 70pc of his company’s business comes from people seeking unique furniture.

About 10 companies had started offering custom-made furniture over the past two years, he said.