Custom Furniture: Just for the wealthy? Think again...

As much as I love crafting my own picture frames and other small home accessories, some projects are definitely over my head. For my home office, I needed a nice desk that's functional and beautiful. That combination usually mean $$$. The inexpensive desks I've seen are unattractive and didn't have the qualities I wanted. The desks that I do like were over my budget. I've contemplated buying an antique desk and refinishing it, but it wouldn't fit into my time frame. The supplies needed to strip the paint, sand, paint, and gloss would've add up very quickly. On top of the time and effort, it just didn't justify the investment.

I came across an ad on craigslist, my all time favorite site, by a guy who did small scale carpentry work. He's not a full time carpenter, he doesn't work for a woodshop, he just builds furniture in his condo. Remember this people: There are always going to be people willing to give you a deal just so they can get your business. Negotiate Negotiate Negotiate!

Besides the desk (which I'll post later), I've also asked him to build two night stands to my specification. This is the picture I gave him as an inspiration.
This desk is being sold at Williams Sonoma (more expensive version of Pottery Barn) for $795.00.

I customized the size, height, depth of the drawer and the hardware. I got this table for a mere fraction of the price.