BUYER GUIDES · FROM THE FACTORY

How custom furniture is actually made

From the production floor at TY Furniture Factory: what happens between the photo you send and the piece that arrives.

The drawing is the real product

Before wood is touched, your picture becomes a production drawing: every dimension, curve, joint and material named. Factories that skip this step improvise on the floor, and improvisation is where custom orders go wrong. The drawing is approved by you first.

The frame: where quality is decided

An upholstered piece lives or dies by its skeleton. Curved profiles are cut from layered plywood, structural rails from solid hardwood, joined with glued corner blocks. You will never see this layer again after upholstery, which is exactly why buyers who visit factories ask to see bare frames.

Foam shaping

Foam is cut and layered in different densities: firmer where the body needs support, softer where it touches. On better pieces the foam is sculpted to the design's curves, not just glued in slabs, then wrapped in soft batting so the fabric never sits directly on foam edges.

Upholstery: the visible craft

Fabric or leather is cut from patterns, sewn, stretched and stapled by hand. Seams must land where the drawing says. Patterned fabric must align across cushions. This stage is nearly all hand labor, which is why craftsmen with years at the bench matter more than machinery.

Finishing and inspection

Wood parts are sanded and finished, metal and marble details fitted, and the piece is checked stage by stage: frame, foam, upholstery, final assembly. Then it is photographed for the buyer before packing. Ask your factory for those photos; good ones send them without being asked.

What this means for you as a buyer

Every stage above has an approval point a buyer can hold: the drawing, the materials, the sample, the pre-shipment photos. Use them. A factory that welcomes those checkpoints is confident in its work.