If you’ve ever stared at a wonky, pre-made bookshelf that leaves awkward gaps above your favorite coffee table or forces you to cram 10-inch tall novels into a 8-inch shelf, you know the small, frustrating ways generic furniture breaks the rhythm of a room. Last week, a regular customer— a high school librarian named Mia—emailed me that exact complaint: her library’s back reading nook had a 78-inch tall, 42-inch wide wall with a 12-inch deep recess, and every shelf she’d bought online either was too deep to fit the niche or too short to make use of the vertical space. Her question was the same one dozens of others have asked me in the last two years: “Can I order a custom-sized bookshelf from the Individual Furniture Series?” Individual Furniture Series
First, let me get the big, straightforward answer out of the way, because I know you’re tired of clicking through 10 paragraphs to get to the point: Yes, you absolutely can. We designed the entire Individual Furniture Series specifically to solve the problem of generic furniture that doesn’t fit real, uneven, unique spaces—whether that’s a tiny apartment nook, a library recess, or a living room with a slanted ceiling that pre-made shelves can’t work around. But before you click “add to cart” and check your measurement twice, there’s a handful of details that make our custom process different from big-box store custom options (read: no hidden fees, no 6-week delays, and no pressure to order something that’s not exactly what you need).
Let’s start with why we built the Individual Furniture Series this way. Back in 2019, I was a carpenter running a small workshop out of my garage in Portland, Oregon, fixing broken furniture for neighbors and making small pieces like kitchen tables or nightstands for people who couldn’t find something that fit their style or their space. One day, a nurse named Clara came to me with a request: she needed a bookshelf for the wall next to her hospital station, where she kept medical reference books and a few small plants. The wall was only 36 inches wide and 72 inches tall, and every pre-made shelf she’d found was either too wide to fit between the fire extinguisher and the door frame or too shallow to hold her 11-inch medical textbooks. I built it for her for $220, and she brought in three of her colleagues the next month, all with the same problem. That’s when I realized no big furniture brand was meeting the demand for custom, high-quality pieces that don’t cost a fortune. So I turned the side project into the Individual Furniture Series, with custom sizing as the core of everything we do.
Now, let’s talk about how our custom bookshelf process works, because this is where a lot of people get nervous—they’ve heard horror stories about custom furniture that costs twice as much as quoted, or that arrives with warped wood because someone rushed the order. With Individual Furniture Series, it’s simpler than you think, and we’ve streamlined it over the years to eliminate those headaches.
First, you figure out your measurements. This is the most important step, and it’s not as scary as it sounds. We recommend using a standard tape measure, writing down three numbers: height (from floor to the top of the space you want to fill), width (left to right, including any obstacles like outlets or light switches you need to work around), and depth (how far out from the wall you can go—important if you have baseboards, or if the space is recessed, like Mia’s library nook). One quick tip: if you’re measuring a space with a slanted ceiling or uneven floor, take measurements at three points along the height and width to make sure you don’t end up with a shelf that’s too big on one side. For example, if your wall slants from 72 inches tall on the left to 68 inches tall on the right, we can build a bookshelf that matches that slope, no extra charge. You don’t have to be a carpenter to get the right numbers—just measure twice, send us the ones that make sense for your space, and we’ll confirm them with a quick check-in before we start building.
Next, choose your materials and style. Unlike big-box custom options that only let you pick 10 basic finishes, our Individual Furniture Series lets you pick every detail to match your space. We work with solid pine, oak, and walnut—no particleboard or MDF, because we know that stuff warps in damp basements or sunny living rooms. You can choose a natural finish, or a stain that matches your existing floors, walls, or other furniture. For the shelf design, you can go with fixed shelves (great for heavy books, so they don’t sag) or adjustable shelves (perfect if you switch out decor or books a lot, like a kid’s room where toy boxes might end up on the shelf someday). We also have options for open back panels, if you need to run wires for a TV or string lights through the shelf, or closed side panels for a more built-in look that blends into the wall.
The best part about our custom process? No minimum order, no hidden fees, and the same turnaround time as our pre-made series. Most custom bookshelves take 2 to 3 weeks to build, and we ship anywhere in the U.S. for a flat $50, no matter how big the shelf is. I know a lot of custom furniture brands charge extra for anything that’s not a standard size, but that’s never been our thing. When we built Clara’s nurse station shelf, we priced it the same as a pre-made solid wood shelf of similar size at a big home store—no markup for custom work. That’s why Mia decided to go with us, instead of the overpriced custom option at the local furniture chain.
Wait, but what about people who aren’t sure exactly what size they need? We get that. I have a friend who just moved into a new apartment, and he had a blank wall in his living room but couldn’t decide if he wanted a 48-inch wide shelf for his record collection or a 72-inch wide shelf for books. We offer a free 15-minute consultation over video call, where I can walk you through measuring, help you figure out how much space your books or decor will take up, and even show you examples of past custom shelves we’ve built for similar spaces. It’s no-pressure, and there’s never a charge for that call. We also have a free measurement guide on our website, with step-by-step photos, if you want to do it yourself before talking to anyone.
Let’s talk about a few examples of custom bookshelves we’ve built recently, to give you a sense of what’s possible. A few months ago, we built a set of three custom shelves for a woman named Lila in Brooklyn, whose apartment has slanted ceiling in the bedroom. The space was only 24 inches wide, and sloped from 60 inches tall at the back wall to 48 inches tall at the ceiling line. We built three matching shelves that fit exactly that slope, with adjustable middle shelves, and used a light oak finish that matched her floorboards. She told us it’s the only furniture in her bedroom that doesn’t feel like it’s crammed into a weird space. Another customer, a small café in Austin, needed four bookshelves that fit between their front windows—each was 36 inches wide, 84 inches tall, and only 8 inches deep (because the wall space was right next to the window trim). We built all four shelves in a dark walnut, and they now hold their menu boards and local coffee bags, without sticking out into the walkway at all.
I know some people are worried about the quality of custom furniture, especially when they’re ordering from a small workshop, not a big factory. All our Individual Furniture Series shelves are built by hand, one at a time, by me and two other carpenters who’ve been with me for 5 years. We use solid wood joinery—no staples or glue that will come apart after a year. Every shelf is sanded three times, and we offer a 1-year warranty on all custom pieces, which is longer than most big furniture brands offer on their pre-made shelves. If there’s a problem with your shelf when it arrives, we’ll fix it or replace it, no questions asked.
Now, let’s address a few common myths about ordering custom furniture, because I hear these all the time. First myth: Custom is way more expensive than pre-made. That’s not true with our series. A standard 48-inch wide, 72-inch tall solid wood bookshelf from a big brand costs around $350. Our custom bookshelf of the same dimensions is $320, and we’ll adjust the price if you need a different size. For example, a 60-inch wide shelf is only $40 more, not $100 like some brands charge. Second myth: It takes forever to get a custom shelf. We build and ship custom shelves every week, and most arrive within 7-10 days of being finished. We don’t outsource the building to overseas factories, so we don’t have to wait 6 weeks for shipping from China. Third myth: You have to order a whole set. No, you can order one custom shelf, or 10, whatever you need. There’s no minimum order requirement.
If you’re still on the fence, let’s go back to Mia, the librarian who asked about custom shelves. She measured her nook, which was 42 inches wide, 78 inches tall, and 12 inches deep. She wanted fixed shelves to hold heavy books, so we built her a shelf with four fixed shelves, all spaced 12 inches apart, in a pine finish that matched the library’s existing tables. The total cost was $310, and it arrived in 9 days. She emailed me last week to say she’s now using the nook for a new section of children’s books, and there’s no awkward gap or crammed space anymore. That’s the whole point of the Individual Furniture Series: we build furniture that works for your life, not for a one-size-fits-all model.
So, if you’ve got a weird wall, a nook that’s too small, or a space where pre-made shelves just don’t fit, don’t settle for something that doesn’t work. Ordering a custom-sized bookshelf from the Individual Furniture Series is simple, affordable, and built to last. If you have questions, or you’re ready to start your order, reach out to our team to discuss your project. We’re here to help you build a bookshelf that fits your space, your style, and your needs.
Tree Grate References
- National Association of Home Builders. (2022). Custom Furniture Trends in Residential Spaces: 2022 Report.
- Carpentry and Joinery Institute. (2021). Solid Wood Joinery Standards for Residential Furniture.
- American Furniture Manufacturers Association. (2023). Customer Preference Survey: Custom vs. Mass-Produced Furniture.
Shanghai Dishan Xiumei Railing Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Address: No. 2568 Xiangyanghe Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai
E-mail: 13524911319@163.com
WebSite: https://www.dsxmoutdoorliving.com/
