What deposit is required, and what happens if I cancel?

A 40 percent deposit of the initial approved project price books the commission, with 5 business days to cancel. After that, the deposit is non-refundable because production time has been reserved and work on the commission may already be underway.

A finished custom piece is non-returnable for a related reason: the work that makes the table yours is the work that makes it unsellable to anyone else.

What the deposit does

It reserves production time for your commission and allows design, material procurement and preparation for the build to move forward. Depending on the project, that may include securing specific wood or other materials, developing the approved design and preparing the piece for fabrication. That work begins well before the first cut is made, which is why the deposit is paid when the commission is booked rather than at delivery.

The cancellation window

Five business days, from placing the order. Inside it, a cancellation is straightforward. Outside it, the deposit is non-refundable.

The window exists for the ordinary reasons people change their minds early: a house sale falls through, a room gets repurposed, a measurement turns out to be wrong. It closes at the point where the commitment stops being reversible.

Why a custom piece cannot come back

A production table returns to a warehouse and waits for another buyer. There is no equivalent for a piece built to your length, in your species, with your finish, for a room with your clearances. The specificity is the product.

This is worth knowing going in, and it is the reason the process puts so much in front of you before anything is cut: a drawing of the actual piece, a SketchUp model showing the shape, proportions and details, AI-assisted visualizations of it in a finished space, and a sample board in your own light. The process is built to make the approval real rather than hopeful.

Where the full terms live

The complete terms, including shipping, delivery and warranty, are on the terms and conditions page. Anything in this answer is a summary of them, and where the two differ the terms page governs.

By Rob Showalter, furniture maker in Geneva, Illinois.