Robert Russell Designs
Shown in a rendered room
Custom dining tables built in Geneva, Illinois
Your table, drawn. Free, and by hand.
Send me your room and I will draw your table. You get a real rendering plus a real price range, usually within a few days.
5.0 on Google · 32 reviews Most tables $6,000 to $20,000
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Made by
You work directly with the maker building your table, from the drawing to the installation.
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Before you commit
A free drawing of your table and a price range, drawn by hand. No call required, no obligation.
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Lead time
Most tables take 6 to 12 weeks from the day you approve the design.
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Investment
Most commissions fall in the $6,000 to $20,000 range.
What a handmade table actually means here.
Commissioned work
Custom gets used loosely. It often means picking a size and a stain off a list someone else drew up. Here it means your table does not exist until we design it together, and I build it.
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Handmade, by the person you spoke to
There is no sales floor between us. The person who takes your call, draws the layout and leads the build is the same person. Every table is handcrafted one at a time in Geneva, which is also why I take a limited number of commissions at a time.
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A custom dining table or a custom kitchen table
The build is the same; the room is not. A kitchen table usually has to work harder in a tighter footprint, so we spend longer on the size and the clearance than on the drama. The size guide further down is the starting point for either.
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Wood, answered honestly
Walnut is the wood named most often in the work below, alongside spalted wood and other hardwoods. Slab stock moves, so rather than quote you a catalogue I would rather tell you what is actually in the studio and what I can source in your size when we talk.
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Approving something that does not exist yet
That is the hard part of any commission, and it is what the render and the finish sample are for. You see your own slab laid out in the design, and you hold the finish in your own light, before I make a cut.
What happens when you send me your room.
The offer
You get a real rendering of your actual table, in your actual room dimensions, plus a real price range, usually within a few days. No call required. No obligation. I do the drawing myself.
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Right away
A confirmation from me, with a short video of one of these tables being built, so you can watch the work while I draw.
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Then, drawn by hand
I draw your table in Photoshop myself, the same way I draw the render every commission gets, and send it from my own address with a price range and the lead time.
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Once you have seen it
If you want to see more, I send the build of a table close to yours, so you can see what actually goes into one before you decide anything.
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Whenever you are ready
Ask and I will ship you a finished sample of the wood and the finish, free, so you can set it on your table and see it in your own light. If you are in Chicagoland, come to the Geneva studio and stand next to the slabs instead.
Most commissions fall in the $6,000 to $20,000 range, and most tables take 6 to 12 weeks from the day you approve the design. I accept a limited number of commissions at a time. If you need a table next month I am the wrong maker, and I will tell you that on day one.
Review the choices before production begins.
The process
Commissioning a table means approving something before it exists. Before production, you choose the slab, review the digital layout and see the finish sample.
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Step 1 Slab selection
You choose the actual piece of wood your table is made from, in person or on a video call.
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Step 2 Digital render
I hand-build your render in Photoshop from photographs of your slab, then model it in SketchUp. It holds to 95 to 99 percent of the finished table.
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Step 3 Sample board
I ship a physical sample so you can see the epoxy color and finish in your room.
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Step 4 Build updates
I send photographs from the studio as your table comes together, so you see it take shape.
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Step 5 White glove delivery
I plan delivery and installation with you. Across Chicagoland I generally handle it personally; beyond it, pieces travel white glove nationwide.
Pieces I have built, shown in one studio.
Studio renderings
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Spalted maple and black resin, waterfall coffee table
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Walnut with a turquoise river, raw steel frames
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Round walnut with a clear and dark resin band
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Live edge waterfall on a steel tree base
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Walnut with white resin rivers, steel spider base
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Single blue river on curved trestle ends
Each tile is a studio rendering of one of my pieces, made so the set reads together. Every link opens the collection with my photographs of the real tables.
In my clients’ words.
Reviews on Google
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“Rob made my dream dinner table come to life!”
Thomas Gauthier · On Google
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“Rob is a true craftsman and you can tell he really cares about his customers and each piece he builds.”
David Rauch · On Google
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“An absolutely beautiful table by Rob.”
Andrew Xue · On Google
- Reviews
- Read every review on Google
- Geneva Chamber
- Member, listed under Furniture Design and Sales
- Project feature
- Featured by the General Finishes Design Center
- Delivered to
- 47 of 48 continental states
What a custom commission is for.
Do any of these sound like you?
- You need to seat eight or ten and nothing you have found is the right size
- Your room is a tight footprint and the chairs still have to clear the walls
- You want to choose the actual piece of wood your table is made from
- You want a live edge or a resin top, and you want the finish sample in your hand first
- You are furnishing a conference room or a business space
- You are an interior designer or an architect commissioning for a client
I would rather say this up front.
It saves us both time if you can tell in a minute whether this is for you.
A good fit if
- You are a homeowner, an interior designer, an architect or a business commissioning a dining, conference or statement table
- Your budget sits in the $6,000 to $20,000 range most commissions fall inside
- You have 6 to 12 weeks from the day you approve the design
- You want to pick the slab, approve a digital layout and hold a finish sample before I cut
- You are in Chicagoland for white glove delivery, or further out and open to nationwide delivery
Probably not a fit if
- You need a table in the room in a few weeks
- You want to pick a size and a stain off a list and be done with it
- You want to see the finished table before you commit to it
Work out the size your room wants.
Before we talk
Work out the size your room wants, then send it to me and I will draw it. This guide estimates a starting table size and chair clearance.
People you need to seat
A 3'4" W x 6' L table fits comfortably.
That leaves roughly 52 inches from the table edge to the wall and 54 at the ends, so people pull out and walk past without turning sideways.
Sizing allows 24 inches of table edge per person and 36 inches of clearance for chairs to pull out and someone to walk behind. Final dimensions are yours to set. This is a starting point, not a rule.
What a commission costs.
Investment
Most commissions fall in the $6,000 to $20,000 range. Price follows the dimensions, slab, resin work, base and delivery plan, and I give you a written proposal before production begins.
Once our direction is established, I provide a written proposal outlining the design, investment, production schedule and delivery plan. Delivery is included with each project, and in most cases that means white glove, with installation in your home or office.
None of that starts with a sales call. You send me the room, I send back the drawing and a price range, and if it is right we talk about the setting, the scale and how the table will be used, then move into slab selection.
The decision path
- 01 Slab selection with me, in person or on video
- 02 A digital layout of your table for approval
- 03 A physical finish sample shipped to your home
- 04 Build photographs from the studio
- 05 Delivery planning, with nationwide options available
The maker
“One table at a time. By me. With actual hands.”
I design tables around the way people live and the moments that happen around them. Each project begins by understanding your space, how the table will be used, and how it should feel within the room. From there, we shape the proportions, seating, materials, base and finish into a piece designed specifically for its setting.
Some of the most meaningful conversations happen around a table, both the easy ones and the difficult ones. It is where meals are shared, games are played, and families grow together. That was true in the home I grew up in, and it continues to shape the way I approach every table I design.
I’m Rob Showalter, and you work directly with me throughout the entire design and build process. Every table is created for the people and space it will serve, then built by hand in my Geneva studio, with updates shared as your piece takes shape.
Before you get in touch.
Common questions
- How long does a table take?
- Most tables take 6 to 12 weeks from the day you approve the design. I accept a limited number of commissions at a time, so timing depends on the project and the current production schedule, and the written proposal confirms it. Expedited timelines may be available for select projects based on production capacity.
- Is the drawing really free, and what is the catch?
- It is free and there is no catch. You get a rendering of your table and a price range, usually within a few days. There is no call required and no obligation, and I draw it myself. I would rather you saw your own table before you decide anything.
- How can you draw my table before you have the slab?
- I draw in Photoshop from photographs of slabs, the same way I build the render for every commission, then model it in SketchUp. It holds to 95 to 99 percent of the finished table. When we get to your actual slab, you see that one laid out the same way before I cut.
- Why does a custom table cost this much?
- Each quote reflects the slab, size, resin work, base, finish and delivery plan for that design. Most commissions fall in the $6,000 to $20,000 range.
- Do you deliver, and how far?
- Across Chicagoland I generally handle delivery and installation personally. Beyond it, pieces travel white glove nationwide, and the written proposal states the plan for your table.
- Can I review the choices before production?
- Yes. You select the slab, review the digital layout and see the physical finish sample before production begins.
- Can we meet in the Geneva studio?
- Yes. Local clients can request an in-studio consultation to review options and design the table together. Studio visits are by appointment.
- Do you build custom kitchen tables as well as dining tables?
- Yes. It is the same commission either way. A kitchen table usually means a tighter room, so the size and the chair clearance take more of the conversation than they would for a formal dining room.
- What wood do you build in?
- Hardwood slabs. Walnut is the wood named most often in the work on this page, and there is spalted wood in there too. Slab stock changes, so rather than quote a catalogue I will tell you what is in the studio and what I can source in your size when we talk.
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