You don’t have to be a detective to understand that custom furniture makers make furniture. That’s patently obvious. But what may not be as obvious is that most custom furniture makers started making furniture because they love the craft of woodworking itself. Woodworking (and other crafts like blacksmithing and metal work) includes all kinds of projects that are not limited to furniture alone.

Many artisans, like these custom furniture makers serving Menifee, CA, can create custom wood art pieces or other specialty items around the home. It’s become increasingly popular in recent years for customers to have all kinds of custom housewares created by woodworkers, and kitchen items are one of the most common requests.

So, what types of kitchen items can custom furniture makers create for you? Basically, anything you can think of! Here are some ideas that might work in your own home or that might make the perfect gift.

Charcuterie Boards

You can’t go on social media today without seeing at least a few posts about charcuterie or so-called “girl dinner.” For the uninitiated, these are platters that traditionally contain a variety of small bites like meats, cheeses, vegetables, crackers and/or bread, and various spreads. The popularity of this trend has led to some real creativity—people are making these platters with all kinds of foods like cupcakes, cookies, burgers, and even soup cups!

Charcuterie may have taken all kinds of new forms in the last couple years, but one constant is that it needs to be served on a flat board, preferably wooden. A simple cutting board would do the trick, but if this is a style of food you serve often or if you like to throw parties, it might be fun to have something a little fancier and a little more personalized to your style.

Custom furniture makers can make you a beautifully unique charcuterie board of any size. They will help you pick out the right wood that will hold up against knives and frequent washing. They may even be able to engrave it for you.

Bowls and Platters

Shopping for new dishes can feel like a chore because everything starts to look the same after a while. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a department store or a specialty store—the same styles are repeated over and over. You might be able to find something unique at a thrift store, but thrifting is always a shot in the dark. It takes persistence and luck to find what you’re looking for.

Why not have some bowls or platters created for you by a custom furniture maker? Again, these are talented woodworkers that can create just about anything in your mind’s eye. If you know what size you need your dishes to be and if you have a style in mind for them, your custom furniture maker would be happy to create some pieces that are unique, practical, and a beautiful addition to your kitchen collection.

Wine and Whiskey Boxes

If you collect wine and/or whiskey, you know that some bottles need special protection. To preserve the product and maintain a healthy aging process, you want to ensure that light isn’t hitting it, and you want to regulate the temperature. Wooden boxes can accomplish both.

For your most special bottles, have a custom furniture maker create the perfect-sized box so that you can rest assured that when you’re ready to drink what’s inside, it will have been well preserved. If you are not a collector yourself, but you know one, a custom wine or whiskey box is a fantastic gift, especially if you are gifting the bottle along with it!

Recipe Boxes

These have become a bit of a relic of the past—they are very difficult to find in stores these days—which is all the more reason to have a custom furniture maker build one for you. While many people are getting more recipes online as the years go on, there are still people who enjoy hard copies of their recipes. A custom recipe box is also a great way to preserve any recipes that have been passed down through your family, and it can become an excellent gift for you to pass down as well.

Custom furniture makers can create so much more than just furniture. Many types of housewares can be beautifully handcrafted by artisan woodworkers, which is exactly what custom furniture makers are. Don’t worry about the project seeming “too small”—set up a consultation to find out what’s possible. Your kitchen could become home to some incredible unique items that also come with a great story to tell!