Plesums Woodworking Site

Charlie Plesums builds custom furniture, using first rate materials and techniques, to meet your unique size, function, or style requirements. See the section about us for more about his background and over 50 years experience. Or just enjoy the examples of our work below.

With his engineering training, he has a special interest in design challenges - for example, jewelry storage built into a lingerie chest, or a bedroom entertainment center at the top of a chest of drawers, or a Murphy desk to go opposite a Murphy bed (where there isn't room for both a desk and a bed in the same room). This web site shows the prices to reproduce previous projects to give you an idea of what your piece may cost. We hope you will enjoy looking.

Our other site

We learned many lessons as a solo woodworker that we started another web site to share those ideas.

Site Contents

Just look at our work

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About Us

Frequently Asked Questions about custom furniture

Cost Factors

Value options

Getting Started

Choosing your wood
...Use veneer?
...Choose Veneer

Remote Customers

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Bedroom Furniture
...Beds
...Children's furniture
...Dressers
...Nightstands
...Lingerie Chest
...Blanket Chest
...Vanity Dresser
...Murphy Bed/Desk
...Media Center
...Special Needs Bed

Living Room
...Library
...Storage Cabinets
...Bookcases
...Desks
...Stand-up desk
...Entertainment Center
...More Media Centers
...Bar - storage
...Coffee Tables
...End Tables
...Bible Stand
...Toy Chest
...Sofa Base
...Window Seat
...Pecan Table/Desk

Other items
...Accessories
...Humidor
...Adirondack chairs
...Planter
...Sauna mods
...Kitchen cart
...Cabinets
...Saddle Stand
...Flag Case
...Sword Case
...Memory box
...Bathroom

Items by others
...Rocking Chair
...Wine Cellar

Immediately available items

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Furniture Repair

Cleaning and Maintenance

Services and Training

Woodworking Tips
...Finishing
...Lumber Sources
...Milling trees
...wood cuts, etc.
...our shop
...other tips

Links

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Our consulting life

Privacy Policy

SoloWoodworker web site

Odd "stuff" - Charlie's ramblings

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What's our style?

One woodworker described my work as Amish-like - well built, simple lines, minimal ornamentation, that always incorporates quality workmanship and materials. (I take that as a great complement).

One designer described furniture like mine, "The 'modern' style that dates back as far as the 1920s." I would add the influence of the earlier Shaker and of Arts and Crafts styles in my work. If you prefer a different style, and if we have the skills and tools, we will be glad to build it for you, or will help you find someone who can build it.

One of the masters of a few decades ago said he wanted to build furniture for the consumer, not the collector. I like to make furniture that someone will inherit, but normally will refine only the part of the furniture you see and enjoy. Unless you request it, I don't put a piano-like finish on the underside of drawers or the inside of dressers, as some collectors and connoisseurs want. I will win fewer contests, but my lower prices have led to lots of happy customers.

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Where our visitors come from

Last year's visitors

Examples of our work

This living room end table allows quilting and scrapbook projects to be organized and stored in maple trays with cork lining while they are used in the living room. The double height tray can be placed in any position in the cabinet, and the smaller trays are stored around it. The trays can be removed and stacked, with a lid included in the cabinet to protect the contents, as the trays are taken to meetings and events. The lid can be partially pulled out from its storage slot as an additional work surface.

A door can “hide the mess” and keep young fingers from playing with the projects, or can be opened into a pocket so it is out of the way during use. Space is provided under the cabinet for a regular wastebasket. The primary wood is northern black walnut, with panels veneered in fiddleback maple, and walnut burl to decorate the top.

This item was displayed at the 2009 Texas Furniture Maker's Show^TM at the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center. Somebody purchased it there, but I have partially built another one just like the first, and would be glad to complete it for you. $1,950 as shown, or a similar unit can be custom built for you.

This cigar humidor was made of Bubinga, African Rosewood, lined with Spanish Cedar. The drawers at the bottom, outside of the conditioned space, are for lighting and trimming accessories.

The bedroom set included this dresser and the mirror, which can be separate or attached to the dresser.

Personal service

We love the opportunity and challenge of building things to meet your special requirements, especially those that include unusual features (Charlie's engineering degree still shows) - we would be glad to chat about your needs. You may call (512-349-0740) or e-mail (Charlie@Plesums.com) days, nights, or weekends - we work from our home, so you will have our personal attention. Despite the large amount of woodworking equipment, including an imported European combination machine the size (and cost) of a car, our shop is still in our garage. We do not have a showroom... most of our furniture is custom made for a particular customer and has been delivered... but we do have a few items in our home that we would be glad to show you. We are not a licensed contractor, so generally do not build kitchen cabinets or other items that must be installed or built into your home.

Area served

We are located at 5702 Puccoon Cove in the Great Hills area near the Arboretum in Northwest Austin Texas, 78759. We travel to the Dallas area periodically to visit our son, and will consider taking something there for you. Most of our customers are local, so if it impractical for you to pick up, and it fits in our minivan, we will work with you. We welcome customers from anywhere. Shipping small items is easy, but if you are interested in larger item and are remote, please check these issues.

Are we expensive?

No, but if you are looking for bargain furniture, it is not us! The large scale overseas factories using man-made or composite materials and automated machinery can do a better job, cheaper, than we, whether sold by WalMart, Ikea, Crate and Barrel, or Rooms to Go. If you want inexpensive furniture, enjoy our ideas and suggestions, but please don't ask us to try to compete with these low-cost vendors.

If you want good quality furniture, we are competitive with quality "store-bought" furniture (but see our notes on what we have found in some presumably "good" furniture stores). If you need a custom size or special feature in your furniture, we excel, because every piece we build is custom made to your specifications. We are amused when we are often asked "what size does it comes in..." The answer is "whatever size you want."

One of our customers said they were "looking for a Toyota, not a Lexus." I know woodworkers who are clearly "Lexus" (and are more expensive than we are). I can't say how our furniture is less than theirs, but our focus is on value for the customer rather than absolute perfection... I like the "Toyota" analogy. (That discussion occurred back when being compared to "Toyota" was a complement.) And our work should not be compared to a "Yugo."

If you are considering having us build something for you, see our page on getting started

Competitive Bids

We do not want to do competitive "bids" to build furniture (or "bids" for comparison with commercially available options). We want to build furniture, not write multiple proposals for each sale, and have ample work from people who understand our costs, based on the examples on this web site, referrals, and personal discussions. Most of our customers have come back for two to five (or more) items, so we must be doing something right.

Designs and Dimensions

For each group of furniture, in addition to the construction details for individual pieces, we have also included sizes, facts, and figures we have collected from countless sources. These can be your starting point, as they are ours, if we are going to build something for you.

If you are a woodworker who is planning to build your own furniture, we hope you find the data we have collected to be useful. If you use our data, we only ask that you share your experiences and any lessons learned with us.