Robert Russell Designs
Shown in a rendered room
How a commission gets made.
Design, build, finish, deliver, install. You work with me at every stage, from the first conversation until the piece is installed in your room, and nothing is cut until you approve the drawing.
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Slab selection
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The drawing
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Carving a wall panel
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Sealing the top
The five stages
- 01
Design
It starts with a conversation about the room and how the piece will be used, then the wood and the drawing. When slabs are used, I cut the actual slabs out of their photographs, size them against the measurements marked on them and lay them out in the drawing to your dimensions before anything is cut. Then a SketchUp model shows the shape, proportions and details, along with AI-assisted visualizations to help you see the piece in a finished space.
Nothing is cut until you approve the drawing. I hold it to 95 to 99 percent of the finished piece.
- 02
Build
A 40% deposit of the initial approved project price books the commission. I lead the build myself in my studio in Geneva, Illinois: the joinery, glue-ups, shaping and hand fitting. Along the way I send photographs and video, so you watch it take shape rather than wait on it.
You have 5 business days after placing the order to cancel.
- 03
Finish
Color, sheen and feel are decided on physical samples, not on a screen. Give me the flooring, cabinetry, paint, fabric or finish sample you are working to, and I adjust the wood and the finish until it coordinates with what you are trying to achieve.
For a resin table, I make and ship a 9.5 by 17 inch charcuterie board so you can preview the resin color and the finish.
- 04
Deliver
I don’t build a piece, hand it to a freight company and consider the job done. Across Chicagoland, I generally handle delivery and installation personally. Farther away, it travels white glove, with inside setup.
Pieces have gone to 47 of the 48 continental states.
- 05
Install
A commission isn’t finished when it leaves the studio. It is finished when the piece is delivered, installed, and looks the way it is supposed to look in your space.
Placed in the room it was drawn for, not left at the door.
What we decide together
You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you want. Part of what I do is work through these decisions with you until we arrive at something that feels right for your home, business or project.
- Size and proportions
- Shape
- Wood species and grain
- Base design
- Joinery
- Edge details
- Texture and feel
- Color
- Sheen and finish
- How it relates to the room
- How it will actually be used
- How it is delivered and installed
Why the drawing comes first
01DrawnThe model, in SketchUp
02BuiltThe finished table, installed
A five-figure piece is not something you should have to imagine. Before you approve it, you see the design, proportions, materials and finish. A 3D model shows the shape, proportions and details, while AI-assisted visualizations help you see the finished piece in context. When slabs are used, the actual slabs are laid out in the drawing before anything is cut.
The process is built to make the approval real rather than hopeful.
- Drawn
- To your dimensions, actual slabs when slabs are used
- Modeled in
- SketchUp + AI visualization
- Held to
- 95 to 99 percent of the finished piece
- Before a cut
- The actual piece, drawn, modeled and approved
Samples, matched to the room
I’m not an interior designer, and I won’t choose the palette for your space. But when you, your designer or your architect give me flooring, cabinetry, paint, fabric or a finish sample to work to, I make physical samples and adjust the wood and the finish until they match it closely.
- Work to
- Flooring, cabinetry, paint, fabric or a finish sample
- For
- Homeowners, interior designers and architects
- Samples
- Physical, seen in your own light
How long it takes
6 to 12 weeks
From design approval
Each piece is designed and built individually, and there are parts of fine furniture making that simply cannot be rushed without affecting the result. The joinery, the curing, the finishing and the details of the piece set the schedule.
I accept a limited number of commissions at a time, so I can stay involved in each one from the first conversation to the installation.
Expedited timelines may be available for select projects based on production capacity.
- Most commissions
- $6,000 to $20,000
- Deposit
- 40% of the initial approved project price, to book the commission
- Cancel within
- 5 business days
Look closer
Traditional joinery, hand fitting, grain selected and oriented on purpose, shaped and curved parts, and a finish developed for the piece. Some of it you won’t notice until you look closely.
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A cable port cut into a desk top, beside the wooden cover made to close it. -
Where a splayed walnut leg meets the rail. -
Bowtie keys set across open seams in a slab, lit from behind. -
A live-edge console in the studio, before the finish.
Before you ask
- Do I need to know exactly what I want before I get in touch?
- No. Part of what I do is work through the size, the shape, the wood, the base and the finish with you until we arrive at something that feels right for your home, business or project, and for the way it will be used.
- Do you deliver and install?
- Yes. Delivery and installation are part of the commission. Across Chicagoland, I generally handle delivery and installation personally. Farther away, pieces travel white glove with inside setup. It isn’t finished until it is installed and looks the way it is supposed to look in your space.
- Can you match my flooring, cabinetry or paint?
- Closely, yes. Give me the flooring, cabinetry, paint, fabric or finish sample you are working to, and I make physical samples and adjust the wood and the finish until it coordinates. I don’t choose a room’s palette; I match the one you or your designer have chosen.
- Can I visit the studio?
- Yes, by appointment. It is a working studio, so there are no walk-in hours. Call or write first.
Watch one get built
From the channel