Tomfoolery Wood Co. — Local services in Kent

Summary: We love our walnut bookcase and enjoy them every day. Cannot imagine buying bookcase from anyone other than Dan.

Details: We were looking for multiple pieces of furniture for our home. We really loved Dan's off-stacking bookcases but were hesitant to buy 3 of them online (never bought furniture online before). We reached out to Dan and requested if we could physically see the furniture before placing order and were delighted that Dan invited us over to see his workshop. In addition to bookcases we saw many other pieces of furniture and Dan spent sufficient time with us and answered all of our questions. He provided an excellent suggestion to make the two bookcases mirror images of each other and proactively sent 3-D rendering of bookcases to make our decision easier. He personally delivered bookcase to our home and they are as beautiful as we had seen them. We cannot imagine any other bookcase in our home. The walnut Dan uses is full of character and his craftsmanship is excellent.

We also collaborated with Dan to build a custom piece of furniture. We picked the dimension but gave him full freedom to design the various aspects of the furniture. We could see that he treated the project as a creative endeavor and as art. When he delivered the piece he proactively pointed out aspect that might concerns us. It was more expensive than bookcase and we were worried. After a thinking it over for a day when we contacted Dan and mentioned that we were not comfortable with aspects that he had pointed out, we were very impressed by Dan's integrity to take the furniture piece back and issue full refund. Dan's ability to stand behind his work in this slightly difficult situation speaks volumes about him as a trustworthy person.

We look forward to collaborating with Dan and getting more custom furniture built for our home. The furniture may take a little longer but it is most definitely worth the wait, so don't let the long lead time discourage anyone.

Suggestion for someone ordering off stacking bookcase: We ordered 2 narrow and 1 wide bookcase. The default offset is 4". For the wide bookcase we increased the offset to 6" but if we were to travel back in time we would go with 8" offset as that would provide good space to put our son's toys. For narrow bookcase think about how you would use the bookcase and...

To start I want to address the “elephant in the room.” Yes, the wait time is long, really long. Would I have loved to get this credenza within the month I ordered it? Yes! Was it hard to wait? Yes! Was it worth it? A resounding YES!

My wife and I moved homes during the pandemic and she was actually the one who sent me the link to this company. I really liked how the furniture was designed as almost a hybrid of modern and contemporary. Being based on the PNW was an added bonus. Once we found the console we thought would work best in our home we were excited to place our order. Once placed the hardest part was the first week. I generally want things immediately once I’ve purchased them. However, after that first week the wait was easy. If I wanted something quick I could have gone to a chain.

I reached out once from the time that I ordered until when the piece arrived. My question is was answered almost immediately by Maria, I believe the office manager. All questions were answered to my satisfaction. Thank you, Maria.

Once built, my wait was acknowledged and I was made to feel as if the whole team emphasized with the wait time. At no point during these discussions did I ever initiate anything that would have indicated I was annoyed or upset with the wait. This was just excellent, and honestly, unprecedented customer service.

The siesto vinyl console is now here and it’s fantastic. The piece is square and sturdy, it’s really just great to look at. This should resonate with most, but it’s really one of those items that photos cannot do justice.

Would I hesitate to place another order with Tom Foolery? Absolutely not. The craftsmanship by the builder, the design by Dan, and the correspondence with Maria has been exceptional. Personally, when I spend money on something like this I like feeling as though my order matters, this was the case. Thank you to all who had a hand in building this.

One critic, and I really do think this would have been done had I thought about it at the time. I wish the legs has felt pads on the bottom. Nothing can be...

I ordered a 4-tier "Offstack" bookcase last year to shelve my record collection and, after seeing other orders on the company’s Instagram, I requested a few modifications (increased overall depth + vinyl stops). Dan, the owner, was extremely helpful and generous in making sure I got just what I imagined, even though I’d already placed my order.

I live in New York, across the country from Tomfoolery, but my shelf arrived extremely well packed in a custom plywood crate and without a single scratch, dent, or chip in sight. It even still smelled good. The joinery looks top-notch, the finish is smooth to the touch, and every line is straight as an arrow.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the final product; it is everything I wanted and more. I am happy to say that wherever I end up in 10, 20, or 30+ years, I will find a way to bring this shelf with me.

My only criticism—a little more communication during the long lead time would be nice. I did purchase in June 2020, during the peak months of COVID-19, and my lead time ended up being almost double the original estimate. The originally quoted 14 weeks came and went without a word, and when I finally asked for an update after 17 weeks, I was told production would be starting within the next 3 (it ended up taking another 7). The whole process took over 6 months from purchase to curbside arrival. This purchase was a big deal for me, and after a while I did begin to wonder if I would ever get the shelf.

But Tomfoolery was kind enough to offer me a reduced shipping fee to make up for the delay, and because the workmanship is so good, I can’t in earnest knock any stars off my review. Not for a small business making such beautiful things.

So yes, I would buy from Tomfoolery Wood again. In fact, I plan to very soon. (Suddenly my Ikea credenza no longer looks very good.) As long as you're not in any hurry, I would definitely recommend Tomfoolery. It may take longer than expected, but they’ll make sure you get a beautiful piece of furniture that is exactly what you're...