Wilding Wallbeds Contributions to the Bedroom Furniture Industry
Experience
Robert, Dennis, and I (Dan) all grew up, so to speak, in the home furnishings business. Over a period of three decades, all three of us worked for several of the Intermountain West’s Home furnishings retailers. Powerhouses like RC Willey, Granite Furniture, Collette’s, Boulevard Home Furnishings and more were the training ground for a lifetime of experience and knowledge about how to make bedroom furniture right. While employed at these retailers we were more than simply employees, we were students of the Home Furnishings business. Our average week included being involved in several professional sales meetings where representatives from any of hundreds of manufacturers would train us on the value, construction, durability, finishing techniques, warranty and more, of their products. Week by week and year by year we were trained, over and again, by the industry’s very finest. We also attended dozens of events at the manufacturers’ manufacturing locations. Some of these events were week-long training experiences. Companies like Broyhill Furniture, Stanley, La-z-Boy, Intermountain Furniture, Simmons Mattress, Serta Mattress, and dozens more invited us to come and see their operations and techniques. In addition to these wonderfully informative training events we were also involved in the Management, Operations, Customer Service, Warehousing, Shipping and Delivery of furniture for the companies that we worked for. We literally grew into industry experts. When this education was coupled with a true love for wood and woodworking, it naturally matured into each of us, independently becoming involved in building furniture ourselves.
It all began with home projects. I remember some of the first furniture that I personally built; items like a bookcase, an entertainment center, an oak wood cradle for my new-born daughter, a waterbed, a dresser, nightstands and the list goes on and on. While building these items for ourselves, we used construction materials and techniques that mirrored the industry’s finest manufactures. We used the education we’d received to build the furniture that we used in our very own homes. When we came upon a challenge or a roadblock in a woodworking project, we’d simply go to work and inspect the construction methods of the industries finest to learn how to do it the right way.
Up to this point all of the wood projects that we’d built were used in our very own homes or they were used by extended family and neighbors. Our involvement in the building of furniture was truly a hobby that we each had a love of. Each piece we built came from a love of wood and wood working.
I still remember clearly the day the business all began for me personally. I was selling furniture for RC Willey. I approached a customer who had come to the location looking for a Sofa Table that would hold a saltwater aquarium that he owned. I walked the customer to our catalog room filled with hundreds of companies’ brochures and catalogs. While pointing at the books, I explained that I had access to hundreds of manufactures that built Sofa Tables, but not one of these hundreds of companies built what this customer was looking for. In fact every single one of the companies that built sofa tables expressed specifically in writing that their product was not intended for use with an aquarium. I then mentioned to that customer that I built furniture and could easily build him the sofa table that he wanted to hold his aquarium. We talked about style, wood type and color, price and all the other details. Before leaving the store that day, the customer wrote me a check as a deposit for the project. On the way home that night, I stopped and bought the materials needs as well as a couple of tools needed to complete that project. Three weeks later, I delivered the finished sofa table to his home. He was so pleased, that on the spot, he ordered a cocktail table and two end tables to match the new sofa table that I’d built for him, and the process repeated itself. This customer was extremely happy with his new, custom, living room table set.
In sharing this experience with several of my workmates, I found immediately that many other customers needed furniture built to function in very specific ways that the industry did not provide. The most frequently requested items were bedroom furniture items, along with entertainment centers. My teammates, one by one would bring a customer of theirs to me with a custom project that they needed for their home. I personally built dozens and dozens of custom bedroom furniture projects for customers. At nearly the same time, Robert and Dennis, living in St. George Utah, and working for Boulevard Home Furnishings, had nearly exactly the same experience. Their projects included custom entertainment centers and custom bedroom furniture. And thus our business continued to find focus.
Over the next few years we each independently built hundreds of custom bedroom furniture and other wood projects for customers just this same way. Over these years we each acquired all of the wood working tools and experiences that contributed to us becoming exceptionally capable and talented wood workers. During this time, I moved my family to St. George Utah, and began working for Boulevard Home Furnishings too. Robert, Dennis and I built a common shop that all three of us worked in. Though each of us were still working independently, we relied on each other’s experience and know-how.
Robert was the first to build a Murphy Bed. He’d found a customer who needed one. We’d never built one, so Bob got online and studied the product, he ordered a mechanism and built it from the ground up. I still remember the day we stood that bed up in our shop. We all admired how cool it was. We talked about how frequently we each got asked for a Murphy bed at the furniture store we worked at, and again, not a single manufacturer offered them. Our conversation began to take shape about beginning a company….our very own company, with all three of us united in the effort…and that was the birth of Wilding Wallbeds.
Contributions to the Bedroom Furniture Industry
Customization
In bedroom furniture we learned very quickly that in customers’ homes, bedrooms fill one of two functions. For some a bedroom is simply a place to sleep. No frills, no extras, simply specialized function. A dresser that fits exactly the type of clothing a customer needs. Drawers built to specific sizes because of storage needs, etc. However, for the majority of customers, the bedroom is a sanctuary, it’s a haven, a get-away from the world and stress. This customer is highly focused on the quality, durability and luxurious function of their bedroom furniture. Though there are similarities, the focus is different and requires different focus to different details. Both of these types of customers lead to innovation. One of our talents is the ability to listen to the customer and truly understand their needs…or desires. This, coupled with our ability to customize bedroom furniture naturally developed into many fun things. Here is a list of just a few of the things that we either entirely pioneered or were among the first few to offer in bedroom furniture in the nation.
- Lighting – We found those who saw their bedroom as a Haven also wanted to read in bed. So, naturally we incorporated into the design of their custom bedroom furniture, lighting that fit that need. Still, today, lighting is one of the single most desired points of customization for our customers.
- Power outlets – With tech such a big part of our lives, we developed the ability to incorporate plugs and USB chargers into the bedroom furniture projects. Over the years, we also dabbled in Bluetooth sound systems incorporated into the custom bedroom furniture. In today’s furniture world I am not aware of- a single manufacturer that does not incorporate power into their products. We lead out on this fun option.
Pillow Keeper and Pillow Saver headboards – Wilding Wallbeds specialize in Wall Beds and Murphy Beds. Each of the several mechanisms we offer all had an inherent problem. None of them addressed the problem of pillow slip. We find that customers hate when their pillow slips off the head of the bed in the middle of the night. We developed Pillow Keeper’s and Pillow Saver solutions for each of the many styles of Murphy Bed and wall bed. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but we’re the only ones doing this, and we pioneered it.- Wall bed Bunk Beds – Wilding Wallbeds pioneered Bunk Beds that fold up against the wall using wall bed technology. This has been a wildly successful product offering and has continued to increase in popularity over the decade we’ve been producing them. Our Bunk Bed Wallbeds solve space concerns of many of our customers. Today, we offer our wall bed Bunk Beds in many styles, colors and wood selections. We’ve also found, from time to time the need to customize this product for a customer here and there.
- Drop Down Tables – Wilding Wallbeds pioneered drop down tables for customer’s needs. We learned that the spare bedroom needed to function not only as a bedroom but also as a craft room or an office, so we developed a product that fit this specific need. This is one more of those most popular bedroom furniture options that our customers want.
Custom Home Office – in addition to the drop down tables, we found that many customers needed a bedroom that functioned day to day as an office and only occasionally as a spare bedroom. We pioneered the incorporation of a home office into the bedroom. In most cases, this product functions best in the room by attaching directly to the side of the customer’s wall bed or Murphy bed and provides a very capable and professional work area. This is still one of the most popular wishes of our customers.- Hidden Storage Night Stands – Wilding Wallbeds was among the pioneers of developing hidden storage into bedroom furniture, and we were the pioneers of developing the hidden storage night stands that we still offer today. Our Hidden Storage Nightstands provide a secure hidden storage area in the top of the night stand and another hidden storage area in the foot of the night stand. Our customers love this item.
- Durability – I know that all companies talk about the durability of their product so this item doesn’t seem, at first blush, to be an area of differentiation. Remember, in our early years, we learned how to build bedroom furniture from the industries very best. That truth, coupled with our working with leading wood mills lead to the development of a specifically designed product for Wilding Wallbeds. Our “furniture grade plywood” is literally engineered for wall beds and Murphy beds. This is a point that other industry leaders don’t know. Building a wall bed or Murphy Bed is different from building a dresser or an entertainment center. For there to be product integrity and durability, you must have better strength and shape retention than standard furniture type plywoods. Even solid woods will not perform at the level of our furniture grade plywood, and we incorporate it into not only our Wall beds and Murphy beds, but into every product that we build.
Storage Headboards – Another pioneered product by Wilding Wallbeds is our Storage Headboard. This allows our customers to store extra pillows, blankets and other items right in their headboard. This is a very popular product that customers opt for in the design of their Wallbed and Murphy Bed. This provides greater function in bedroom furniture for our customers.- Old world wood joinery coupled with new world precision – Quality…This is another of those things that all companies talk about but when you get into the details you see that we back it up with action. Quality is of major importance at Wilding Wallbeds. We’ve successfully coupled the value of old world wood joinery, dados, rabbets, dovetail and more with new world technology, computerized cutting and precision machinery that ensures unyielding quality and durability.
These are just a few of the items that we pioneered or significantly enhanced in the bedroom furniture industry. Customer experience is at the heart of Wilding Wallbeds. We love being able to produce a product that fits our customers specific needs. We love our business, and the creativity of developing customized bedroom furniture that lasts the test of time.
Give us the opportunity to help you design the finest bedroom furniture that you’ll ever own.
Visit our website wallbedsbywilding.com or give us a call (866) 877-7803. Take a look at our customer reviews. We are confident that you will find ordering your bedroom furniture from Wilding Wallbeds among the very most pleasant purchasing events of your life. We have the knowledge, creativity and ability to create the very best bedroom furniture that you’ll ever own–and we encourage your input and participation.
Written by
Dan Wilding
Marketing Manager