What is FF&E?: A Comprehensive Guide by RFP Design Group
What is FF&E?: A Comprehensive Guide by RFP Design Group Introduction: In the realm of interior design and architecture, certain terms might appear complex to those outside the industry. One such term is FF&E. While it might sound technical, grasping FF&E...
Demystifying Custom Furniture Costs: How much does custom furniture cost?
Demystifying Custom Furniture Costs: How much does custom furniture cost? Introduction: Custom furniture offers a unique blend of functionality, aesthetics, and personalization that mass-produced pieces often can't match. Whether you're furnishing a new home or...
A Timeless Trend: Wood
A Timeless Trend: Wood | Whether in retail, restaurants and hospitality, or any kind of commercial space, wood accents will create the inviting atmosphere you want. Even if they’re working in a space in the middle of an urban jungle and miles away from the nearest...
Raising the Rooftop Dining Experience
Raising the Rooftop Dining Experience Want to take your restaurant design to the next level? Look into the latest trend of rooftop dining. Thanks to the pandemic, the restaurant industry will never look at outdoor dining the same way again. It’s now not a bonus to...
Why Natural Lighting is Taking Over Retail Design
Why Natural Lighting is Taking Over Retail Design In retail design, you want your store to be lit as beautifully as possible. One of the biggest trends in retail design is harnessing natural light to do that for you. A major mistake in retail design is focusing...
How to Bring Mismatched Dining Furniture Into Your Restaurant
How to Bring Mismatched Dining Furniture Into Your Restaurant Design It might seem like a mistake at first, but mixing and matching furniture pieces can help your diners feel right at home. How to Bring Mismatched Dining Furniture Into Your Restaurant Design The...
Small Shop, Big Potential: The Pop-Up Retail Trend
By design, pop-up retail shops are meant to have short lifespans. But 2021 is proving this is a long-lasting trend in the retail industry. What retail trend capitalizes on all the following major themes of the last few years: social media-driven marketing and sales,...
How to Make Your Shop a Home
Achieving a homey, comfortable atmosphere for your retail customers is easier than you think. Here’s how to Make Your Shop a Home. When you work in retail, it might feel like your store is a second home (if you’re an owner, you might even spend more time there than...
Less is More: Why Minimalistic Merchandising is the Top Trend of 2021 Retail
For the ultimate post-pandemic in-store shopper experience, retailers are going for sophistication and elegance over overflowing shelves - Minimalistic Merchandising In 2020, there was one major retail trend. You guessed it – online! Shoppers had to browse with a...
Cutting Edge Tools: The Tools We Love at RFP
When it comes to furniture fabrication, it’s our mandate to combine the latest technology with the timeless care of handmade details. Here’s how we do it - Cutting Edge Tools Cutting Edge Tools - Humans have been creating quality pieces of furniture for as long as...
What is the Sit Test, and Why Do We Do It?
What is the Sit Test? It may be our favourite part of the furniture fabrication process (our clients’ too). What makes the sit test so special? You wouldn’t buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first, right? What is the Sit Test When it comes to an item that...
Standard Heights for Tables and Seating: Where Do You Stand?
A common reason for getting dining pieces custom made together is to get a perfect match between a table and seats. But how do standard Tables and Seating heights in furniture design really measure up? Tables and Seating | You know the saying – “Measure twice, cut...
The benefits of working with RFP on custom wood projects
Not all custom wood projects furniture is made equally – it all comes down to the fabricator, and there are a few reasons you should go with RFP. Using wood as the base of your custom wood projects already comes with a long list of benefits – it’s an extremely...
The RFP Process: Why makes us different custom furniture makers
No experience working with a custom furniture maker to make your dreams come true? Here’s how we do it, step by step. As with any creative pursuit, every person – or group – will take a different approach to collaboration and creation. Ours at RFP Design Group Inc....
The RFP approach to custom furniture manufacturing
We’re obsessed with design, technology, and working with our clients to make their vision a reality. That drives RFP to be the authority in custom furniture manufacturing in Canada. Welcome to RFP! We’re so glad you decided to stop by to learn about custom furniture...
Shades and Colours: Wood Staining vs. Wood Painting
But to paint, or to stain – that is the question. Wood Staining vs. Wood Painting Choosing wood as the material for a piece of custom furniture may be a decision that’s less about the wood (or it’s quality) itself, and more about its ability to take a certain finish,...
Different cuts of wood: What they are, and why they matter.
You can probably name different wood types off the top of your head. But can you do that with different cuts of wood? So you’ve decided on a type of wood for your custom piece of furniture. Congratulations, your work is done! Or so you thought. Different cuts of wood...
The Basics of Wood Materials: Solid vs. Laminate vs. Veneer
The finishing on wood pieces may be surface level, but their impact on look, function and price goes much deeper. Here are the basics of what you need to know when choosing between solid wood, laminate and veneer. Whether it’s an office, retail space, restaurant,...
What you need to know about fabric fibers
What separates cotton from silk from polyester from acrylic? The answer is the – ahem – fiber of the issue - the fabric fibers When you’re new to custom furniture, it can be exciting to imagine your grand vision for a space without restriction. But when it comes down...
What is the right type of wood for my project?
When it comes to choosing your wood for a custom piece of furniture, don’t go against the grain. Some types will be more appropriate than others. For most of us, choosing the right kind of wood for our furniture comes down to finish – do we want a light, cool oak, or...
Upholstery Fabric 101: The different types
Upholstery Fabric 101: Feeling overwhelmed by choice when it comes to the fabric type for a new piece of furniture? This breakdown is just the material you need. Imagine this scenario: You need a new chair, banquette, or sofa – and can’t find the right piece in any...
RFP Design: Bringing it all together
RFP Design: Bringing it all together At RFP Design, the spirit of Christmas is a recurring theme throughout the year. It's not just about the holiday season; it's about the excitement and anticipation that comes with every project we undertake. Each step of the...
Ensuring the highest quality
Ensuring the highest quality At RFP Design, our commitment to quality goes beyond just the final step of quality assurance. It's ingrained in every aspect of our process, from the initial client meetings to the meticulous attention to detail in our workshop. We focus...
Testing – A setback
Despite our best intentions, moving from concept to finished installation is never straightforward. To use an old cliché, we plan for the worst and hope for the best. In this case, the setback wasn't fatal, but it caused us to rethink fabrics. COVID 19 has affected...
Specifications and design
It's BIG! Indoor: 62 dining chairs, 28 Barstools, 9 Banquettes, 27 Tables. Outdoor: 120 Dining Chairs, 26 Outdoor Sofa's, 42 Outdoor Tables. A big part of the brief was to value-engineer each piece to hit the mark of 'cool, beach club'. Our design team worked...
In the beginning
In the beginning it starts with a vision. Our best work comes from a design plan that clearly articulates what the designers and architects want the user to experience in the space. In this case it was to renovate an existing restaurant to create a real 'beach...
Andrew Moretti: Wood Industry 40 Under 40 Class of 2021
“It’s always special to be recognized by your peers”. That from Andrew Moretti, Founder and President of RFP Design Group following the announcement from Woodworking Network of his inclusion in the Wood Industry 40 under 40 Class of 2021. Every year Woodworking...
How to choose the right upholstery fabric
Your may love a fabric on your body – you may hate that fabric on a sofa. When choosing an upholstery fabric, these are the factors you have to think about first. With a custom piece of furniture, there may be a lot of pressure riding on choosing the perfect fabric....
Why you’re underestimating the humble ottoman
The ottoman may be the piece of furniture you didn’t know you couldn’t live without. Find out how many ways you can use them in your living space. “When it’s so easy to lie down on my couch, why would I need a furniture item solely for the purpose of resting my feet?”...
How to make your space look bigger
Not all rooms are created equal… in size at least. But every room can be equal in style and impact with these tricks to make a small space feel more expansive. A phrase as ubiquitous as “the best things come in small packages” can’t be an exaggeration – there’s real...
Down vs. Foam – the right stuff(ing)
For such soft materials, choosing the right cushion filling can be a hard decision. Here’s how foam and down cushions compare. Seating is one of the most important custom furniture projects you can take on – a room without proper seating is a room no one can (or would...
What kind of seam should I use?
Seams are literally what hold your custom piece of furniture together – here’s how to pick the right kind When ordering a custom piece of furniture, it’s easy to have the big picture in mind – What piece do you need? What function will it serve? What colour and style...
RFP’s new RFP Design Order System for Custom Furniture
RFP’s new design portal will transform you workflow! Learn how below with our video demonstration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5QHye-Ov84
Restaurants, Reimagined
Restaurants have had to pivot so fast, they’re pirouetting. What will the industry look like when they stop? The pandemic has impacted virtually every industry imaginable, but few more so than food and beverage. The places that make our neighbourhoods and cities so...
Commercial spaces redesigned to provide Covid-safe environment
What will Commercial spaces post-pandemic look like? Let’s take a moment of silence for the office plants, the work shoes, and the office kitchen kettle waiting abruptly abandoned almost a year ago, when the coronavirus pandemic fundamentally changed the way we think...
How retail is reinventing itself
After a tumultuous year, smart retailers are making these changes to have a successful 2021 Remember when trend reports came out predicting big things for the retail industry in 2020? Yeah, those didn’t work out. We know that retail trends are subject to change due to...