Each question is linked directly to the answer. Click the question to view the answer.

1. What wood choices do you offer?
2. What kind of finish will the furniture have?
3. What are my choices of stains and colors?
4. What kind of leg options do you have?
5. What is curly maple inlay?
6. What is a frame and cockbead?
7. What is silver with felt?
8. Can I add/subtract drawers if I like?
9. Can I specify height, width and depth?
10. Is your furniture earth friendly?
11. Where is your furniture produced?
12. How do I care for my furniture?
13. What is the turnaround production time?
14. How do you ship and what is the cost?
15. What is your terms and return policy?
16. Can I have custom art created just for me, from scratch?
17. Tile placement options for furniture.
18. What kind of tiles do you use?
19. How are the tiles created?
20. How are the tiles adhered?
21. How do I care for my inlaid tiles?
22. What is your privacy policy and payment methods?

1. What wood choices do you offer?
Woods offered are cherry, curly maple, maple, red oak, white oak, walnut, mahogany, cherry select, high figure curly maple. There is an additional upcharge for curly maple, walnut, mahogany, cherry select and high figure curly maple. Basic woods (no upcharge) are cherry, oak and maple.

2. What kind of finish will the furniture have?
The Painted Forest offers only catalyzed urethane, one of the most durable and water resistant finishes available. With urethane, hardwoods will retain their natural color. The following substances were left on for twenty-four hours with no effect: vinegar, lemon, orange juice, grape juice, coffee, tomato ketchup, and 100 proof alcohol. If you want to protect your furniture and ensure it lasts for decades to come, urethane is by far the best option.

3. What are my choices of stains and colors?
Besides these beautiful designer color stains (click here to view colors ), we also offer Chinese Black Lacquer and Distressed White. There is an upcharge for any of these special stain and finish additions.

4. What kind of leg options do you have?
We offer three types of legs. The first is a basic leg has straight, Shaker-type, uncurved lines. The second is a turned leg. A turned leg is curved, going from narrow to wide, then back to narrow again. Click here to see a turned foot. Click here to see a straight (or tapered)leg. The third is a Cabriole leg. A Cabriole leg is a tapered leg that is wide. There is an upcharge for a Cabriole or turned leg.

5. What is curly maple inlay?
Inlay can be made from any wood, but curly maple is the inlay of choice. Curly maple inlay is an extensive, complicated process which outlines the tiles with an embedded inlay, using curly maple wood, one of the finest woods. The inlay is embedded in the wood. It acts as a "frame" to the art tiles, accenting it by surrounding it with different color and texture. Click here to see a curly maple inlay. There is an upcharge for curly maple inlay.

6. What is a frame and cockbead?
A frame and cockbead is an optional, three-dimensional drawer accent. Click here for a frame and cockbead drawer. There is an upcharge 160.00 per drawer for a frame and cockbead accent.

7. What is silver with felt?
Silver with felt refers to our China Cabinet Hutch, a buttery felt for silver storage. It is an area especially built for storing your finest silver.

8. Can I add/subtract drawers or doors if I like?
Yes and no. It wholly depends on the piece you are choosing, and whether the addition will compromise the piece's integrity, sturdiness and ability to support the extra weight of the tiles. Each situation is assessed independently. If it can be done, we will do it. If we can't, we will explain why.

9. Can I specify height, width and depth?
In most cases, you can specify height. Width and depth will depend on the item you choose, and whether altering depth and width will compromise furniture strength, integrity and price. If it can be done, we will do it. If we can't, we will explain why.

10. Is your furniture earth-friendly?
Emphatically, yes. The Painted Forest uses wood harvested from sustainable growth forests. Our products contain wood from responsibly managed forests that are certified by various foresting and ecological organizations throughout Vermont and the US. In fact, the "chain of custody" follows each particular tree from a particular forest all the way through it being crafted as a beautiful piece of furniture. The Painted Forest only deals with companies who pay strong attention to the environmental and social impact of logging.

11. Where is the furniture produced?
All Painted Forest products are produced, by hand, in Vermont, in a 17,000 square foot facility in Ludlow, Vermont which opened approximately eighteen years ago. A team of eight full-time craftsmen with backgrounds from boatbuilding to fine arts to cabinet-making craft an extensive line of residential and commercial furnishings.

12. How do I care for my furniture?
Dust furniture with a slightly damp cloth. We recommend using coasters and placemats whenserving. do not put hot plates or pans down without padding underneath. Ensure that potted plants have trays. For table tops, we recommend a custom-cut glass covering over the tiles to protect them. A quarter inch plate glass grounded on the edges for a very smooth finish, custom cut. Price is 15.00 sq ft.

13. What is the turnaround production time?
18-24 weeks. If you require or desire a more rapid turnaround time, there is an additional ten percent fee.

14. How is the furniture shipped and what is the cost?
Free shipping to the following US States: Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and in some areas of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, with the exception of water ferry deliveries. The Painted Forest offers a "white glove" delivery service. Our furniture is shipped/delivered blanket-wrapped by fine furniture mover specialists. Delivery costs range between fifteen and twenty percent of the retail price. You will receive a call to arrange a convenient delivery time and date. The furniture is taken into your home and unpacked and set up. If applicable, old furniture that is being replaced is removed. We will ship to US and Canada as well as overseas.

15. What is your terms and returns policy?
Because all pieces are custom made to order, we do not offer returns or refunds. Our terms are full payment up front via credit card or personal check. We do offer a three-year guarantee for our tiles; we will provide free tile replacements for broken tiles when necessary. We do keep all artwork and data on file should you need replacements in the future.

16. Can I have art created, just for me, from scratch, according to my taste, for the tiles?
Absolutely. Every piece of art on this site, even the photography, was created by Mindy Sommers, an award-winning artist and designer. No matter what you can imagine--whether you want an impressionist painting, a pastiche/collage, a beach scene or custom pattern--we can work with you to make your vision come to life. There is an additional upcharge for custom art creation. An important side note: if you want, for example, a Van Gogh or DaVinci or Monet piece on your furniture, we can do that, too. Ask us about classic fine paintings on tiles.

17. Tile Placement Options for Furniture
Not all pieces of furniture can safely receive tiles in every blank area. Each piece of furniture is treated individually. Please contact us to discuss specific options for the furniture in which you are interested.

18. What kind of tiles do you use?
We offer ceramic tiles, glass tiles and tumbled marble tiles. For colorful art pieces, we recommend glass and ceramic. For a nostalgic, old-world vintage style, we recommend tumbled marble. A note about tumbled marble: the very nature of tumbled stone is imperfection. It's real stone, from the earth, and, as such, it's flawed, beautifully flawed by Mother Nature herself. These flaws are what makes them so beautiful. They have cracks, hairlines, bumps, jaggy edges, and the outer rims are never even. If you do not enjoy a rustic, imperfect look, do not choose tumbled marble.

19. How are the tiles created?
The Painted Forest's custom art tiles are made with a special process that uses heat and pressure. The images will not wash off, as the special inks become part of the tile--not on top of it---in the heat pressing process. We use varying amounts of pressure and time, and press the tiles at four hundred degrees. The inks turn from a solid into a vapor and then into a solid again. The tiles will last many lifetimes and provide years of enjoyment.

20. How are the tiles adhered?
Experienced wood craftsmen will "route out" the wood to receive the inlaid, embedded tiles so that no grout will be required. The tiles will be "flush" with the wood surface. Each tile will be adhered by hand, with special tile glue, to the wood.

21. How do I care for my inlaid tiles?
Dust them with a very slightly dampened cloth and make sure you use non-abrasive cleansers. Again, we suggest you cover table tops that have embedded tile with a sheet of glass to protect the tiles. We can provide this for you. A quarter inch plate glass grounded on the edges for a very smooth finish, custom cut. Price is 15.00 sq ft.

22. What is your privacy policy and payment methods?
The Painted Forest does not share contact or email information with anyone for any reason. We do not hold credit card information on file unless our client specifically asks us to. We take American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and personal checks. Tax is only collected on Vermont purchases (six percent).