Have you ever had trouble finding the perfect piece of furniture to complete your living room? Do you find yourself disappointed in the quality of mass produced furniture once you bring it home?

If so, custom furniture shopping may be just what you need to get exactly what you want and finally discover that perfect piece to complete a room.

Fortunately, you don’t have to look far for this type of well-crafted, unique furniture. The Wood Carte, located at 1063 Route 9 in Queensbury, offers a large variety of both imported and custom-made real wood home furnishings in addition to accommodating special orders and providing custom staining.

Owned and operated by brothers Kelly, Lindsay, and Christopher Carte, the Wood Carte is truly a welcome change to the traditional sales-based chain furniture stores.

“We pride ourselves in finding the best we can for the money,” said Kelly Carte, the oldest of the three brothers. “The customers get something that someone has taken pride in putting together.”

Using value as an overriding philosophy, the brothers believe that spending a little more in the beginning means you get a quality product that will last longer than a more inexpensive item purchased in a discount store.

It’s difficult to find reason to argue after seeing the quality in their products and commitment to service.

Utilizing only 100 percent real wood without substituting particleboard or formica, their furniture is reminiscent of the solid craftsmanship of generations ago, this time offering both rustic and contemporary pieces.

“Our furniture is all real wood, we want people to know what it is they are buying,” said Kelly. “If we are selling an oak piece, we want it to really be oak.”

The list of products and services provided by the store is indeed impressive.

The Wood Carte offers a large variety of both unfinished and finished home furnishings for dining rooms, living rooms, home entertainment and home offices. Also available is outdoor furniture, rustic and Amish furniture, as well as a long list of miscellaneous items, including rocking chairs, benches and toy chests.

“We like to think we have something for anybody,” said Kelly. “I can’t tell you the number of people who say they are amazed at how much we have in here and the quality for the price.”

Most recently, entertainment centers and cedar log futons and beds have become big sellers, in addition to Amish style furniture, most often for camps and second homes.

Aside from a large variety of almost any furniture type, the Wood Carte also makes several additional services available.

Modifications can be made to existing imported pieces, such as adding additional drawers or altering the length of table or chair legs. Custom finishing is also offered in a variety of stain colors, whether done by the store itself or by the customer at home. 

Most products are sold individually, affording the customers the opportunity to mix and match pieces, and if something cannot be found to satisfy the customer, special orders can be made with suppliers to fit specific needs.

The ultimate form of customized furniture is available through hand made, store built custom pieces. Customers can bring in sketches or pictures from other stores, and most often they can be custom built by the store. Once the cornerstone of the business, custom-built pieces currently make up around 10 percent of total sales.

Hands-on work is something the Carte brothers are accustomed to and take pride in.

All have interests outside of hand-made furniture, including building houses and restoring cars. It was Lindsay, however, who introduced furniture making to the family.

While living out west decades ago, Lindsay was introduced to contemporary oak furniture and began making some on his own. He returned home with the furniture that had yet to be introduced here in the Northeast, and pitched the idea of producing and selling furniture to his brothers.

After working out of a garage to produce the initial hand-made pieces, the brothers opened up their first shop in the fall of 1981 in Northway Plaza. The business quickly grew larger and the brothers began buying furniture to supplement the custom work, as the backlog for custom pieces approached 12-14 weeks.

The store moved three times in Northway Plaza during the first ten years before moving to its current location across from Sutton’s on Route 9, and has recently gone through renovations including the addition of two large carved wood bears holding up the roof, making the store nearly impossible to miss.

The brothers also operate a second store location in Rutland, Vt.

All in all, the Wood Carte has withstood the test of time and remains unique in its dedication to quality and willingness to provide unending services to satisfy customers.

Their success over the years has been in large part due to the family commitment and bond they share. After 26 years working together, however, Kelly looks to retire over the next year and is in the process of handing off the business to younger brother Christopher.

When in the market for home furnishings, be sure to make a stop at the Wood Carte. “We may not be everyone’s cup of tea,” Kelly said, “but we like everyone to come and take a look.”

Like so many others who have come before you, you may find just what you are looking for.