Before the art of industrial design came to be, cabinet makers were responsible for the entire creation process of a piece of furniture, from its initial conception to its shape and color all the way to the final production. Some of the more famous cabinet makers like George Hepplewhite, Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton even authored books about the art of furniture making, featuring their designs and compositions.

One might ask, "what is the difference between a carpenter and cabinetmaker?" While both professions master the art of working with wood, it is the cabinet makers who go one step further by focusing on the finer details of timber and what one can do with it. This attention to detail distinguishes them from carpenters, especially in the concentration of internal fixtures such as tables, kitchens and book shelves. Aside from the focus on particular details, cabinet makers target their expertise more toward working with complex building materials and elaborate constructions. These include a vast array of tools like a good saw table, drum sander, and dust extraction system. They also carry with them a selection of hand tools like laminate trimmers, cordless drills, finish staplers and jigsaws. On the other hand, carpenters tend to place more of their efforts into large-scale projects, and from this experience they gain enough expertise to become builders. The determining difference between the two professions, aside from the project's magnitude, would be the cabinet maker's necessary care in constructing complex, durable yet delicate structures.