Custom furniture moves to the North

Security concerns were discouraging customers from crossing into Baja

By Roger Showley
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 4:50 p.m.

MIRAMAR — San Diego homeowners used to travel south of the border to order high-end but affordable custom-designed doors, windows, tables and tile work — and celebrate afterward with a Dos Equis beer and plate of fish tacos.

But with sometimes hours-long waits at the border and concerns about drug war shootouts and kidnappings, that once-upon-a-time trek is a thing of the past for many. And the artisans who prided themselves on their one-of-a-kind creations are suffering from lack of work.

Bolstered by a $70,000 grant from the Baja California state, nine designers and furniture factory owners have made their own trek north to a design center on Miramar Road in San Diego.

The result is Home By Baja, a 1,450-square-foot showroom, where Mexican design and artistry is on display and the owners stand ready to meet with homeowners, business executives and their interior designers to supply traditional as well as contemporary designs.

“This is our home away from home,â€