Commissioning custom-made furniture: how to specify it

Commissioning custom-made furniture means getting a piece that fits your interior exactly: a bookcase that fills an alcove to the centimetre, an island at the right height, a console that fits between two doors. It also means accepting one rule: what is not written on the specification sheet will not be made. This guide helps you fill it in.

When custom-made really is worth it

• Irregular spaces: alcoves, sloping ceilings, corners, walls that are not square.
• High ceilings, typical of older apartments, which shop-bought furniture leaves empty.
• Signature pieces: a lacquered bookcase, a table with a marble top, an upholstered headboard.
• Small spaces, where every centimetre of storage counts.

The specification sheet: what to specify

It is the document the workshop builds from, and the one you sign. A render of a piece shows an intention; the sheet fixes everything else. Here are the headings we fill in for each piece.

Materials and finishes, and what they change

• Glossy lacquer gives a unique depth, but it shows the slightest surface flaw: it needs a perfectly prepared base. Matt lacquer is more forgiving.
• Marble has veining that never repeats: two tops from the same block are not identical. It is heavy and needs protecting against stains.
• Velvet changes shade with the direction of the pile and the light; its weight (in grams per square metre) tells you how well it will wear.
• Bouclé is warm and looks hard-wearing, but it snags more easily on claws.
• Brass comes brushed, polished or patinated; unlacquered, it develops a patina with time.
• Blown glass shows slight variations in thickness and tiny bubbles: they are the mark of how it is made.

Approving before manufacture starts

Two steps avoid almost all bad memories. First the samples: a piece of lacquer, marble or velvet, looked at at home, in the light of the room. Then the approval for production: you reread the sheet, check the measurements you supplied and sign it. A piece made to your specifications cannot be returned under the right of withdrawal: that is why this signature matters.

Lead times: what they depend on

The lead time of a custom-made piece depends on its finish (a lacquer needs several coats and drying times), on the sourcing of its materials (a particular marble), on the number of pieces in the project and on transport. That is why we state a lead time piece by piece on each quote, rather than a single lead time for a whole project.

A few benchmarks published in France: a cabinet-making workshop announces 8 to 16 weeks for a complete project, with plans, sourcing, manufacture, finishing and fitting included, and 5 to 10 more days for a lacquer in a shade outside its range. Online custom furniture sites announce 3 to 6 weeks of manufacture, depending on the seller. For manufacture abroad, transport and customs clearance have to be added.

Having it made directly by the workshop: what changes

A piece of furniture sold in a shop often goes through a manufacturer, an importer, a wholesaler and a retailer, each with its margin. We deal directly with partner workshops in China that make single pieces to precise measurements. In return, the checking is up to us: each piece is checked and photographed before dispatch, then imported and delivered, with duties and taxes included within the EU (outside the EU, import duties and taxes are payable by the recipient). And we refuse to reproduce a protected model.

The mistakes that cost the most

• Taking measurements at a single height, on a wall that is not straight.
• Forgetting the skirting boards, the radiators or the drop of a cornice.
• Choosing a shade on a screen.
• Not checking the width of the doors and the staircase.
• Underestimating the weight of a marble top and the fixing of a tall piece of furniture.

Keep reading

• Interior layout plan: preparing it step by step
• Our Design & supply service: design, manufacture and delivery
• Our workshops and our quality control