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Commissioning furniture is a different transaction from buying it. A maker takes a brief, chooses material, proposes a construction, and builds one object for one household: a dining table sized to a room rather than to a catalogue, a bed that fits under a sloping ceiling, a desk for a particular corner, a sideboard that matches nothing else in the world.

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Unlike almost everything else a carpenter does, custom furniture is not governed by the building code. There is no classification, no certificate and no inspection. A table is a table. What governs whether it survives is entirely the maker's judgement about two things: the moisture content of the timber when it is worked, and whether the joinery lets the timber move afterwards.

That matters more in Australia than in most places, because of the range of conditions a single piece may live through. Australian hardwoods are dense, slow-drying and strong, and they will move considerably if they were not dried to the humidity of the room they end up in. A table built in a coastal workshop and delivered to a heated inland house will shrink; a panel glued up across the grain with no allowance will split rather than shrink. A good maker talks about this unprompted, and the conversation is the best single indicator of whether the piece will still be flat in ten years.

What people actually commission from a furniture maker

  • Dining tables, which are the most commissioned piece because a room's real dimensions rarely match a standard size.
  • Beds and bedheads, often driven by a sloping ceiling, an awkward alcove or a non-standard mattress.
  • Desks and work surfaces built around a specific window, a corner or a cable route.
  • Sideboards, buffets and hall tables, where the length is dictated by a wall that no production piece fits.
  • Bench seating and stools, which have to be robust enough to be dragged, stood on and leaned back in.
  • Repair, restoration and re-purposing of existing timber furniture, which is a distinct skill from making new.
  • Outdoor timber furniture, which is a different specification again because of ultraviolet exposure and rain.

Timber selection, seasoning and why the moisture number matters

Timber moves across the grain as it takes up and gives off moisture, and it keeps doing that for as long as it exists. A maker controls for this by working timber that has already been dried to roughly the humidity of the environment it will live in, and by designing joints that allow the remaining movement to happen without tearing anything apart. That is why a solid timber tabletop is usually fixed to its frame with buttons or slotted fasteners rather than screwed hard down, and why a wide panel is often framed rather than glued as one slab.

Species choice follows from use rather than from looks. Dense Australian hardwoods take hard wear and hold a crisp edge; lighter timbers are kinder to move and to lift; recycled and reclaimed timber brings character along with old nails, hidden splits and a moisture history nobody recorded. Veneered and engineered panels are dimensionally stable and appropriate for large flat surfaces, though the visible edge then becomes a design decision rather than an afterthought.

Commissioned versus bought: what you are actually paying for

  • Dimension: a piece made to the room rather than the room arranged around a piece, which is usually the whole reason for commissioning.
  • Construction: joinery that can be taken apart and repaired, rather than assemblies designed to be replaced.
  • Material knowledge: a maker can tell you the species, where it came from and how it was dried, which no flat-pack label does.
  • Repairability: a commissioned piece is a candidate for refinishing and repair decades later, which mass-produced board furniture generally is not.
  • Time: commissioning is measured in months, because drying, making and finishing cannot be compressed.
  • Risk: you are buying a drawing and a conversation, so the deposit, the timeline and what happens if the result is not as agreed all belong in writing before work starts.

How a commission runs from brief to delivery

  • A brief that starts with use: how many people, how hard the piece will be treated, what has to fit under or beside it.
  • Measurement of the room, including the route the finished piece has to travel through doors, stairs and corners.
  • A drawing or a sketch model, with dimensions, material and finish agreed in writing before making starts.
  • Timber selection, including whether you want to see and approve the actual boards, which most makers will allow.
  • Machining and joinery in the workshop, under dust extraction rather than in the open.
  • Finishing, usually the longest and least visible stage, which sets how the piece will wear and how it can be repaired.
  • Delivery and placement, with a handover that covers the finish, how to clean it and what to expect as the piece settles.

Why commissioned furniture fails, and what it looks like

  • A tabletop that has cupped across its width, which almost always means one face was sealed and the other was not.
  • A split running from an edge into a panel, which is timber that was restrained from moving rather than timber that was faulty.
  • Joints that have opened at the ends of rails, from timber worked at a moisture content higher than the room it now lives in.
  • A finish that has gone cloudy or sticky, usually from heat or a cleaning product the finish was never meant to meet.
  • A piece that will not fit through the door it was destined for, which is a measuring failure at the very start.
  • Outdoor furniture greying and checking within a season, because an indoor finish was used on an exposed piece.
  • A repair that is impossible because the joints were glued and pinned in a way that cannot be reversed.

Dust, finishes and what happens in the workshop

Furniture making is one of the dustiest trades there is, and the dust is not harmless. WorkSafe Victoria classifies wood dust as carcinogenic to humans, and sets exposure standards of 5 milligrams per cubic metre as an eight-hour time weighted average for softwood dust with a short-term limit of 10 milligrams per cubic metre, and 1 milligram per cubic metre for certain hardwood dusts such as beech and oak. The listed effects range from rhinitis, nose bleeds, sore eyes and dermatitis through to asthma, weakened lung function and nasal cancer.

Reconstituted board adds formaldehyde to the picture. WorkSafe Victoria notes that products such as MDF may release formaldehyde gas, which dissipates during initial storage, and that sanding MDF produces more dust than sawing it. Formaldehyde has an exposure standard of 1 part per million, equivalent to 1.2 milligrams per cubic metre, as a time weighted average and 2 parts per million as a short-term limit, and is classified as carcinogenic to humans under the Globally Harmonised System. The duty is to eliminate exposure where reasonably practicable and otherwise to control it through substitution, isolation, engineering controls, administrative measures and protective equipment.

Living with solid timber furniture in an Australian house

  • Keep solid timber out of direct sun where you can, since ultraviolet light changes colour unevenly and dries one area faster than another.
  • Avoid placing a piece directly over a heating outlet or against a reverse-cycle unit, which is the fastest way to cup a top.
  • Use mats under anything hot or wet rather than relying on the finish to cope.
  • Clean with what the maker specified, because many modern finishes are damaged by common household sprays.
  • Re-oil an oiled surface when it starts to look thirsty rather than waiting for a mark, since oiled finishes are designed to be topped up.
  • Expect small seasonal movement in a solid timber piece and treat it as normal, not as a defect.
  • Keep the maker's contact details and the finish specification, which makes a repair or a refinish decades later straightforward.

Custom Furniture: frequently asked questions

Why does a commissioned table take months?

Because the parts of the job that take the longest are the ones you cannot see. Timber has to be at the right moisture content before it is worked, machining and joinery happen in stages with the timber resting in between, and finishing is a slow sequence of coats and cures. Compressing any of it is how pieces cup and joints open. A maker quoting a few weeks for a solid timber dining table is either working from stock they already have or cutting something out of the process.

Will a solid timber tabletop crack?

Not if it was made to move. Timber expands and contracts across the grain forever, and the maker's job is to allow it: tops are fixed to their frames with buttons or slotted fasteners rather than screwed hard down, and wide panels are often framed rather than treated as one rigid slab. Cracks and open joints almost always mean the timber was restrained, or was worked at a moisture content quite different to the room it now lives in.

Is recycled timber a good choice for custom furniture?

It can be excellent and it is not automatically easier. Recycled timber is often old-growth material with a density and a character that is hard to buy new, and it has usually finished most of its movement. The trade-offs are real though: hidden nails and screws that damage machinery, old splits and insect damage, and a moisture history nobody documented. Ask the maker how they process it and whether the price allows for the wastage, which is always higher than with new stock.

What should be in writing before a maker starts?

Dimensions, species, finish, the construction in enough detail to be recognisable, the price, the payment stages and the timeline, plus what happens if the finished piece does not match what was agreed. Because commissioned furniture is made before it is seen, the drawing is the specification. It is also worth recording the delivery route, since a piece that cannot get up your stairs is a problem with no good solution afterwards.

Can outdoor furniture be made from the same timber as indoor pieces?

Sometimes the species, but never the same specification. Outdoor furniture faces ultraviolet light, rain, and in coastal areas salt, and it needs a durable species, joinery that sheds water rather than trapping it, and a finish intended for exterior exposure. An indoor finish on an outdoor piece will break down within a season. Tell the maker at the brief stage whether a piece will live outside, on a covered verandah, or move between the two.

Sources

  1. WorkSafe Victoria: Wood dust health hazards and control

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

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What affects the cost of custom furniture

Prices depend on the details of your project. We only publish price ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch quote data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the price:

  • Size and complexity of the piece or structure
  • Wood species or material
  • Custom design compared with standard sizes
  • Hardware, railings and finishing
  • Removal of what's there now
  • Permits and drawings, where needed

How to compare furniture makers before you hire

  • Choose a carpenter whose past work matches your project, whether that's framing, trim, built-ins, stairs or a deck.
  • Ask for drawings or a clear description of what will be built, including materials and finishes.
  • For decks, stairs and railings, ask whether a permit is needed, since these are safety items.
  • Get a written quote that says who supplies materials and whether finishing, such as painting or staining, is included.
  • Ask how they'll handle surprises like rot or uneven walls and floors.

Questions to ask furniture makers before you hire

  • Can you show me photos of similar work you've done?
  • What materials will you use, and why?
  • Does this project need a permit, and will you get it?
  • Is finishing, such as sanding, painting or staining, included?
  • How will you attach the work to the existing structure?
  • What warranty do you offer on your workmanship?

Custom furniture permits and local rules

Some custom furniture work needs a permit or has to meet local bylaws. Rules vary by municipality, so ask your pro whether a permit is needed and who will apply for it — and check with your city or town if you’re unsure.

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