Custom Furniture

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Bespoke furniture is the freestanding end of the joinery trade: a dining table sized to a room rather than to a catalogue, a bench for an awkward bay, a bed with storage under it, a desk, a sideboard, a headboard, a set of chairs. Unlike fitted work it can leave with you, which changes both how it is made and how it is bought — it is a manufactured product rather than an alteration to a building.

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That distinction carries a legal consequence most people never meet until they order something upholstered. Furniture supplied in the course of a business in the United Kingdom has to meet fire safety requirements that apply to the covering fabric, the filling and the finished item, with permanent labelling to show it. A window seat cushion, a headboard or a banquette made by a small workshop is squarely within that regime.

The rest of the craft conversation is about timber: how it was dried, how it will move in a heated house, how the joints accommodate that movement, and what finish will survive the way you actually live. A solid timber table top is a living material, and a maker who explains that at the start is easier to deal with than one who does not.

What British furniture workshops are usually asked to make

Dining tables sized to a room, which is the single most common commission and the one where timber movement matters most.
Benches and banquette seating for bays, kitchens and hallways, usually with upholstered tops and storage beneath.
Beds and headboards, including divan-height frames with drawers designed around a mattress size that is not a standard one.
Sideboards, dressers and console tables, often built to match an existing piece or a room's existing mouldings.
Desks and study furniture, where cable management and monitor height are part of the design brief rather than an afterthought.
Coffee tables, side tables and small pieces, which are often the way to test whether a maker's style suits you.
Repairs, remaking and matching: extending a table, remaking a broken chair, or building a new piece to match an inherited one.

Solid timber, veneer and the movement you should expect

A solid timber top in a centrally heated British house will shrink across its width in winter and expand again in summer, and it will do so every year. Good furniture is designed to let it: buttons or slotted fixings that hold a top to a frame while allowing it to slide, breadboard ends that float rather than being glued along their length, and panels held loosely in grooves rather than trapped. A top screwed rigidly to its frame will split, and that is a design fault rather than a timber fault.

Kiln-dried timber is the starting point, and the moisture content it was dried to matters more than the species. Timber dried for exterior use and brought into a heated room will keep moving for months. Ask what the timber is, where it was dried and how long it has been in the workshop, and be sceptical of a maker who does not have an answer.

Veneered panels on a stable core do not move the way solid timber does, which is why almost every large flat surface in traditional cabinetmaking was veneered. It is a mark of good practice rather than a cheaper substitute, though the edges and the substrate quality are where the difference between a good veneered piece and a poor one lies. Finishes trade durability against repairability in the same way: an oil or hardwax finish is easy to repair locally and wears in, while a lacquered finish resists spills better and has to be recoated as a whole surface.

Upholstered pieces and the 1988 furniture fire safety regulations

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are the reason a new sofa in the United Kingdom carries a sewn-in label. They apply to furniture supplied in the course of a business and cover upholstered items including chairs, sofas, cushions, pillows, mattresses and bed-bases, with regulation 4 excluding items made before 1950, materials supplied for re-upholstering older furniture, and goods for export.

The requirements bite on the components as well as the finished item. Schedule 4 deals with cigarette resistance, tested under BS 5852 Part 1 with specified modifications; Schedule 5 deals with match resistance for covering fabrics and filling materials; regulations 6 and 7 with Schedule 2 set ignitability tests for foam and non-foam fillings; and regulation 11 with Schedules 7 and 8 requires permanent labelling recording composition, materials and the fire resistance tests met. Regulation 13 puts obligations on first suppliers to provide fire safety information, and regulation 12 requires that information to be passed on down the supply chain.

For a homeowner commissioning a bench seat, a headboard or a banquette, the practical questions are short. Ask the maker which fabric and which foam they are using and whether both meet the regulations, ask for the permanent label to be fitted, and keep whatever documentation comes with the piece. A workshop that treats the question as routine is a good sign; one that is surprised by it is not.

Commissioning a piece, from first sketch to delivery

A conversation about use before style: who sits there, what gets put on it, whether it moves, and how it will be cleaned.
Site measurement, including the route in — doorways, stair turns, landings and lift dimensions decide whether a piece can be one item or must be two.
A drawing or sketch to approve, with dimensions, timber species, finish, hardware and any upholstery specification named.
Timber selection, ideally with the customer seeing the boards or at least photographs of the actual material.
A deposit against the workshop slot, with the balance staged against making rather than paid entirely up front.
Making, which for a solid timber piece includes time for the material to settle between machining stages.
Finishing and, where upholstery is involved, the fabric and filling being confirmed against the fire safety requirements.
Delivery, placement and a short handover covering how to clean the finish and what to do about a spill.

What a commission should put in writing before the deposit

The approved drawing with final dimensions, dated and attached to the order rather than described in an email.
Timber species, whether solid or veneered, and the finish system by name.
Upholstery fabric and filling, and confirmation that both meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.
The delivery route and who is responsible if a finished piece will not go up the stairs.
A payment schedule tied to stages, with a balance due on delivery and acceptance.
What the maker's guarantee covers and what it excludes, particularly seasonal movement in solid timber, which is normal behaviour.
Aftercare instructions for the specific finish, and whether the maker offers refinishing later.
The statutory backstop: goods must match their description and be of satisfactory quality, and the service must be performed with reasonable care and skill.

Living with a solid timber piece in a heated house

Keep furniture away from a radiator, a wood burner and direct sunlight through a south-facing window, all of which dry one face faster than the other.
Aim for a reasonably stable indoor humidity rather than swinging between a cold empty house and an overheated one.
Wipe spills at once, especially wine, citrus and anything alcoholic, which mark an oiled finish within minutes.
Use mats under hot dishes on any finish, since heat marks lacquer and oil alike.
Re-oil an oiled surface when water stops beading on it, which on a busy dining table may be once or twice a year.
Expect and accept small seasonal gaps in a solid top or a panelled door, and do not fill them in winter when they are at their widest.
Tighten chair joints at the first wobble, because a loose joint wears its own socket oval and then needs remaking.

What a bespoke furniture quotation reflects, and how LokalMatch fits in

A commission is priced on workshop time and material, and both are sensitive to choices that seem small. Species and board width matter, because a wide single-board top costs far more than a laminated one. So do the joints specified, the finish, whether there is upholstery, whether hardware is bought in or made, how many components there are, whether a prototype or sample is being made first, and how the piece gets into your house. A maker some distance away may still be the right choice, but delivery and installation belong in the comparison.

LokalMatch is where the conversation starts. Describe what you want once with your postcode, including rough dimensions, the room it is for and any timber you have in mind, and furniture makers covering your area get in touch with you. It costs homeowners nothing and the makers pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not make furniture, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone, so seeing a maker's previous work, and ideally touching it, is the step worth taking yourself.

Custom Furniture: frequently asked questions

Does a bespoke upholstered bench have to meet fire safety rules?

Yes, where it is supplied in the course of a business. The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 cover upholstered furniture including chairs, sofas, cushions, pillows, mattresses and bed-bases, with requirements for cigarette resistance under Schedule 4, match resistance under Schedule 5, filling material ignitability under regulations 6 and 7, and permanent labelling under regulation 11. Ask the maker to confirm the fabric and the foam, and to fit the permanent label.

Why has my new solid timber table developed a gap?

Because solid timber takes up and gives off moisture with the air around it, and a heated house in winter is much drier than the same house in August. A well-made piece is designed to allow that: buttons or slotted fixings under a top, floating breadboard ends and panels held loosely in grooves. Seasonal gaps that open in winter and close in summer are normal. A top that has split because it was fixed rigidly is not, and that is a making fault.

Is veneered furniture inferior to solid timber?

No, and traditionally the best cabinet work used veneer for large flat surfaces precisely because a veneered panel on a stable core does not move the way a solid board does. What separates good veneered work from poor is the quality of the core, how the edges are treated and how the veneer is laid and matched. Solid timber is the right answer for table tops you expect to sand and refinish repeatedly, and for components that take structural loads.

Can I cancel a furniture commission after ordering?

The statutory cancellation right for contracts made at home or at a distance does not cover goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised, so a commissioned piece will generally fall outside it. Whatever the maker's own terms say about deposits and cancellation is then what governs, and it should be read before the deposit is paid. Goods still have to match their description and be of satisfactory quality, and the making must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.

How do I know the finished piece will fit through the door?

By making the route part of the brief. A maker should measure not just the room but the way in: the front door, the hall width, the stair turn, the landing, any lift and the diagonal through each doorway. Where a piece cannot be delivered in one part, it is designed to knock down or to be assembled in the room. Agreeing that at drawing stage is far cheaper than discovering it on delivery day.

Sources

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 21 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.

Permits and licensing

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