BESPOKEFurniture

Journal & ideas

Notes from the workshop.

Practical writing on specifying made-to-measure furniture — what it costs, which materials last, and how a commission moves from floor plan to installation.

United Kingdom

Indoor and outdoor ideas for British homes, gardens and terraces.

How much does bespoke furniture cost in the UK?

How much does bespoke furniture cost in the UK?

What drives the price of a made-to-measure sofa, dining table or terrace set — and how to brief a project so the quotation holds.

Walnut or oak? Choosing timber for made-to-measure furniture

Walnut or oak? Choosing timber for made-to-measure furniture

A practical comparison of American black walnut and European oak for dining tables, sideboards and joinery-matched rooms.

Outdoor furniture that survives a UK winter

Outdoor furniture that survives a UK winter

Materials, drainage and covers for roof terraces, courtyards and poolsides that stay outside all year.

Balcony furniture for UK new-build apartments

Balcony furniture for UK new-build apartments

Weight limits, wind, and a floor two metres deep. Balconies need furniture drawn to the millimetre.

A covered pergola lounge: using the garden nine months a year

A covered pergola lounge: using the garden nine months a year

Put a roof over outdoor furniture in the UK and the season stretches from June to March.

Furnishing a small UK courtyard garden

Furnishing a small UK courtyard garden

Four metres by five, walls on three sides. The smallest gardens reward bespoke furniture the most.

A garden dining set for a changeable British summer

A garden dining set for a changeable British summer

You get perhaps thirty usable evenings a year. The furniture should take under a minute to be ready for them.

Terrace furniture that survives a British winter

Terrace furniture that survives a British winter

Damp, not cold, is what destroys outdoor furniture in the UK. Here is the specification that lasts.

Boot rooms and hallway storage built for British weather

Boot rooms and hallway storage built for British weather

Wet coats, muddy boots and a bicycle. A hallway in the UK has a harder job than a hallway anywhere else.

Warming a north-facing UK living room with timber and texture

Warming a north-facing UK living room with timber and texture

Britain's north-facing rooms get flat, blue light for most of the year. Material choice does more than paint colour to fix it.

Loft conversions: beds, eaves storage and the awkward slope

Loft conversions: beds, eaves storage and the awkward slope

The metre of floor under a coombed ceiling is unusable for standing but perfect for drawers. A worked example from Milton Keynes.

How to seat eight in a narrow London dining room

How to seat eight in a narrow London dining room

A 2.4m-wide back room can host a proper dinner party — if the table, the bench and the door swing are drawn together.

Alcove joinery for a Victorian chimney breast

Alcove joinery for a Victorian chimney breast

The two recesses either side of a British fireplace are the most wasted square metres in the house. Here is how we plan them.

Hong Kong

Space-saving interiors and weather-ready outdoor furniture for Hong Kong flats, village houses and podium terraces.

A Sai Kung village house garden, furnished for year-round use

A Sai Kung village house garden, furnished for year-round use

Sea air, subtropical planting and a garden you can genuinely use from October to May.

Clubhouse and poolside seating for Hong Kong developments

Clubhouse and poolside seating for Hong Kong developments

Furniture used by two hundred households has to survive chlorine, sunscreen and constant rearrangement.

Balcony dining for two in a Hong Kong flat

Balcony dining for two in a Hong Kong flat

Thirty square feet, a drying rack and an air-conditioner condenser. It can still be the best seat in the flat.

Rooftop lounging on a Kowloon walk-up

Rooftop lounging on a Kowloon walk-up

An old rooftop is Hong Kong's best-value outdoor room — once you solve access, weight and wind.

Podium terraces in Hong Kong: designing for sun and typhoon

Podium terraces in Hong Kong: designing for sun and typhoon

Intense UV, salt air and a signal 8 twice a summer. Hong Kong outdoor furniture is a different specification entirely.

A children's room in Hong Kong: bed, desk and floor to play on

A children's room in Hong Kong: bed, desk and floor to play on

When a child's bedroom is 70 square feet, the bed and the desk have to share.

Village-house staircases: three floors of unused storage

Village-house staircases: three floors of unused storage

New Territories village houses have a staircase on every level. Under each one is a room-sized volume nobody uses.

Timber that stays flat in Hong Kong humidity

Timber that stays flat in Hong Kong humidity

Between the March fog and a summer typhoon, a Hong Kong flat can swing thirty points of relative humidity in a week.

Fitting a real dining table into a Hong Kong open-plan kitchen

Fitting a real dining table into a Hong Kong open-plan kitchen

The developer's island is rarely the right height, depth or shape. A bespoke extension solves all three.

Convertible furniture for a 450 sq ft Hong Kong flat

Convertible furniture for a 450 sq ft Hong Kong flat

When a flat has to be a dining room, an office and a bedroom in the same hour, every piece needs a second job.

Acoustic panels

How to reduce echo and improve comfort using timber slats, felt and integrated joinery.

Acoustic panels for a home office or study

Acoustic panels for a home office or study

How to reduce echo without making a room look like a recording studio.

Ceiling acoustic panels for dining rooms

Ceiling acoustic panels for dining rooms

Why the ceiling is often the best place to control echo in a dining area.

Slat acoustic walls for open-plan flats

Slat acoustic walls for open-plan flats

A slatted timber wall absorbs sound and reads as joinery rather than treatment.

Lighting knowledge

Layered light, LED profiles and the right colour temperature for timber and upholstery.

LED profiles for shelves, headboards and cabinetry

LED profiles for shelves, headboards and cabinetry

The practical way to add warm light without visible cables or hotspots.

Lighting that shows walnut timber at its best

Lighting that shows walnut timber at its best

Dark timber needs deliberate light. Here is how to plan it.

Layered lighting built into bespoke furniture

Layered lighting built into bespoke furniture

Task, ambient and accent light should come from more than one ceiling fitting.