See the whole arrangement
Look at the proportions, the layout and how the different elements sit together.
Making & installation
From our workshop to your home.
Detailed drawings, a clear specification and the chance to see your furniture assembled before finishing: each stage helps you understand what is being made for you. Here is what happens from confirming your commission to installation and the settling-in visit afterwards.
How your furniture takes shape
The exact programme depends on your project and any building work. These are the main stages we work through together.
Secure your workshop slot
A deposit, generally around 10%, confirms the commission and secures the workshop slot before we develop the detailed proposal.
Agree the details
We prepare detailed drawings, an in-depth specification and a payment schedule. The specification describes each elevation, materials, colours and agreed fittings.
Check the room
After specification sign-off and the pre-build payment, we take final measurements and check for changes arising from building work before preparing workshop drawings and cutting lists.
Make and assemble
We order materials and manufacture in our workshop, assembling everything we practically can in the arrangement intended for your home.
View before finishing
We invite you to explore your assembled furniture before it goes to the spray shop. Open doors, try pull-outs and check the details together with us.
Finish, deliver and fit
We apply the agreed workshop finish, then label and blanket-wrap the furniture for delivery. Our fitter installs it, with us on site at the start and checking progress.
Walk around your furniture before it comes home
Our assembly workshop gives us the space to put together everything we practically can, in its intended arrangement. Your viewing takes place before finishing, so you can see your own furniture taking shape.
Try the details
Open doors and drawers, operate pull-outs and check the storage you have chosen.
Talk it through with us
Raise anything you notice before finishing. We can review possible alterations and explain any effect on cost or timing.
Getting your room ready
We coordinate the fitting requirements with you and your builder. Agree these practical details before delivery.
- A clear room and working space
- Remove the existing kitchen or furniture unless removal has been specifically agreed with us, and leave space for the fitter to work.
- Services in the agreed positions
- Have plumbing and electrical preparation in place. Final connections can follow where services need to pass through the units.
- Flooring right through to the walls
- We require flooring to extend beneath the furniture to the walls, rather than stopping at the fronts of the carcasses. Confirm the sequence with us and your builder.
- Access for delivery
- Plan an unloading position as close to the property as practical and a clear route into the room.
The final stages, and a visit once you’ve settled in
For kitchens, we attend stone-worktop templating and return after the worktops are installed for final adjustments and finishing. The interval between templating and fitting is normally around a week, depending on the project and supplier’s schedule. Bedrooms and other fitted furniture generally have a shorter installation process.
A follow-up around six weeks after installation. After initial sign-off, you have time to use your furniture in everyday life. We arrange a return visit to check for settling and fine-tune doors or fittings where needed.
Your making and installation questions, answered
What happens after I agree the concept and price?
We take a deposit, generally around 10%, to confirm the commission and secure a workshop slot. We then develop the more detailed drawings and specification, together with the payment schedule.
The specification is signed before we move into the pre-build stage. Following the pre-build payment, we double-check the final measurements, prepare workshop drawings and cutting lists, and move into ordering and manufacture.
What does the detailed specification include?
It explains the proposed furniture elevation by elevation, including carcass and main materials, colours, finishes and fittings. Where relevant, it also identifies items such as the sink, taps and drawer-runner brand.
Read this alongside the drawings and payment schedule. It is the opportunity to check that the agreed details are clearly recorded before manufacture.
Do you manage the building work and other trades?
We liaise with builders, plumbers and electricians about the requirements of the furniture, including socket positions and where services need to go. We can also recommend trades.
We do not manage the overall building project or carry out the specialist plumbing and electrical work ourselves. We coordinate our installation requirements with you and your builder so the room is ready for fitting.
Why do you take final measurements?
Building work can change a room. Walls may be adjusted, or removing existing fittings may uncover something that affects the design.
Before manufacture, we check the measurements and review anything that has changed so the workshop drawings reflect the space we will be fitting into.
Can I see my furniture before it is installed?
Yes. We assemble everything we practically can in our assembly workshop, standing it in the arrangement it will have in your home. Before it goes for finishing, we invite you to come and look around it.
You can open the doors, try the pull-outs and check that the features you expected are there. This is a chance to experience your own furniture before it arrives on site.
Can anything be changed at the workshop viewing?
If something needs attention or you would like to discuss an alteration, raise it with us at the viewing. Where a change is practical, it is usually easier to deal with before finishing than once the furniture is installed.
By this stage the furniture has been made to the agreed specification. We will review what an alteration involves and discuss any effect on cost or timing before proceeding.
How is the furniture finished and delivered?
Depending on your specification, we apply a lacquer or a factory-sprayed finish in the workshop. For hand-painted furniture, we apply primer and the first topcoat, with a hand painter completing the finish on site.
After finishing, the furniture is labelled and wrapped in blankets for delivery. We do not fully reassemble it again in the workshop after the finishing stage.
Who installs the furniture?
Our fitter carries out the installation. We are there for the first day or so to set out the job, check where everything belongs and go through the details with the fitter.
We return at intervals to check progress, normally including a check around the middle of the installation. For kitchens, we also attend worktop templating to go through the details with the worktop supplier.
What needs to be ready before you arrive?
We need a clear room, space to work and access for unloading as close to the property as practical. Existing furniture or the old kitchen should be removed unless you have specifically agreed removal with us.
Plumbing and electrical services should be prepared in the agreed positions. Final connections may need to follow fitting where services pass through cabinetry. We require flooring to extend right through to the walls, rather than stopping at the front of the units; agree the preparation sequence with us and your builder.
Why is there a gap before kitchen worktops are fitted?
Stone worktops are templated once the relevant cabinetry is installed and ready. We arrange this as early as the job allows and attend to go through the details with the worktop supplier.
There is normally about a week between templating and worktop installation, although the timing depends on the job and the supplier’s schedule. Your kitchen installation therefore happens in stages, with final adjustments and any remaining finishing work following the worktops.
Are bedrooms and other furniture quicker to install?
They generally are, because they do not usually involve the separate stone-worktop templating and fitting stages of a kitchen. The time needed still depends on the size and complexity of the furniture.
We continue to check the installation and deal with final adjustments before sign-off.
What happens at completion and afterwards?
Once installation and any worktops are complete, we return for final adjustments, touch-ups or completion of the hand-painted finish, as applicable. We then go through the finished work with you for initial sign-off.
We also arrange a follow-up around six weeks after installation to check anything that has settled and make final adjustments where needed. Using the furniture day to day can reveal a door or fitting that needs a little fine-tuning. Let us know if anything needs attention in the meantime.
Planning furniture as part of a larger project?
Tell us about your room, your plans and any building work involved. We can talk through how the furniture design, manufacture and fitting will fit into your project.
Discuss your project