What does bespoke furniture really mean?

If you were to search “bespoke furniture” on Google, you would be forgiven for coming away confused about what the word “bespoke” truly means.

Whilst “bespoke” may seem to be synonymous with “made-to-measure” or “custom”. We would argue that truly bespoke furniture has a very specific definition, one which is often missed by both makers and clients alike.

Bespoke means starting from scratch.

For furniture to be accurately called bespoke, it should be designed from the ground up and with a blank piece of paper.

Often, in an attempt to find efficiency and cost savings, furniture that is better described as “customisable” is mislabelled as bespoke.

Starting from scratch

An example of this might be a furniture maker offering their clients a choice of wardrobe doors styles from a pre-designed catalogue.

Whilst these options may be perfectly lovely, they are not truly bespoke. They are not truly unique to the client.

Alternatively, a truly bespoke wardrobe door will be a one-off, designed for a specific project and client from scratch. A series of conversations, sketches and mockups will be developed to arrive at a final design that would not have appeared from any other version of that process.

A truly bespoke wardrobe door might be inspired by a pre-existing style (e.g. Shaker style doors) but will be adapted and tweaked in a unique way. The rails or styles could be resized, a moulding could be introduced, a chamfer could be applied - any number of changes based on a clients tastes.

Bespoke furniture is personal. 

No two people share the same tastes or lifestyles and bespoke furniture should reflect that fact.

Bespoke design, personal to our clients

The development of bespoke furniture requires a close working relationship between designer, maker and client.

Whilst one client may have an enormous antique book collection that should be carefully planned into a library with shelf spacings, integrated lights and reading desks. Another might need secure, lockable storage in their library for documents and files.

For furniture to be called bespoke, it should be a direct and careful reflection of it’s owners practical needs but also their aesthetic tastes

Bespoke furniture gives you options. 

Would your prefer a hand painted finish to a sprayed one? No problem.

Do you need your cabinet internals to have a wipe clean surface? We’ve got some options for that.

Like the idea of locally source timber for your dining table? We’ll speak to the timber yard.

The joy of truly bespoke furniture is that the options are almost limitless and everything should be open to discussion.

We pride ourselves on being creative, design led makers offering our clients furniture that is bespoke in the truest sense of the word.

If you’re interested in bespoke furniture and would like to learn more, why not drop us a line? We love to talk ideas.