Inspiration
Having furniture made to measure
When you have your interior redesigned, you can carry your existing furniture, or part of it, over into the new design. In practice new furniture often suits the design better, because it can be chosen for the style you are after. One route is having furniture made to measure. Compared with the pieces you own now, or with anything ready-made, made-to-measure has advantages of its own, and this article sets them out.
Inspiration
The advantages of made-to-measure
Bespoke furniture tends to be associated with awkward corners and odd-shaped rooms. It can do more than that. Sometimes the furniture shops simply do not stock what you are looking for: you can visit a dozen of them and still find that every option differs from what you had in mind. A piece made to measure solves that.
The advantages of a made-to-measure piece:
- the piece exists only in your house
- it fits the exact spot you have in mind
- the choice of materials is entirely open
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Start by collecting examples
Before you commission a piece, collect examples. Made to measure means you can combine elements from different pieces of furniture: the legs of one armchair with the seat of a particular sofa, say. On Pinterest you can gather your favourites into a collection, which is useful to bring along to the furniture maker or the interior designer: showing beats describing.
Not long ago we designed an interior around a single colour theme, built up from shades of grey, which gave the house a calm register. To break that up we added one accent colour: a brown armchair, echoed in brown bespoke joinery. The two together give the room warmth without disturbing the calm.
Put your idea on paper
If you already know roughly what the piece should look like, put it on paper before it slips away. A rough sketch is enough, or a written description; note your thoughts on colours and materials too. From there an interior designer or furniture maker can work your idea up into a proper drawing. They know from experience what works and what does not.
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Settle the budget beforehand
Ready-made furniture is usually cheaper than a piece made to measure. In return the bespoke piece is made entirely to your wishes, fits its spot exactly and is built to a standard that lasts, so you tend to keep it longer. Settle your budget beforehand and name it to the designer or furniture maker: the choice of materials follows from that figure, and naming it early keeps you clear of unwelcome surprises.
Examples from our projects
Almost anything can be made to measure: a cupboard, a desk, and a great deal besides. Examples give you a feel for what is possible, so below are a few pieces we had made for our own interior designs.
A corner cupboard that runs on
For this project we placed a corner cupboard against the wall and let it run through into the seating area, which draws the dining corner and the seating area together. It also holds a great deal, so the seating area stays free of clutter.
Using a piece to stretch the room
Bespoke work earns its keep in smaller rooms too. To draw out the length of this penthouse we designed a wall-filling unit with a place for the television. The LED lighting above it throws a line of light along the wall and gives the piece more depth.
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A television behind doors
You want a television in the living room, but not the sight of it all day. A bespoke unit with doors solves that: when the screen is off, you slide the doors shut and the piece reads as part of the architecture.
A home for the children's things
Children need room to play, and toys left lying about wear on the eye. For this project we fitted a bespoke cupboard into a niche, with a place for all the children's things: the toys and the craft materials each have their own spot. Once the children are in bed, the room is straightened out in minutes. A child-friendly high-end interior is perfectly possible.
Colour matters as much as fit
With bespoke pieces the choice of colour and material deserves the same care as the fit. For this cupboard we chose a dark tint that answers the green of the garden, so the interior and the garden read as one continuous space.
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Think past the obvious pieces
A made-to-measure shelving unit is the obvious commission, but the list runs much further: a wall unit with the television behind it, a sideboard, a shoe cupboard in the hall, a dining table with its chairs, bathroom furniture, a wall bench, wall shelves. And it need not stop at furniture. A fireplace, a coat rack and the smaller pieces around the house can all be made to measure.
For the interior design of a penthouse we had a bespoke fireplace made to our own design, shaped to sit with the style of the kitchen, so the rooms hang together. It is a see-through model: the fire is part of both sides of the room.
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More examples in the LookBook
If you are weighing up bespoke furniture for a new interior and want to look further, our LookBook is the place. It holds:
- practical advice on making a house feel like your own
- interior examples from our projects
- ideas for a well-balanced layout
The LookBook also explains why lighting should never be the last item on the budget, and what a collaboration with our studio would bring you. It costs nothing to request.
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