Commissioned Furniture : Jonathan Guest - Furniture Designer & Maker

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Living with wood

Commissions

:Gallery One

Working to Commission:- We have been working to commission for about 40 years and each project has been very different. To illustrate this, please view the examples in the Galleries, by following the links on the left hand side of this page.

It is difficult to lay down any guidelines or rules about how to go about commissioning a piece of furniture, but there are a few questions which seem to come up regularly. Perhaps the answers will inspire you to turn your idea into a beautiful piece of furniture.

Bed

Welsh Dresser

Dovetail drawers

Church chair

Dining table

Bookcase

What do I need to do?

Contact me to discuss your project. You may already know exactly what you want. If you do not then it can help if you can describe your ideas possibly using pictures from books or magazines or even a sketch. It may be that there are certain constraints which will influence the design, such as the location of the piece of furniture or the budget which you wish to work within.

After this initial contact we should have an idea of what you want and we will be able to develop the idea further, which may be in the form of a few sketches and also provide a guide price for the project.

From here onwards a lot depends on the nature of the project. A small project may only require simple drawings and some further discussions followed by a proposal and agreement to continue. A complex one may require a number of detailed drawings, site visits and detailed discussions before arriving at a proposal and agreement.

How long will it take?

Smaller projects, such as a coffee table, can often be completed in about 6 months from your initial contact with us. Larger projects, such as a dining table and chairs, may take up to 1 year to complete. When a project involves saw-milling and seasoning a particular trunk of wood this can add a further year onto the project time.

How much will it cost?

There are many factors which influence the cost and this is best illustrated with a couple of examples. A circular coffee table similar to the photograph on the right would cost between Ł800 and Ł1200. A circular dining room table and chairs similar to the photograph on the left would cost in the region of Ł9000. The complexity of design and the material will influence the final cost.

We normally charge for preparing plans, this can be from about Ł200. This is normally refunded if the project goes ahead.

Wardrobe