Pricing & Quotation
Transparent quotation, no surprises
Make Bespoke Studio provides detailed, itemised quotations for every commission. Each line item covers material, labour, finish and hardware separately, so the client and their design team can understand exactly what they are paying for and make informed value-engineering decisions if needed.
We quote from approved drawings and material specifications. Where specifications are not yet finalised, we provide provisional figures with clear assumptions noted. Our pricing is competitive for the quality of work produced and we do not add hidden charges at invoice stage.
How the work is done
Quotation begins from confirmed drawings and material specifications to ensure accuracy.
Every element itemised, materials, labour, finishes, hardware and logistics listed separately.
Client and design team review figures; alternatives explored where budget requires adjustment.
Amended quotation issued reflecting agreed changes and formally approved by the client.
Deposit invoice raised on approval; production scheduled and commenced on receipt.
Further in our process
What moves the number
Four factors set the price of a bespoke piece: materials (a burr veneer is not a painted MDF; a liquid metal face is not a lacquer), complexity (curves, inlay and integrated services carry labour), finishing (a mirror-gloss lacquer takes multiples of a satin’s workshop hours), and quantity (a prototyped design repeated forty times amortises its development). An itemised quotation makes each factor visible, so the budget conversation is about choices rather than totals.
Indicative ranges
Every commission is quoted individually against its own drawings, but these ranges from our cost guide show where typical pieces sit in the UK market for genuinely bespoke work at a high standard:
- Upholstered headboard – from a few hundred pounds
- Media wall or entertainment unit – £1,500 to £8,000+
- Fitted wardrobes – £2,000 to £10,000+
- Dining table – £3,000 to £30,000+
- Fitted library or bookcase – several thousand to tens of thousands
- Bespoke kitchen – from £20,000 at the premium end
These are starting points, not quotes. A small, simply detailed piece sits at the lower end; a large piece in rare materials with hand finishing sits well above it. The full breakdown, with what drives each figure, is in our guide to the cost of bespoke furniture.
What a quotation includes
A Make Bespoke quotation covers the whole commission, not just the object: design development and shop drawings, samples, project management, protected delivery and installation. Each is itemised, so nothing arrives as a surprise at invoice. For fitted work, installation can be a significant share of the total, and it is priced as such.
Samples
Sampling is a formal part of the process. We agree how samples are handled alongside the commission before they are made, so there are no surprises.
Working with a designer's budget
For designers and architects we price against your drawings and finishes schedule, and return a detailed breakdown suitable for a competitive tender. Where a package needs to come in lower, we show the as-drawn price alongside the alternatives, so the design team decides what changes, not the maker.
Value engineering, built in
Where a package comes in above budget, we propose alternatives alongside the as-drawn price — a veneer achieving the drawn effect of solid timber, a sheen change, a construction route that installs faster. The discipline is described in our note on value engineering: protect the design intent, find the smarter route. Deletion is the last resort, not the first tool.
Payment structure
Commissions are typically staged: deposit on confirmation, stage payment at production milestones, balance on delivery or installation. For contract work we align valuations with the main contractor’s cycle. Quotations remain open for a stated period with material prices held where suppliers allow.
Common questions
Is there a minimum commission?
We don't publish a fixed minimum. Our work suits projects where the level of detail justifies a bespoke approach; for modest single pieces we'll say honestly at enquiry whether bespoke is the right route.
A bespoke commission carries the same stages whatever its size (design development, shop drawings, samples and project management), so for a very small item those fixed costs can outweigh the making. As a guide, pieces range from a few hundred pounds for a simple upholstered headboard to £3,000–£30,000+ for a dining table. For repeated items the picture changes: a design prototyped once and made forty times spreads its development across the run.
How long is a quotation valid?
Each quotation states its validity period, with material prices held for as long as suppliers allow.
Timber, metal and specialist fabric prices can move over the months a project takes to approve, so the quotation shows which figures are fixed and which are provisional, with the assumptions written down. Once you approve the quotation and the deposit is paid, the price is fixed for the agreed scope; any variation you request later is costed and approved in writing before work changes. If a quotation lapses before approval, we re-confirm material prices and reissue it, flagging any line that has moved.
When do payments fall due?
Typically a deposit on confirmation, stage payments at production milestones and the balance on delivery or installation. For contract work we align valuations with the main contractor's cycle.
The deposit secures materials and workshop time, and production is scheduled on receipt. Stage payments are tied to production milestones set out in the programme, and each invoice references the itemised quotation, so every payment can be traced to the work it covers. How samples are handled is agreed with you separately, before they are made. For international projects, freight and duties are itemised in the quotation, with the payment stages agreed at the outset.