Guide
Everything we get asked, answered properly
How to size a piece for your room, what each material does over ten years, and how to look after furniture that was built once. Written in the workshop, not by a marketing department.
Furniture dimensions, with the reasoning attached
Seat and table heights, clearances, table sizes, shelf loads and delivery measurements, each one linked to the guide that explains where it comes from.
Comparisons
Honest comparisons between materials, finishes and ways of making furniture.
Ash Versus Oak Furniture
Hardness, grain, colour and price. Two hardwoods that age very differently.
ComparisonsCast Concrete Versus Concrete-Look
Telling a 60 mm cast slab from a print by weight, edge, sound and temperature.
ComparisonsConcrete Versus Stone Furniture
Weight, cost, staining and repair. What cast concrete does that stone cannot.
ComparisonsFlat-Pack Versus Handmade Furniture
Cost per year, repairability and the third move. A fair comparison.
ComparisonsLinoleum Versus Laminate Tabletops
Linseed oil and jute versus paper and resin. They wear and repair differently.
ComparisonsMass-Produced Versus Atelier
Two machines for making chairs. What each does well, and where the money goes.
ComparisonsMatte Versus Gloss Finishes
Gloss shows every fingerprint and repair. Matte hides both and scuffs instead.
ComparisonsNew Handmade Versus Vintage
Condition risk, sizing, parts and price. When vintage is really the better buy.
ComparisonsPowder Coat Versus Paint on Steel
Thickness, hardness, repairability and colour. What you trade either way.
ComparisonsSolid Wood Versus Veneer
Veneer is not automatically cheap, solid not automatically better. How to tell.
ComparisonsSteel Versus Wood Frames
Slenderness, stiffness, repair, and how each sounds and feels in a room.
ComparisonsUpholstered Versus Hard Seating
How long you sit decides this, not how the chair looks. The numbers behind it.
ComparisonsWelded Versus Bolted Furniture
Welds cannot loosen. Bolts come apart for the stairs. Your building decides.
ComparisonsWhy Handmade Costs What It Does
Where the money goes in a piece built by hand, with no appeal to romance.
ComparisonsWool Versus Synthetic Upholstery
Wear, pilling, smell, cleaning and cost. What each fabric does on a daily sofa.
Practical
Moving, cleaning, levelling, repairing. The unglamorous things that keep furniture alive.
Assembling a Piece That Ships Flat
Fewer fasteners, tighter tolerances. How to assemble it square and tight.
PracticalCleaning Without Damage
One cloth, one mild soap, no spray bottle. The routine for every material.
PracticalFixing a Chip, Scratch or Dent
What to do first on steel, concrete and oiled wood, and when to stop.
PracticalMoving Concrete Furniture
An 84 kg bench is a two-person job. Lifting, routes, protection and the risks.
PracticalHumidity, Heating and Furniture
Heating dries a room fast. What it does to wood, and which noises are normal.
PracticalLevelling on an Uneven Floor
Floors are never flat. How adjustable feet work, and what to do without them.
PracticalProtecting Floors Under Heavy Pieces
Point loads dent soft floors. What to put under feet on oak, vinyl and tile.
PracticalStoring Furniture Safely
Cold stores, damp basements and plastic wrap. How to put a piece away safely.
PracticalWhat to Check When Furniture Arrives
Five minutes at the door that save a month of email. What to check and sign.
PracticalWhich Pieces Can Live Outside
Sealed concrete and coated steel tolerate weather. Oiled ash and wool do not.
Sizing
Heights, clearances and the numbers that decide whether a piece works in your room or fights it.
Bar Stool Heights Explained
The three standard heights, the comfortable gap, and how to measure first.
SizingCabinet Depth and What Actually Fits
What a 450 mm deep cabinet swallows, and why deeper is not always better.
SizingDoes a Two-Seat Sofa Fit Your Room
Walking space, door swings and the tape-on-the-floor test that settles it.
SizingFurnishing a Small Apartment
Fewer pieces that each do one thing well, and sizes that keep a room breathing.
SizingHeavy Furniture and Floor Load
What an 84 kg bench means for a timber floor, and how to spread the load.
SizingBench Length Per Person
Seating per person at a table or a wall, and what 1600 mm honestly holds.
SizingSpace Around a Dining Table
The clearances that let people sit down, stand up and walk behind a chair.
SizingHow Much a Wall Shelf Holds
The shelf is rarely the weak point. Fixings, wall type and span decide it.
SizingMeasuring a Room Before Buying
The six measurements worth writing down, and the two most people forget.
SizingCoffee Table Height and Sofa
Why a table within 50 mm of seat height feels right, and what happens if not.
SizingWhy 450 mm Is the Seat Height
Where the standard came from, who it does not suit, and how to test at home.
SizingSizing for a Narrow Hallway
Depth is the constraint, not length. What fits in a 900 mm corridor.
SizingSofa Depth Explained
Overall depth and seat depth are different numbers. Only one decides comfort.
SizingStool or Chair for a Kitchen Island
Backs, footrests and how long people sit. Decided by counter height, not taste.
SizingChair Seat to Table Top Gap
Why 250 to 300 mm is the comfortable range, and how to check it with a book.
SizingWhat Height a Side Table Should Be
Match it to the arm or the seat, not a catalogue number. Rule and exceptions.
SizingWhat Size Round Table Seats Four
How much edge each person needs, why 1000 mm is the usual answer, and when not.
SizingWhat Size Round Table Seats Six
The diameter that fits six without elbows touching, and the room around it.
SizingWhy Tables Are 740 mm High
The dining height convention, the gap above a chair, and when to break it.
SizingWill It Fit Through the Door
Diagonal depth, stair turns and radiator pipes. Check access before delivery.
Buying guides
How to choose a piece without buying the wrong one twice.
Building a Room Around One Piece
When one object carries the room, how to choose the rest so it still reads.
Buying guidesFurnishing a First Apartment
The order to buy in, what to spend on first, and what can wait a year.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Bench
Indoors, outdoors, at a table or in a hallway. Four benches that look like one.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Dining Chair
Seat height, back angle, width and stacking. Chairs you can sit on for hours.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Round Dining Table
Diameter, base, top and levelling. Why round fits rooms a rectangle cannot.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Side Shelf
Freestanding or hung, depth, load and what you will actually put on it.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Side Table
Height against the sofa, top size against a cup, weight against a toddler.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Steel Cabinet
Depth, shelf spacing, door swing and anchoring, checked before it arrives.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Stool
Height, footrest, weight and stability. What decides if a stool gets used.
Buying guidesHow to Choose a Two-Seat Sofa
Depth, frame, cushion fill and covers. What matters and what you pay for twice.
Made to order
One-off pieces, commissions, lead times, and what it means to own something that is not made again.
Workshop Instead of a Showroom
No floor model, no sales floor. What you gain, what you give up, how to buy.
Made to orderCaring for a Piece With Art On It
Cleaning, sunlight and touch-ups when the art sits inside the finish.
Made to orderChoosing a Colour for Good
How to test a colour in your own light before a piece gets built once.
Made to orderGiving One-Off Furniture as a Gift
Sizing for someone else, lead times for a fixed date, and what is safe to give.
Made to orderHow Long Made to Order Takes and Why
Three to five weeks, and what happens inside them. What cannot be hurried.
Made to orderHow Sprayed Art Survives
The order of work, what curing does, and which part of the paint wears first.
Made to orderHow to Commission a Piece
What to bring to the first message, and which changes are easy or expensive.
Made to orderLiving With a One-Off Piece
Use it or protect it. An honest answer to the question a week after delivery.
Made to orderOne-Off Versus Limited Edition
Numbered runs, editions and single pieces are three different promises.
Made to orderProvenance and Resale
What to keep so a piece can be identified in twenty years, and why it pays.
Made to orderWhat Art Furniture Is
Where the line between furniture and art sits, and what to check before buying.
Made to orderWhat Happens When a Piece Sells Out
Sold out means gone, not restocking. What you can still ask for instead.
Made to orderWhat Made to Order Actually Means
Stock, made to order and a commission, and what changes for you in each case.
Made to orderWhy a Piece Exists Once
The case for making one of something, and what a catalogue cannot sell you.
Made to orderWhy Handmade Is Not Identical
Weld seams, grain and sprayed edges vary. Which variations are faults.
Material care
Steel, concrete, ash, wool and linoleum. What each one does over ten years, and the short routine that keeps it right.
Caring for Raw Welded Steel
Visible weld seams are a finish, not a defect. What cleans and what marks them.
Material careCleaners That Wreck Finishes
The bottles under your sink that quietly destroy oil, powder coat and concrete.
Material careHairline Cracks in Concrete
How to tell a surface crack from a structural one, and what to do about each.
Material careHow to Care for a Linoleum Tabletop
Real linoleum is not vinyl. What it tolerates, what dulls it, what ruins it.
Material careHow to Care for Oiled Ash Furniture
Why oil differs from lacquer, how often to re-oil, and how to fix a mark.
Material careCaring for Powder-Coated Steel
What powder coating is, how it fails, and the routine that keeps it right.
Material careHow to Care for Wool Upholstery
Wool survives almost anything but heat. Vacuuming, spills and washing covers.
Material careRepairing a Powder Coat Chip
A chip is only a problem if you leave it. The ten-minute fix that stops rust.
Material careMaintaining a Matte Sealer
Matte sealers hide less and wear differently. How to keep the surface even.
Material careFloors Under Heavy Furniture
Felt, rubber and load spreading. What goes under steel feet on oak and tile.
Material careStains on Concrete Furniture
Wine, oil, coffee and citrus on sealed concrete. What lifts and what stays.
Material careSealing Cast Concrete Furniture
Concrete is porous. What a sealer does, what still stains, and when to reseal.
Material careSunlight and Fading
Sun fades dye and dries wood unevenly. How to place a piece so it ages evenly.
Material careWashing Wool Cushion Covers
Heat and agitation felt wool. The settings that keep a cover its original size.
Material careWhat a Clear Coat Does
Why art is sprayed before the clear coat, what it protects and what it cannot.
Material careIndoor Humidity and Wood
Wood moves all year. What that means for joints, gaps and the heating season.
Material careMaterials After Ten Years
Every material ages. How each one changes, and which changes you will like.
Material careWhen to Re-Oil Ash Furniture
Not a calendar job. The water test that tells you when a surface needs oil.
Material careFinishes for Pets and Children
Claws, crayons, juice and impact. Which materials shrug it off.
Material careWhy Coated Steel Rusts
Coating is a barrier, not immunity. Where it breaks first and how to stop it.