Featured image: Circles Coffee Table, a custom commission from the Oyster Studio Furniture portfolio.
To commission custom furniture, begin with the piece you need, the room it belongs in and the way it will be used. Bring photographs or a measured sketch, a few references, an indicative budget and your desired timing. The design can develop from that first conversation.
A useful brief combines clear requirements with room to explore. You may know the width a cabinet must fit or the objects a table needs to hold, while its form, materials and details are still open questions.
What do you need the piece to do?
Describe the activity around the furniture. For a table, that could include how many people use it and what happens around it. For a cabinet or shelving, explain what needs to be stored or displayed. For seating, talk about who will use it and how you prefer to sit.
Identify the fixed constraints and the choices you would like to develop with the maker. Existing furniture, windows, fittings and routes through the room all help define the space available.
What room information should you prepare?
Share photographs from several angles and a plan or measured sketch. Mark the proposed position of the piece, relevant dimensions and any nearby elements that affect its use.
Include delivery access early: doorways, stairs, lifts and the route into the room. For fitted work, ask who will confirm site measurements and how the furniture will be coordinated with other work. Initial measurements start the conversation; final dimensions belong in the agreed specification.
How should you use design references?
A few annotated images can explain a preference clearly. Identify the curve, proportion, material or construction detail that interests you. Explain how you would like the piece to feel in your own room.
Oyster’s Custom Furniture portfolio includes tables, seating, cabinetry, shelving and smaller objects. The named projects offer different starting points for discussing scale, surfaces and the studio’s making practice.
Which materials are right for the project?
Discuss appearance, touch, use and care together. A sample can help you consider a surface beside the materials already in the room. The appropriate timber, veneer, metal, glass or upholstery depends on the particular design and how it will be used.
For commercial work, describe the setting and any project specifications at the outset. Use Trade & Projects to discuss material suitability for the piece. If you have a particular textile in mind, bring its information to the conversation so the studio can review whether it is suitable.
How much does custom furniture cost?
A commission is priced around its design work, materials, scale, construction and finishes, together with the agreed delivery or installation scope. Share an indicative budget early so the studio can discuss the work you have in mind.
Explain whether that budget covers the furniture alone or the wider project. The proposal should make the included work, cost and order terms clear before you proceed.
How long does a commission take?
Timing depends on the design, materials, complexity and workshop schedule. Share your desired date and any milestones for the room. Oyster confirms the current project timeline in its proposal.
Allow the conversation to cover design development as well as making. Ask which drawings, samples or specifications need a decision from you and how those decisions fit the project schedule.
What should you confirm before making begins?
Review the dimensions, materials, finish, scope, price and timing together. Confirm which drawings or samples represent the agreed design, how changes will be handled, and what is included in delivery or installation. Discuss the care requirements for the chosen materials.
If a designer, architect or contractor is involved, identify the main contact and each person’s responsibilities. This is especially useful where furniture meets the building or depends on work happening elsewhere in the room.
A brief you can send to the studio
- The piece you want and how it will be used.
- The project location, room photographs and a measured sketch or plan.
- Fixed dimensions, storage needs or other practical constraints.
- A few references with notes on materials, color, form or details.
- An indicative budget and desired timing.
- Delivery access and any installation requirements.
- The people involved in the wider project.
For an Impressions commission: Download the Impressions project brief (PDF) to compare Impressions I and Impressions II, then prepare notes on your room, materials and delivery access.
Oyster Studio Furniture is the custom practice within Oyster Wellness, based in Westhampton Beach, New York. We work with private clients, interior designers and architects, bringing design, material exploration and making into the same conversation.
Explore selected custom projects, then tell us about the piece you have in mind.