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Custom Furniture Adelaide

The process

How a commission works

You send 1 enquiry. We match it to an Adelaide maker who builds that kind of piece, confirm their ABN, insurance and completed local work, and they quote you directly. It is free, there is no obligation, and your contract is with the maker rather than with us.

The detail below covers all 6 stages. If you want the maker's side of the same process, read how commissioning actually works. If you are not sure how to describe what you want, use the briefing checklist. And if you are still working out who you even need, start with furniture makers in Adelaide.

A furniture maker hand-planing a solid timber tabletop in a small Adelaide workshop

Step by step

The 6 stages, and what happens in each

  1. 01

    You send one enquiry

    You tell us the piece, a rough size, the room it is going in, a timeframe and a budget range. That is enough to work with. You do not need to have chosen a timber species, a finish or a joinery detail, and a phone photo of the space is worth more to a maker than a precise measurement.

  2. 02

    We match it to makers who do that work

    A workshop that builds fitted wardrobes all week is the wrong home for a live-edge slab table, and the reverse is equally true. We read every enquiry ourselves and route it by what the piece actually needs, not by who is next on a list.

  3. 03

    We check the maker before anything moves

    We confirm a current ABN, a current public liability insurance certificate, and a portfolio of completed work in Adelaide. We do that at the point your enquiry arrives, not months earlier, so what we confirm is true on the day it matters.

  4. 04

    The maker contacts you directly

    They talk through sizes, timber, finish and access, then quote. Some will want to visit and measure, which is normal and mandatory for anything fitted. You contract with the maker, not with us.

  5. 05

    You decide, or you do not

    If the quote or the fit is not right, you walk away and it has cost you nothing. There is no fee, no obligation and no follow-up campaign. If it is right, you pay a deposit, usually 40% to 50%, and the maker orders your timber.

  6. 06

    They build and deliver

    Expect 8 to 14 weeks for a dining table and 6 to 12 weeks for fitted wardrobes, measured from the deposit rather than from your first enquiry. Balance is paid on delivery.

Being straight with you

How we are paid, and what that means

This site is a referral service. We do not own a workshop, we do not employ makers, and we do not build anything. When an introduction turns into work, the maker pays us. That is the whole model, and it is why the service costs you nothing.

The obvious question is whether that biases who we send you to. The honest answer is that it would if we ran it badly. We keep it clean 2 ways. First, the referral fee does not vary by maker, so there is nothing to gain by steering you toward one over another. Second, we route by fit rather than by payment: a workshop that does fitted joinery does not get sent a live-edge slab table just because they are available.

We also do not pre-sign a roster of makers and then leave it to go stale. We check at the point a real enquiry arrives, so the ABN and the insurance certificate we look at are current on the day your details would move, not current 14 months ago.

What we do not do

The limits, stated plainly

  • We do not build, install, deliver or repair anything ourselves.
  • We do not hold your deposit or handle any money between you and the maker.
  • We do not sell your details to multiple businesses or to any third-party lead broker.
  • We do not operate outside Adelaide metro, and we do not refer interstate workshops for Adelaide jobs.
  • We do not display testimonials, reviews or ratings, because we have not collected any and inventing them would be dishonest.
  • We do not claim to check a licence. Furniture making is not a licensed trade in South Australia, so there is nothing to check. For fitted work that forms part of building work, licensing may apply to the maker or their builder, and that is worth confirming with them for your specific job.

FAQ

How it works: the questions we get asked

What does this cost me?

Nothing, at any stage. There is no fee to enquire, no fee to be matched, and no fee if you accept a quote. We are paid by the maker when an introduction turns into work, which is the standard model for a referral service and the reason it is free to you.

How many makers will contact me?

Usually 1, occasionally 2 where a brief genuinely sits between 2 kinds of workshop. We are not a lead-blasting service and we do not sell the same enquiry to 5 businesses. If you want more than 1 quote, ask us and we will arrange it.

What exactly do you verify?

A current ABN, a current public liability insurance certificate, and a portfolio of completed work in Adelaide, plus references where the job warrants it. Furniture making is not a licensed trade in South Australia, so there is no register to check. Anyone claiming to check a furniture maker's licence is describing something that does not exist.

Do you take a cut of my quote?

No. The maker quotes you their price. What we are paid is a matter between us and the maker and is not added to your job. If you would rather approach a maker directly after we introduce you, that is entirely your call.

What if something goes wrong with the build?

Your contract is with the maker, so the maker carries the obligation, and Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees apply to the work as they would to any trade. We want to hear about it either way, because a maker who does not resolve a problem stops receiving referrals from us.

Do you cover regional South Australia?

No. Adelaide metro only, from Gawler in the north to Aldinga in the south, plus the Adelaide Hills where a maker is willing to travel. We would rather tell you we cannot help than pass your details to a workshop that will not turn up.

Keep reading

You might also find this useful

Start here

Tell us what you want made

One short form. We check the maker before your details go anywhere, and there is no obligation to go ahead.

  • Free to use. Makers pay us, you never do.
  • ABN, public liability insurance and completed Adelaide work checked before we refer anyone.
  • Adelaide metro only, so you are not sent to an interstate workshop.

A range is enough. It stops makers quoting you the wrong build.

A phone photo of the room is more useful than you would think. Max 5 files, 10MB each.

Free, and there is no obligation. We check a current ABN, current public liability insurance and completed Adelaide work before we pass your enquiry to any maker.

Get quotes from Adelaide makers