Custom millwork and joinery
Panelling, library shelving, concealed storage and stairs — built to the room rather than fitted into it.
Built to the room
Bespoke joinery earns its cost in the places a manufactured unit cannot go: a wall that is out of square, a chimney breast that has to be flanked symmetrically when the two sides are not equal, a ceiling that falls twenty millimetres across the run. The cabinetry absorbs the discrepancy so the room reads square.
Panelling and the panel line
Full-height panelling is set out before anything is made. The panel line has to relate to the window heads, the door casings and the cornice, and it has to survive turning corners into an alcove. Getting the setting-out right is most of the work; the making is the straightforward part.
Stairs
A curved stair is the hardest thing in a joinery shop. A continuous stringer, a hand-formed volute and a moulded handrail that runs unbroken through the turn are all made as one piece of geometry — there is no way to correct an error at the top by adjusting at the bottom.
Concealed storage
The best storage is the storage nobody sees: a door line that follows the panel joint, push latches instead of hardware, and a bar or a media wall that disappears into the elevation when it is closed.
Common questions
How far ahead does joinery need to be ordered?
Bespoke joinery is usually the longest lead item on a residential job. It cannot be measured until the structure is set and the walls are close to final, and then it needs shop time. It should be sequenced from the finish date backwards.
Can you match existing panelling in an older apartment?
Yes — the profile is taken off the surviving run and the new work made to it. Matching the finish on an aged lacquer or a stained hardwood is often harder than matching the profile, and is worth sampling on site before the run is made.
What woods do you work in?
Walnut, oak and poplar cover most residential work — poplar where the finish is a paint or lacquer, hardwoods where the grain is being shown. The choice usually follows the finish, not the other way round.
Related work
Curved Stair Residence
A helical walnut stair on a continuous curved stringer, with coffered ceilings, an arched kitchen passage and a marble primary bath.
Panelled Residence
A lacquered panelled study, a mirrored marble powder room, and coffered living and dining rooms opened through to a custom kitchen.
Contemporary Apartment
A wall of full-height cabinetry with open display niches and an integrated media wall, opening to a white kitchen.