Commissioning custom furniture in India: a buyer's guide

Custom furniture in India is a small, fragmented industry. The same brief will get you a thousand-rupee chair from a local carpenter and a six-figure piece from a heritage atelier — and the process for both can look identical at the start. After two decades of fielding the same questions from first-time commissioners, we've put together a practical guide. None of this is exclusive to Flamingo; most of it applies to any reputable maker in the country.

Lead times: what's actually normal

A bench-made single piece (an armchair, a coffee table, a console) runs ten to thirty days from order to delivery, depending on configuration. A full collection's worth of pieces — a living-room set, a bedroom suite — runs four to eight weeks. A fully custom piece designed from scratch (no template) runs eight to fourteen weeks. These numbers are typical for an established maker working from a standing material library; smaller workshops with no inventory take longer.

Anyone quoting four-day delivery is selling you off-the-shelf, regardless of what they call it. There is no honest way to bench-make a sofa in four days.

What custom actually means

There are three distinct levels of customisation, and they're worth distinguishing because they affect price and lead time differently:

• Spec customisation — choosing fabric, finish, size, and hardware on a piece from a standing collection. Same lead time as standard. Modest premium (5–15%).
• Configuration customisation — modifying an existing collection piece (different arm style, deeper seat, alternate back detail). Adds 1–2 weeks. Premium 15–30%.
• Full-bespoke commission — a piece designed from scratch to your brief. 8–14 weeks. Premium 50–150%.

Most clients who say they want "custom furniture" actually want the first level. Knowing which one you want at the start is the single biggest determinant of whether the project goes smoothly.

The conversation that matters

Good custom furniture starts with a conversation, not a brief document. We typically spend an hour at the first meeting asking about the room, the people, the use, the budget — usually in that order. The brief gets written down at the end of the conversation, not at the start.

Things to bring: a floor plan if you have one (rough hand-drawn is fine), three to five reference images of pieces you like, three to five reference images of pieces you specifically don't like, and a budget envelope. The dislikes are often more useful than the likes — they reveal what to avoid.

Costs to expect

Bench-made armchair from a reputable maker: ₹85,000 to ₹2,50,000 depending on materials. Three-seat sofa: ₹2,40,000 to ₹8,00,000. Custom king-size bed: ₹1,80,000 to ₹6,00,000. Bespoke executive desk: ₹1,40,000 to ₹4,50,000. These ranges aren't margins of error — they reflect real material differences (art-leather vs hand-stitched, French beech vs walnut, polished brass vs antique bronze).

Anyone quoting significantly under these numbers is using factory components and assembling them on order. That's a legitimate business model — it's just not custom in the same way.

Red flags to watch for

• No written quote. You should always receive a line-item breakdown — frame, upholstery, hardware, finish, delivery, GST.
• No advance, full payment on delivery only. Reputable makers ask 40–60% upfront because materials are bought against your order.
• Vague timeline. "Within a month" is not a delivery date.
• No after-care commitment. A maker who won't tighten joints in year two is not building for year ten.
• Refusal to share material samples before the order is locked. Always sample.

What a healthy commission looks like

First conversation: brief, mood-board, rough quote. Within a week, a written estimate with materials, sizes, lead time. Pay 40–50% to start. Sample swatches and finish chips arrive within ten days for sign-off. Build begins. Photo updates at the halfway point. Final inspection before dispatch. Crated and freighted. Delivered, assembled, walked through. Final payment on satisfaction. After-care commitment for at least twelve months.

That's roughly the Flamingo workflow. It's also roughly the workflow of any other heritage maker in the country. If your maker can describe something close to this, you're working with someone who's done it before.

When to commission, and when not to

Commission custom when you have a specific space, a specific use, and a horizon longer than five years. Don't commission custom for a room you might redecorate in two years, a rental, or a piece you're "trying out". Off-the-shelf serves those moments better. Custom is for pieces meant to outlast their photograph.

If you're considering a project, our custom furniture service walks you through everything above in person. Or browse the signature collections as a starting point — most pieces can be customised at the spec level without a full bespoke commission.