The most expensive mistake in commissioning furniture is not choosing the wrong wood. It is choosing the right one three weeks too late. Nothing about a handcrafted piece can be accelerated at the end — the curing takes the time it takes, whatever is written in the calendar.
You cannot pay to make resin cure faster. You can only start earlier.
The Real Timeline
Production is 25–30 days. That is the figure on every product page, and it is accurate — but it is only the middle section of the line. Counting backwards from the day you want to sit at the table:
| Stage | Time | Who is working |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiry and proposal | 2–5 days | Both of us |
| Decisions and confirmation | as long as you need | You |
| Production | 25–30 days | Us |
| Delivery and installation | 3–10 days | Us |
So the honest planning figure is six weeks from first message to a table in the room, and the only stage with any elasticity is the one where you are deciding. That is worth knowing, because it is also the stage people assume is free.
Counting Backwards From a Date
- To eat at it in late December — send the inquiry by the first week of November. Not because December is busy, but because a piece confirmed in late November is being poured while you would like to be setting the table.
- For a spring move — order once the floor is down and the walls are painted, not before. Rooms change dimension during renovation more often than anyone expects.
- For an event with a fixed date — add a fortnight of margin and treat the delivery window as the deadline, not the production end.
Planning Around a Renovation
The two common errors are opposite and equally costly.
Ordering too early means committing to dimensions before the room is final. A repositioned doorway or a thicker floor build-up changes clearances, and a table cannot be trimmed after the slab is cut.
Ordering too late means a finished room with nothing in it for six weeks — and worse, the temptation to buy something temporary that then stays for three years.
The right moment is when three things are fixed: final floor level, final position of doors and windows, and the lighting plan. Everything else — paint, chairs, textiles — can still move around the table afterwards. The reasoning is set out in Designing Around a Statement Table.
What You Can Do While You Wait
Four things, none of which takes long, and all of which prevent a problem on delivery day:
- Measure the route in. Doorways, corridor corners, stairwell, lift opening. This is the single most common cause of a delayed installation — the method is in Delivery and Access.
- Settle the lighting. A pendant above a dining table wants to be fixed before the table arrives, not after you are working around it.
- Decide what leaves the room. A new centrepiece rarely coexists with the furniture that was compensating for its absence.
- Choose the chairs last. Once the slab is selected you know the exact colour temperature you are matching, which makes the decision easier rather than harder.
Why We Do Not Keep Stock
A reasonable question: why not build a few in advance? Because each piece is made from a specific slab for a specific room. Building speculatively would mean choosing dimensions nobody asked for and a live edge nobody chose — and the result would be furniture that exists in quantity, which is the one thing we do not make.
If your timeline genuinely will not accommodate six weeks, say so in the first message. Occasionally a piece already in progress can be matched to a commission, and that is a conversation worth having early rather than late. Start it from the contact page or from Bespoke & Made to Order.
Quick Answers
How far in advance should I order a custom table?
Six weeks from first message to installation: a few days for the proposal, 25–30 days of production, and a delivery window. Add margin for a fixed date.
When should I order to have it for the holidays?
Send the inquiry by the first week of November. A commission confirmed in late November will be curing through late December.
Can production be rushed?
No. Drying and curing are chemical processes with fixed durations — shortening them is what causes a hairline at the wood and resin joint months later.
Should I order before or after my renovation?
After the floor level, door and window positions and lighting plan are final. Before that, the dimensions are still moving.