Two questions come up in every bespoke conversation, usually in the first five minutes: what will it cost, and when will I have it. Both get vague answers across this market, and the vagueness is rarely accidental — a quote without a breakdown cannot be compared with another quote without a breakdown.
So here is the arithmetic, from the inside. I run commissions through our own workshop and I know what each stage consumes. Numbers are indicative rather than a price list, because timber prices move, but the proportions hold and the proportions are what you actually need.
What drives the price, in order
For a typical case piece — a sideboard, a wardrobe, a desk — the cost divides roughly like this:
| Component | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Material | 30–40% | Timber, substrate, veneer. Rises steeply with species and figure |
| Labour — carcass and joinery | 25–30% | Hours. The single most variable line between workshops |
| Finishing | 15–20% | Number of coats, cutting back, hand polishing |
| Hardware | 5–15% | Solid brass and quality runners move this line a long way |
| Drawing and setting out | 3–5% | Skipped by most; it is why most bespoke work goes wrong |
| Delivery and installation | 3–5% | More if it has to be assembled on site |
Notice that material is well under half. The instinct is to negotiate on timber, and the timber is not where the money is. It is in hours — and hours are where quality lives.
The things that genuinely add cost
- Curves. A curved front on a sideboard can add 40–60% because it needs formers, laminated construction and hand-fitted veneer
- Matched veneer across multiple doors. Book-matching adds 15–30%; a full radial sunburst can double the panel cost
- Marble or stone tops — the material, the fabrication and, above all, the risk. Stone breaks at the worst moment
- Interior fitting-out: dividers, felt-lined trays, cable management, soft-close on everything. Individually small, collectively substantial
- Solid brass hardware, made or cast to order rather than bought from a catalogue
- A hand-built lacquer or French polish instead of a sprayed finish — usually 1.5–2× the finishing line
- Non-standard depth. A 42cm-deep sideboard uses standard sheet material efficiently; a 47cm one wastes a third of every board
What it costs, in bands
Indicative ranges for properly made work in Lahore — kiln-dried timber, real veneer on a stable substrate, solid brass hardware, hand-finished. Below these bands, something in that list has been substituted; well above them, you are usually paying for an imported name.
| Piece | Range | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Console or small cabinet | Rs 120,000 – 300,000 | 4–6 weeks |
| Sideboard / credenza, 180–220cm | Rs 280,000 – 650,000 | 6–9 weeks |
| Dining table, 8–10 seat | Rs 320,000 – 850,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Executive desk | Rs 350,000 – 900,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Four-door wardrobe | Rs 400,000 – 900,000 | 8–12 weeks |
| Three-seat sofa, bespoke frame | Rs 250,000 – 600,000 | 5–8 weeks |
| Full fitted dressing room | Rs 900,000 + | 10–16 weeks |
Two honest caveats. Prices for figured or imported timber move with the exchange rate, so a quote should carry a validity period — thirty days is normal and fair. And a bespoke piece that duplicates something already in the collection is usually cheaper than a genuinely new design, because the drawings, the jigs and the setting-out already exist.
The timeline, stage by stage
Lead times are quoted as a single number and are actually a sequence. Knowing the sequence lets you tell a slipping project from a normal one.
- Brief and measure — 2 to 5 days. Site visit, dimensions, delivery route, discussion of use
- Drawings — 5 to 10 days. Plan, elevation, section, and a materials board. You approve and sign these
- Materials — 1 to 3 weeks. Timber selected and, if it is not already in stock at the right moisture content, ordered. This is the stage that slips
- Carcass and joinery — 2 to 4 weeks. The bulk of the work
- Veneer and fitting — 1 to 2 weeks, where applicable
- Finishing — 1 to 2 weeks. Cannot be rushed; each coat needs to cure, and monsoon humidity slows it further
- Hardware, assembly and inspection — 3 to 5 days
- Delivery and installation — 1 day, scheduled with you
Add two weeks to any quote falling in July or August. Finishing in high humidity either takes longer or comes out worse, and a workshop that tells you monsoon makes no difference is telling you something about its finishing process.
Payment terms that protect you
The standard structure in this market is 50% up front and 50% on delivery. It is workable but weighted against the customer, because the whole balance of leverage disappears the moment the second payment is made. The structure I use, and the one I would ask for:
- 30% on signing the approved drawings — funds materials
- 40% on completion of the carcass, verified by a photograph or a workshop visit
- 20% on delivery
- 10% after installation and a snag list has been cleared
That last 10% is the important one. A retention of even a small percentage until snags are closed changes the incentive at exactly the moment it needs changing, and any workshop confident in its work will accept it.
What to put in writing before anything is cut
A one-page order document prevents almost every dispute I have ever been asked to mediate. It should state:
- Finished dimensions, to the millimetre, with a tolerance stated
- Species and substrate for every component, plus the moisture content the timber will be worked at
- Finish type and number of coats, and the sheen level
- Hardware make and model, and whether it is solid or plated
- The approved drawing, referenced by date and version
- Delivery date, and what happens if it is missed
- Payment stages, tied to milestones rather than to dates
- What the warranty covers and for how long — structure and finish should be separate lines
None of that is adversarial. It is the same document a professional workshop wants, because it protects the maker from a changed mind just as much as it protects the customer from a changed spec.
When bespoke is the wrong answer
I turn commissions away, and it is worth saying why.
- When something in stock will do. A standard piece that fits is a better buy than a bespoke one that fits perfectly, unless the fit is the whole problem
- When the deadline is under four weeks. Rushed finishing is bad finishing, and it will be visible for the life of the piece
- When the budget only covers bespoke by dropping to a cheaper construction. A well-made standard piece beats a badly made custom one every time
- When the room is not finished. Commissioning against unfinished walls and unlaid floors is how a 3mm site tolerance becomes a 30mm gap
Bespoke solves a fit problem or a design problem. If you have neither, you are paying for a process rather than a result.
If you want to see what actually happens between the drawing and the delivery, how a piece is commissioned and made walks through a single commission from first measurement to installation.
