Fitted Living Room Furniture
Discussion
Just moved into a fairly new modern flat that has very little storage space. The living room is quite a nice size (5m x 3.6m) and along one of the walls we were thinking of getting the whole 5m wall done with fitted shelves/ cupboards, with a big space in the middle for the TV on the wall. We wanted something contemporary, maybe a white gloss finish – I’ve had a quote from a Hulsta dealer but their prices are stratospheric (a unit covering only half the wall was £12k, customising it would bump that up to £18k). Something similar but more realistically priced would be great – anyone have any ideas?
This was the Hulsta design that caught my eye, something along these lines:
This was the Hulsta design that caught my eye, something along these lines:
I’ve nothing against Ikea at all, I like a lot of their furniture, but I’m not sure I could get the level of customisation I’m after (do they actually make fitted furniture?). I’d like floor-to-ceiling units, glass & lighting, spaces at the back for cables and so on and I want everything to fit together perfectly…I’d be willing to pay £1000ish per metre of wall. Is that reasonable for what I want, or am I asking for the moon on a stick?
I’ve had a look at some local places but they seem to have more traditional finishes.
The Wackenhut site looks interesting – I like that style.
I’ve had a look at some local places but they seem to have more traditional finishes.
The Wackenhut site looks interesting – I like that style.
singlecoil said:
I'm tempted. Offering fitted living room and office furniture built to the exact sizes required is something I've been wondering about for a while now.
Do you have any more pictures of the sort of thing you fancy?
This is the roomDo you have any more pictures of the sort of thing you fancy?
...and the wall (not sure how useful a picture of a wall is, but here you go!)
Along the biggest wall I will have a 55” TV fixed to the wall, slightly offset to the left. On the left side I’d like a mixture of shelving/ drawers (possibly with the shelving extending into the corner onto the adjacent wall), cabinets and possibly a glass cabinet with glass door and lighting. Along the top of the space will be a shelf or a top-opening cabinet(s), and on the bottom some kind of low units to house games consoles etc. On the right side of the TV will be cabinets/ shelving as in the first picture. I’m toying with the idea of having a desktop extend to the wall in the corner, similar to this
My wife is not keen on a natural wood finish, she wants everything gloss white – personally I think it would be better to break it up with perhaps some doors in another colour or possibly wood, so this is still up for debate.
I’m going to play around with some design software this weekend and see if I can make some plans of what I want.
Some more pics of the style I'm after (obviously with different layouts and finishes)
paulrockliffe said:
I'm tempted at £1000 a linear metre!
If you've got that much money to burn, why don't you invest in some personal development, some tools and find a decent saw mill? If you're covering the entire wall it would be relatively straightforward as not making it free-standing would let you fix verticals to floor and ceiling and use dowels to support the shelves, so no complicated/accurate jointing required.
Anyone with the time, inclination and a bit of common sense would be saving themselves a fortune on this sort of stuff.
Biggest factor would be time, and lack of confidence in my ability to get a top finish. I'm happy to pay a pro for that.If you've got that much money to burn, why don't you invest in some personal development, some tools and find a decent saw mill? If you're covering the entire wall it would be relatively straightforward as not making it free-standing would let you fix verticals to floor and ceiling and use dowels to support the shelves, so no complicated/accurate jointing required.
Anyone with the time, inclination and a bit of common sense would be saving themselves a fortune on this sort of stuff.
martinnitram said:
As mentioned above, get a well recommended joiner or kitchen fitter, one man band types usually give you the most honest price and for a fraction of the cost.
Most of the bigger firms send a high pressure, mega money, cheap suited, over perfumed, bubbly chewing, i can do you a special deal - but its today only, let me ring the boss in the office, Porsche cayenne driving salesman round to do the dirty work of selling it to you.
Firms like these are fine for the idiots, but not Pistonheaders who know better.
If i wanted fitted furniture in my house though id do it myself, not only am i a powerfully built company director, im also very handy with a drill and saw.
Yeah I’m wary of that – how should I go about vetting a local fitter though? I think the challenge is dealing with an unknown quantity vs a high street brand that has displays etc.Most of the bigger firms send a high pressure, mega money, cheap suited, over perfumed, bubbly chewing, i can do you a special deal - but its today only, let me ring the boss in the office, Porsche cayenne driving salesman round to do the dirty work of selling it to you.
Firms like these are fine for the idiots, but not Pistonheaders who know better.
If i wanted fitted furniture in my house though id do it myself, not only am i a powerfully built company director, im also very handy with a drill and saw.
Holy thread resurrection! Had a visit from Neville Johnson recently and following a 2 hour visit from the designer, received a quote of ~£10,000 for what amounted to around 8 MDF cupboards. After politely telling them where to go, I am now looking at options again. The Ikea Besta series is now looking more viable, approx. 1/10 the cost of this absurdly overpriced NJ stuff.
This is the kind of layout I'm looking for, although I probably won't be able to wall-mount due to the wall not being solid, so I'm maybe thinking of floor-to-ceiling but in the same layout:
The wall is just shy of 5m long. Any suggestions, ideas of cost for an independent manufacturer? We just want a plain white gloss finish, no natural wood.
This is the kind of layout I'm looking for, although I probably won't be able to wall-mount due to the wall not being solid, so I'm maybe thinking of floor-to-ceiling but in the same layout:
The wall is just shy of 5m long. Any suggestions, ideas of cost for an independent manufacturer? We just want a plain white gloss finish, no natural wood.
Very late update, but I hate threads that don't have some closure - this is what we ended up with, Ikea Besta units. It's the look we wanted and total cost was under £1500, including the lights (some of the drawers/ cupboards have the lights that switch on when you open them).
Edited by Neil H on Friday 24th April 21:32
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