Working with Collins Bespoke

The Collins Bespoke Process

01 — Conversation

Every project starts with a conversation.

We want to understand the property, your ideas, the scope of the project and what you would like us to achieve. You might be at the very beginning of a renovation or new build, or you may already have architectural drawings, an interior designed plan and a detailed brief ready for us to work from.

For larger and whole-home projects, we'll also consider the wider programme, the rooms and joinery packages involved, and how our work will fit alongside the other teams working on the property.

02 — Design & Collaboration

There is no single way a Collins Bespoke project begins.

Our own designers can develop a scheme from the first ideas, working with you to explore layout, proportion, materials, finishes and the details that will make it individual to your home.

Alternatively, we regularly work alongside architects and interior designers, taking an established creative design and developing it into beautifully resolved, manufacturable joinery.

Whichever route brings you to us, collaboration is an important part of the process. The best projects tend to come from good ideas, good communication and people who care about getting the details right.

03 — Design & Technical Development

Before anything reaches the workshop, the design has to work in the real world.

Once the creative direction is agreed, our designers develop the scheme using CAD, translating ideas, architectural drawings and interior schemes into detailed designs ready for manufacture.

Dimensions, construction methods, materials, hardware, finishes and the relationship between our joinery and the surrounding architecture are carefully considered and resolved. For complex and whole-home projects, we can also coordinate with architects, interior designers, contractors and other trades to make sure the details work together on site.

Our CAD drawings allow the design to be developed and reviewed before manufacture begins, while also providing the accurate information needed by our workshop team and CNC machinery.

It is where creative design meets the technical reality of making something properly.

04 — Made in Kent

Once the design and technical details are approved, your joinery moves into production at our Kent workshop.

Here, traditional cabinetmaking works alongside modern manufacturing technology. Our CNC machinery allows components to be manufactured with exceptional accuracy and repeatability, while our skilled cabinetmakers bring the judgement, experience and hand-finishing that bespoke furniture still demands.

Technology doesn't replace craftsmanship at Collins Bespoke. It allows our craftspeople to work with greater precision.

Every component is made specifically for the project. We don't manufacture standard ranges or rely on predetermined cabinet sizes, and our CNC capability gives us the flexibility to produce individual pieces as readily as substantial multi-room joinery packages.

Having design, CAD development and manufacture within the same team also means that information flows directly from the drawing office to the workshop — particularly important when we're delivering complex joinery across an entire property.

05 — Finishing

For us, finishing is part of the making, not something added at the end.

Every surface is carefully prepared before our specialist finishing team applies the chosen paint, stain, lacquer or specialist finish. Colour, sheen, texture and the way a material responds to light can completely change a piece of furniture, so this stage receives a great deal of attention.

We are particularly fussy about finish. It is something we have refined over more than 30 years, and a standard on which we simply won't compromise.

06 — Installation & Completion

Making beautiful joinery is only part of the job. It also has to be fitted beautifully.

Our installation teams understand bespoke furniture because they are skilled cabinetmakers themselves. They know how the pieces have been constructed, how they should come together and the level of detail expected when they are finally installed.

On larger projects, we work alongside the wider site team to coordinate installation with the construction programme and other trades.

Once installed, the project is checked and the final details completed before handover. The same care that began with the first drawing carries through to the moment the finished furniture becomes part of the home.

From one room to an entire home

The process remains the same whether we are creating one particularly special piece of furniture or delivering joinery throughout a property: considered design, careful technical development, skilled manufacture, exceptional finishing and meticulous installation.

For whole-home projects, bringing multiple rooms together under one team also creates consistency across the property — in materials, details, finish, communication and delivery.

Kitchen · Utility · Boot Room · Bar · Study · Library · Media Room · Bedroom · Dressing Room · Bathroom