Affordable Custom Wood Furniture

Custom furniture has a reputation for being expensive. Often it is. But a made-to-order piece in the right material can cost less than a comparable ready-made one — and it actually fits the space you're putting it in.

Chocolate Wood's custom furniture is built at our Riverwood factory and workshop on Bonds Road, Riverwood, Sydney. We've been trading since 2006, and we sell both imported ranges and Australian custom-made pieces. This page is about the custom side.

What drives the price

Custom furniture is priced on size and material, in that order. A small bedside table and a three-metre wall unit are different propositions no matter what they're made from.

Material is the lever you control. For a painted piece, white painted MDF costs considerably less than building the same unit in solid timber — often a third to a half. That's not because it's a lesser material; for a painted finish it's the correct one. It's simply cheaper to work.

The same wall unit built in New Zealand pine or Victorian ash would be two to three times the cost of the painted version.

Larger buffet and hutch pieces are usually built with a solid Victorian ash top, often in a contrasting colour to the painted base. It's the surface that takes the most wear, so it's worth having in solid timber.

Size is the other lever. A piece made to your actual dimensions rather than the nearest standard size sometimes uses less material, not more — and it fits, which is the entire point.

Build over time. Plenty of customers start with one piece and add to it later. Because we hold your specification, matching pieces down the track is straightforward.

What we can build

Dining tables and bench seats · Buffets, sideboards and hutches · White painted wall units and bookcases · TV and entertainment units · Display units · Beds, bedsides, tallboys and dressers · Wardrobes and linen cabinets · Desks · Console and hall tables · Coffee tables

If you've measured a space and nothing standard fits it, that's exactly the situation custom is for.

French Provincial and Hamptons

One of our most popular custom lines is white painted furniture in the French Provincial and Hamptons styles — wall units and bookcases, buffets and hutches.

These are built in white painted MDF, which is the right material for a painted finish rather than a cheaper alternative to timber. It takes paint evenly, doesn't show grain through the topcoat, and stays flat across a large door or panel where solid timber would move with the seasons.

These are substantial pieces — a full wall unit is often three metres wide and over two metres tall — so they aren't cheap furniture. But built this way they cost a fraction of what the same unit would in solid timber.

On the larger buffet and hutch pieces we usually finish with a solid Victorian ash top, frequently in a contrasting colour to the painted base.

On colours. White is our standard and by far the most popular. Black is available at additional cost. Beyond those two we're limited to commercial-grade Dulux colours we can source — so if you have a particular shade in mind, ask us before you plan around it and we'll tell you whether we can match it.

If you want the painted Hamptons look done properly, this is how it's built.

Browse the Australian Custom Made range to see what we've built before.

Materials

White painted MDF — for painted wall units, bookcases, buffets and hutches. The correct material for a painted finish, and considerably less than the same piece in solid timber. Black available at additional cost; other colours limited to commercial-grade Dulux shades we can source.

New Zealand pine — the most affordable solid timber. Softer, lighter, takes paint and stain well.

Victorian ash — pale with a fine, even grain. Suits contemporary and coastal rooms.

American oak — warmer and more open-grained. Takes a stain particularly well.

Blackwood, blackbutt and American walnut — darker, denser, more expensive.

Drawer boxes are built in New Zealand pine across the range.

We'll post you free timber samples anywhere in Australia. Colour is difficult to judge on a screen and it's the thing people most often get wrong. Just ask.

How it works

1. Tell us what you need. Dimensions, timber, finish, and any features — soft-close drawers, a particular leg style, a specific height.

2. We quote it in writing. Price and timeline, before you commit to anything.

3. We build it. At our Riverwood factory. Estimated production time is three to four weeks, plus delivery.

4. We deliver it. Into the room you want it in.

Custom-made pieces are built specifically for you, so they can't be returned for change of mind. We confirm every detail in writing before building starts. They're covered by our 12-month manufacturer's warranty against manufacturing faults, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are unaffected.

Come and see

Factory and workshop — Bonds Road, Riverwood NSW 2210
Strictly by appointment. Best if you want to see custom pieces being built, or if you're in the south or south-west of Sydney. Please call first — it's a working factory, not a showroom.

Showroom — Shop 33, 228-232 Condamine Street, Manly Vale NSW 2093
Saturday and Sunday, 11am – 4pm. Weekdays by appointment.

02 9949 9892 · sales@chocolatewood.com.au

We deliver Australia-wide.

Not sure custom is what you need?

If a standard size works for your room, our imported ranges are held in stock where available, and generally the quicker and cheaper option — solid mahogany, messmate, oak and recycled elm.

Custom is worth it when the space is difficult, when you want a specific timber, or when you need pieces that match exactly. It isn't automatically better. It's better when it's the right answer.