How to Find a Skilled Cabinet Maker in London

Are you finally about to embark on getting your new dream custom kitchen built? If so, you will almost certainly be looking to find a cabinet maker.

Having a high-quality bespoke kitchen is something many of us dream about. High-quality wood bespoke furniture built specially to fit your kitchen – with special touches such as a walk-in pantry and pull-out wine rack – always require an expert touch to get right.

The best kitchens combine custom cabinetry with impressive craftsmanship. It’s designed to highlight your own unique style, but it also has functional storage and practicality you will love.

What Type of Cabinets Do You Want?

Whether your cupboards and other items are fitted or free-standing they will be designed by your skilled cabinet maker. He or she will have plenty of ideas – even if you don’t. Or they can help take your own plans to the next level.

You can choose from a huge range of kitchen furniture styles out there. Perhaps you have always loved traditional Shaker style kitchen cabinets?

Or maybe you are after a more minimalist bend with handleless drawers. Regardless of your style preference, cabinet makers will design bespoke furniture to fit perfectly into tricky corners or awkward recesses. And they will be built in exactly the right size so there’s no need for redundant infill panels.

Where to Find Cabinet Makers

There are a whole range of ways to find high-quality bespoke furniture makers in London and throughout the UK. And we have listed some of the best methods to do that right here:

The Page

It’s easy to find a skilled cabinet maker in London with The Page.

Just send us an enquiry and we will get back to you with a curated list of potential cabinet makers matched to your specific needs.

Google Search

Type ‘find a cabinet maker’ into Google and you will be faced with pages of links. It’s obviously better to narrow down the list by making your search local. However, even then you’ll have a number to look through. Some of these individuals or companies will have paid to feature at the top of the page but others on page one will be the more popular choices (either that or they have excellent SEO techniques). In other words, it can be a bit of a minefield just using Google to find a cabinet maker.

Online Directories

Online directories certainly narrow down the search to find a cabinet maker. They’ll list professionals in particular locations and they may have testimonials as well as a range of services that individual or company provides.

Review Sites

Review sites often contain comments from previous clients. Whether these are genuine or not can be difficult to discern. But those with ‘before and after’ images almost certainly are. The bespoke furniture maker will also have reviews on his or her own site, although these will have been carefully selected, of course.

Facebook Groups

Typing in “Where can I find a cabinet maker?” on a Facebook community page can often reap results worth following up. That’s because those who have replied to your post will usually have used the cabinet maker themselves and can give you a full account of how the job went and whether or not they are pleased with the result. They will either be delighted or horrified with the work. People usually only reply if they have a strong reaction.

Ask Other People

Neighbours, colleagues, friends, even family – they may themselves have hired a cabinet maker to build wooden furniture in the past. It’s worth asking around since you will get genuine responses and word of mouth recommendation is always worth listening to.

Ask Other Tradespeople

It’s worth asking plumbers, electricians, Gas Safe engineers etc if they know of any good cabinet makers locally. Chances are they’ll have worked with bespoke furniture makers – especially when it comes to kitchens or bathrooms. And even if they don’t know someone personally, they will probably know another tradesperson who does.

5 Tips on Choosing a Good Cabinet Maker

1. Check Their Experience and Accreditations

The more experience your bespoke furniture maker has had, the more skilled he or she will be. It’s also reassuring to check if they have accreditations or belong to any trade associations, such as the British Institute of KBB Installation (BiKBBI), the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) or The Association for British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM).

Associations always have a code of conduct for members and many have a resolution section where, if you are unhappy with your wooden furniture, you can contact the Association who will, in turn, get in touch with their member.

2. Read Their Reviews

Read as many reviews as you can before hiring a cabinet maker. That way you can get a general idea of their working style as well as their skill in producing cabinets.

3. Check Previous Work

Cabinet makers who are proud of their high-quality work will often post ‘before and after’ images online. That way you can take as much time as you like to carefully scrutinise the images.

4. Ask People That Have Used Them

There is no harm in asking your proposed cabinet maker for the contact name and address of a previous client or two. This allows you to take a look at the work for yourself. It also gives you the opportunity to ask what the cabinet maker is like to work with.

5. Get Quotes to Compare Costs

When asking around on how to find a cabinet maker don’t just take the first quote you are offered when a recommended professional. Do put the job out to tender and ask at least three cabinet makers to furnish you with a quote.

Make sure it’s a like-for-like quote, taking labour, wooden furniture and other materials into account. Also ask if they provide debris removal and will carry out a follow-up visit for any snagging that arises.

Average Costs

You can expect a general carpentry professional to charge an average of around £40 an hour. Having bespoke kitchen units built can differ depending on the size of the kitchen and the type of material used.

Other factors to take into account are the complexity of the cabinets and associated items, such as an added knife block, dovetailed drawers, shelves etc. But it’s not just the build and installation to consider, there is also the planning stage, which in itself takes time.