Choosing your new furniture is a big decision and there’s a lot to take into consideration.

Perhaps most importantly is the price, but you also need something stylish and functional that fits in with the aesthetic of the rest of the room.

The first decision you’ll have to make is whether to buy flat pack furniture off the shelf from the likes of Ikea, or having it custom made.

We spoke to both London-based bespoke furniture company Barbara Genda and Chelmsford based Priest Brothers to find out they think the benefits of bespoke furniture outweigh those of flat pack.

They told us: “We find that by working directly with the customer, and working completely from scratch, there is so much more scope for creativity with each piece.

“The quality of service that you get with bespoke furniture isn’t really seen all that often anymore and our customers find that their bespoke furniture lasts a lot longer than their usual mass produced stuff”.

We agree that bespoke furniture is worth that little bit extra outlay, and we’ve outlined three reasons why.

Completely unique to you

The obvious benefit of bespoke furniture is that it is tailor made to you. Not sure about a certain colour or style? You can make as many little tweaks as you want, right down to the fabrics and materials used.

If you have a very clear idea of what you’re going for with your interior design, then you could find it very hard finding something off the shelf that will fit into that idea, but bespoke furniture overcomes this problem, leaving you in charge of the entire process from design to manufacture.

There’s also the practical advantage of being able to design your furniture to fit into any unusual nooks or crannies that your house may have.

Skilled workmanship

As with anything else, you get what you pay for with off the shelf furniture, which is known for being made from inferior materials such as MDF and plastics.

But having your furniture assembled by a skilled carpenter ultimately means a greater quality product, which means that your furniture should be more hardy and last longer than it would if it were mass-manufactured.

Being in contact with the person who is crafting your furniture also has its own advantages, in that you’ll be able to maintain a dialogue with them throughout the process so that you know how things are progressing and can raise any issues of thoughts along the way.

Its also good to know that your money is going toward supporting a local business!

It comes already assembled!

Anyone who has had to wrestle with an Ikea coffee table will likely know the challenges faced by erecting flat pack furniture!

It may not seem like a massive problem, but assembling flat pack furniture can cause some real nightmares, and even drive some to call in professional help!

Once your bespoke furniture is ready it can be delivered to your home already assembled and ready to use!