What decides the cost of fitted furniture

1 September 2026 · The Home Upgrade Co.

Built in furniture is priced differently from anything you can buy in a shop, because every piece is made to a space that exists only in your house. This guide covers what actually moves the number across the pieces we are asked about most, and why two quotes for what sounds like the same job can be far apart.

What is common to all of it

Three things set the price on any built in piece: how much of it there is, how complicated the space is, and what goes inside.

Linear metres and height give you the raw amount of material and making. That is the base, and it is the part people intuitively understand.

The complication of the space is the part they do not. A straight run against a flat wall is the simplest thing to make. A sloped ceiling, a corner, a chimney breast, a staircase rake or an out of square alcove all mean every component is cut individually rather than repeated, and that is real work.

Interiors are the third. Drawers, pull outs, soft close runners and lighting are each small pieces of cabinetry in their own right, and they are where a surprising share of any quote sits.

Media walls

The frame is the job. The television and the fire are the visible part and often not the expensive part.

A media wall means building a stud structure forward off the existing wall, recessing the screen, forming an opening for a fire, running services behind it and finishing the whole thing as one surface. That is construction with joinery on top rather than furniture placed against a wall.

Lighting, if you want it, is wired while the frame is open, which is why it needs deciding before anything is built. See our media walls page.

Under stairs storage

The wedge shape is what costs, because nothing in it repeats.

Every drawer under a staircase is a different height, the rake means every front is cut to an angle, and nothing can be made to a standard size. That is the opposite of an efficient build, and it is why a run of under stairs pull outs is not priced like a run of kitchen drawers.

It is also the reason it is worth doing properly. Fixed cupboards in that space are cheap and barely used; pull outs cost more and get used daily. See under stairs storage.

Kitchen islands

An island is priced on its size, its worktop and, more than anything, on what services run to it.

An island with no services is cabinetry with a worktop on it. An island with a sink, a hob or both means drainage, water and power routed under a floor, and on a solid ground floor that is a significant piece of work before any joinery starts.

The worktop is the other lever, and on an island it is usually the single most expensive component because of the size of the slab and the number of exposed edges.

Wall panelling

Priced by the area covered, the profile, and whether the wall behind it is straight.

Panelling a flat modern wall is quick. Panelling around a staircase rake, or onto an old wall that bows, means scribing and adjusting as you go. The profile matters too: board and batten is faster to fit than framed shaker panels, which need every rectangle to line up.

Whether it arrives primed or finished changes the number as well. See wall panelling.

Alcove units, bookcases and window seats

The alcove itself decides most of it, because no two are the same and everything is scribed to the wall.

Two alcoves either side of the same chimney breast usually differ in width, and often in depth and squareness too. Each unit is made to its own alcove, which is precisely why they cannot be bought.

Window seats add one more variable: the seat height has to be set against your table and your cushion thickness, so the frame cannot be made until those are decided. See bookcases and alcove shelving and window seats.

How to compare two quotes for built in furniture

Ask what the carcass is made of, what the runners and hinges are, whether fitting and finishing are included, and who makes good afterwards.

Those four answers explain almost every gap between two quotes. A cheaper number very often means a thinner carcass, basic runners, supply only, or making good left to you.

We measure, design it in 3D so you see it in your own room, and give you one itemised quote within two working days. All of that is free and none of it commits you to anything.

Frequently asked questions

Why can you not give a price for built in furniture over the phone?

Because every piece is made to a space that exists only in your house, and the shape of that space changes the work more than the size does. A figure given without seeing the room is a guess.

What makes one quote much cheaper than another?

Usually the carcass thickness, the runners and hinges, whether fitting and finishing are included, and who makes good afterwards. Those four answers explain almost every gap between two quotes.

Is a media wall more expensive than a TV unit?

Generally yes, because a media wall means building a stud frame off the wall and running services behind it before any joinery starts. A built in TV unit is cabinetry fitted to the wall you already have.

Do you charge for the design visit or the quote?

No. The measure, the 3D design and the itemised quote are all free, and there is no obligation whether you go ahead or not.