How much does it cost to get a carpenter to make bespoke storage?

[KirstyJC]

We are looking for some better storage in a small area in one of our rooms. Currently we have 2 plastic storage chests and they are overflowing and there is also loads of wasted space around and above them.

We have been looking online at ikea etc and although there are some good options nothing fits exactly in the space we have - an old doorway which is now filled in but lower than normal ceiling height. If we are going to get storage we want to use all the available space.

We wondered about asking a couple of carpenters to come and price up bespoke storage, but we have never done anything like this before and have no clue whatsoever as to cost. We don't want to get people in if it is so expensive we would never afford it!

Does anyone know what sort of price range it could be? We are in SW of England, and probably looking for something about a metre wide and 1.7m high, simply storage with drawers and shelves. No painting (we can do that) just make the thing and fit it in place. I know it will vary a lot but a ball park would be useful to know. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

A local carpenter who works out of his van might be able to do something simple for around £500-£1000.

If you go to a business expect around £2k.

I had a very small wardrobe made.. nothing like a real size one as it's a period cottage with weird angles and height restrictions.. £1100.. but beautiful and a 'bought' wardrobe would never have worked.

Eeek! OK then , Ikea it is! Thanks.

I paid £1000 for a 3 narrow door extra tall built in wardrobe in old (repurposed) pine. I love it. He built it to match an original cupboard in the room and it allowed us to get a bigger bed than we'd have been able to get otherwise (which I also love).
From what you've said it sounds like you only need doors to fit what is essentially an existing doorway? That shouldn't be so expensive... Half what we paid? Hard to say as drawers add cost over shelves but you could always buy fabric boxes to slide in and out of shelves. We're S but not london so probably similar cost area to you. We finished the wood (painted it in hard wax oil) ourselves to keep the cost down as he said this part was quite time consuming for him to do.

Would you consider shelving you can use boxes in. I had lovely fitted shelves in my living room that were very basic but painted up nice. £100 inc materials an labour. Only took him a few hours

Honestly, it depends on what you want. MDF will be cheap, soft wood will be a bit more. Hard wood more again. Detail will add cost, as will size/bulk (more materials and may have to dismantled and rebuilt on site to get through doorways, around corners and up staircases). We had selection of large, chunky solid oak furniture made a few years ago. 3 very large items. Cost us £7.5k.

We had a similar issue and have gone down the IKEA hack route - loads of inspiration on Pinterest. It is more effort than pure Ikea but £££ cheaper than bespoke.

Meant to say we used the Ikea carcasses (not the backs) and then spaced/mounted/trimmed with whatever Wood/trim was needed. And then primed everything (think it's called the Zissner BIN primer - stops paint bubbling on laminate) and in process of painting. It looks properly built in

I had two alcoves either side of the fireplace fitted with shelves halfway down (8 shelves in total) for £120. IMO halfway is better as you then have some flexibility in how to use the space underneath - we currently have a Kallax in one space, and the telly in the other, but you could fit side tables or low seating in the spaces.

Ours are MDF. Our joiner thought it was only worth paying the extra for wood if we were going to stain/varnish and let the grain show. We wanted to paint them white, and in his opinion MDF is a better material for painting.

Have a look at Ikea Hacks. Much cheaper and you can customise the pieces yourself with not too much effort. We once used an Ikea made to measure kitchen worktop as a bespoke desk. Looked great and a fraction of what the carpenter would have charged.