Furniture for boutique hotels: what to specify
A practical guide for owners and designers: what hotel use asks of chairs, tables, beds and upholstery, how to order one design in quantity, which standards to ask about, and how to plan around an opening.
Specify hotel furniture by how each room is used. Chairs need strong joints and upholstery that can be cleaned or replaced. Tables need tops that resist heat, wine and cleaning products. Ask for the fire-safety standard your country requires, a sample or mock-up room before the full order, and a production schedule that ends well before opening.
Where should a boutique hotel start?
With the guest and the place. A boutique hotel sells a particular feeling, and the furniture carries much of it, because guests touch it. The chair at breakfast, the bed, the low table in the lounge are what guests remember, and what they photograph.
So the brief should describe the guest and the room before it lists products: who stays, how long, what they do in the room, what the restaurant serves and how long dinner lasts. A designer can turn that into a furniture plan. A catalogue cannot.
What does hotel use demand from chairs?
A dining chair in a restaurant is pulled out, pushed in, tipped back and leaned on many times a day, by people who do not own it. Joints take far more stress than at home. Look for a frame where the load is carried by solid wood and well-made joints, not by screws alone, and ask how a loose joint would be repaired.
Weight matters too. Staff move chairs every evening to clean and reset the room, so a chair that is too heavy slows them down. Our Hospitality Dining Chair was designed for this use: a layered solid teak backrest on a lighter construction, 54 cm wide, so tables can be set close without crowding. It starts at €1,150.
Which upholstery works in a hotel?
Upholstery wears faster than wood. In a hotel, choose it for cleaning first and colour second. Leather wipes clean and ages visibly, which many guests like. Bouclé and other textured fabrics are warm and soft, but need regular vacuuming and a plan for stains.
Ask for two things in writing: the cleaning instructions for each fabric, and whether the seat can be re-upholstered without replacing the frame. A chair whose seat can be renewed after a few busy seasons costs less over its life than one that has to be thrown away.
Our hospitality chair comes in Bouclé Ivory, Bouclé Taupe, Leather Cognac and Leather Olive, and we can source other leathers on request. See them all on the materials page.
What should restaurant tables be made of?
A restaurant tabletop meets hot plates, red wine, candle wax and strong cleaning products every day. Natural stone handles heat and looks better with use than most laminates, though some stones, such as marble and travertine, are sensitive to acids and need sealing and care. Ask the supplier which stone they recommend for which use.
Our Restaurant Table combines a layered teak base with a stone top in travertine, Crema Marfil or Dark Emperador. It comes round, at Ø 70, 80 or 90 cm, or square, at 70 or 80 cm, all 74 cm high. Small tables can be pushed together for groups, which is easier to manage than fixed large tables.
What matters in a hotel bedroom?
The bed is the most important object in the room, and the most difficult to change later. Check the mattress size against the frame early, because hotel mattresses are often bought separately. Check the headboard height against the wall lights and sockets. Make sure housekeeping can clean under and around the bed quickly.
Our Bed has an upholstered headboard 110 cm high, integrated nightstands and a floating base, in widths of 180, 200 and 220 cm. The integrated nightstands mean fewer loose pieces to move when the room is cleaned. It starts at €9,900.
How do you order one design in quantity?
A hotel order is one design, made many times, and every piece should look the same. With handmade furniture in solid wood, the grain will always vary a little from piece to piece, and that is part of the material. What should not vary is the dimensions, the finish and the upholstery.
Ask for one approved sample, or one fully furnished mock-up room, before the full run starts. Everyone signs off on that sample: owner, designer, operator. It becomes the reference the workshop builds against. This takes a few weeks at the start, and it saves arguments at delivery.
Which standards should buyers ask about?
Requirements differ by country, so we give no general answer here. In many markets, upholstered seating for public spaces must meet a fire-safety standard, and buyers often ask for strength or durability tests on chairs and tables. Ask your local fire-safety adviser or the operator’s brand standards which apply to your project. Then ask each supplier for the test report, not just the name of the standard.
Timber legality is the other question. In the EU, the deforestation regulation (EUDR) is coming into force for wood products; in the UK and the US, other rules apply. Ask any supplier how they document where their wood comes from.
How do you plan around an opening date?
Work backwards from the opening. Subtract a margin for installation and snagging, then shipping, then production, then the sample and its approval. Our pieces take about six weeks to make after the order, or after design approval for custom work. Shipping depends on the destination, and on a large order it is worth booking early.
Decide early who signs off on what. Most delays in hotel projects come from open decisions about finishes and upholstery. Our page for hotels and restaurants and the trade programme describe how we work with owners, operators and designers. To start, book a call with your floor plan and opening date.
Questions
Can you make custom furniture for a hotel?
Yes. We adapt collection pieces, such as a chair in a hotel’s own upholstery or a table in a different size, and design new pieces for a project. It starts with a call, followed by drawings, a price and a lead time.
How long does hotel furniture take to produce?
Our pieces take about six weeks to make after the order, or after design approval for custom work, plus shipping. For a large order, add time for a sample and its approval before the full run.
What upholstery is best for restaurant chairs?
Leather wipes clean and ages well. Bouclé is warmer but needs regular care. Whichever you choose, ask for cleaning instructions and whether the seat can be re-upholstered later.
Do you work with interior designers and architects?
Yes. Our trade programme is for designers, architects and hospitality buyers. Drawings and finish choices are agreed with the designer before anything is made.
Talk it through
A free 20-minute call with the people who design and make the furniture: what fits your room, the finishes, a price and a lead time.
