At Coastwood, we’re proud to offer New Zealand-made furniture that combines exceptional quality, durability, and style. While we understand that price is a key consideration for many customers, we believe in offering value that goes beyond price alone. By investing in quality craftsmanship and sustainable materials, Coastwood provides furniture that enhances your home and stands the test of time. Let’s explore the key factors that make New Zealand-made furniture a worthwhile choice
What factors affect the price of furniture?
Locally Made
Locally made furniture often costs more than imported options due to several factors. These include higher labour costs, adherence to stringent quality and safety standards, and the use of premium, sustainably sourced materials. Supporting local businesses means higher production costs are directly tied to maintaining fair wages and supporting the local economy.
Solid Wood
Solid wood furniture requires high-quality raw materials and skilled craftsmanship, leading to increased production costs. Additionally, our solid wood pieces undergo extensive processing, such as kiln drying and precision joinery, to ensure stability and resilience. The natural beauty and unique grain patterns of solid wood add to its value, making it a premium choice compared to engineered or composite wood alternatives.
Timber Type
The type of timber used in furniture, significantly affects the price, due to differences in characteristics, availability, and processing costs. The two main timbers we work with at Coastwood Furniture are NZ pine and American ash.
Pine, being a softwood, is generally more affordable because it grows quickly and is abundantly available. It is relatively easy to work with, which reduces manufacturing costs.
Ash, on the other hand, is a hardwood known for its strength, durability, and attractive grain patterns. It is more expensive than pine due to its slower growth rate and higher quality. Ash requires more intensive processing and skilled craftsmanship, adding to the overall cost. Its superior durability and aesthetic qualities make it a premium choice, justifying the higher price tag, when compared to pine timber.
Fabrics
We source our fabric from several main suppliers in NZ, and every fabric is categorised into one of several main price brackets. All our upholstered furniture is initially priced based on the lowest price bracket: O/Y/G (orange/yellow/green). These lower price brackets typically include mostly plain fabrics, whereas patterned fabrics usually fall into the higher price brackets. These higher price brackets are blue, blue/black, black and red. If a customer selects fabric from a higher price bracket, this will increase the overall price of the furniture. You can find the price bracket of your desired fabric on the fabric supplier’s website, from the store your purchase through, or by contacting us directly.
Customisation
Customisation gives you the freedom to make each piece uniquely yours, tailoring it to fit your space and style. Custom pieces often require additional design work, specialised labour, and bespoke materials, all of which contribute to higher production costs. Tailoring furniture to specific dimensions may also involve reconfiguring manufacturing processes and tools, leading to increased time and effort. Even a difference of just a few millimetres can completely change the construction.
However, changing stains/paints or handles on any piece of our furniture doesn’t increase the price at all, because we like to make things easy! The only exceptions to this are: if you choose a stain or paint match, which incurs a 15% increase in price, or if you want a handle outside of our stocked range.
Detail Features
More intricate furniture designs naturally come at a higher price than simpler designs, due to additional processes and hand work involved. Here are some features that can increase the cost of your furniture:
1. Panels – Flat vs. Detailing or Edge Profiling
Some of our furniture ranges feature flat panels in the doors or on the sides, such as our Tillsdale Bedside Table, which is the most basic design. Many others, such as our Calais Bedside Table, have some form of detailing, whether that’s grooves, handle cut-outs or bevelled edges. As these features require more work, units with this additional detailing, typically cost more than those with plain, flat panels.
2. Legs – Straight vs. Tapered
Straight legs, like those on our Charlton Dining Table, are the simplest type of leg design and therefore the most economical. Tapered legs on the other hand, like those on our Amaia Dining Table, involve a more complex manufacturing process, contributing to the higher cost of the product.
3. Mouldings and Brackets
While some of our products are quite plain, others have additional decorative elements such as mouldings and pins, like on our Villager collection, or brackets, like on our Nordic collection. These details are designed to enhance the furniture’s aesthetic appeal and result in a slightly higher price compared to similar style pieces with no additional detailing.
4. Timber Thickness
Our different furniture ranges use timber of varying thickness amounts, with the most common being 30mm and 20mm. The 30mm timber, like that used for our Ferngrove Coffee Table tops, costs approximately 45% more per square metre than the 20mm, like our Charlton Coffee Table tops, another contributing factor to the overall cost of the item.
Examples of Furniture Cost
Bed Frames: $790 - $5399
Bedside Tables: $469 - $1399
Tallboys: $1169 - $3299
Lowboys: $1269 - $3499
Headboards: $479 - $2699
Dining Tables: $599 - $4999
Dining Chairs: $300 - $999
Buffets & Sideboards: $1769 - $5999
Entertainment Units: $919 - $4099
Hall Tables: $659 - $2149
Coffee Tables: $439 - $1899
Side Tables: $339 - $1199
Bookcases: $729 - $5499
Desks: $1159 - $5649
Where can I find out the price of your furniture?
On each product page you will find either a price range or which store the product is exclusive to, listed below the product title. The retail price of our furniture is set by the stores that sell it. Each product on our website features a "Get Pricing/Enquire" button. By clicking this, you can get in touch with us, and we'll direct you to your nearest reseller who can provide pricing details for the specific range or product you're interested in.
With Coastwood, you're not just purchasing furniture; you're investing in quality, local craftsmanship, and design that stands the test of time. Our team is here to help you find the perfect piece that enhances your home, with the assurance of lasting value and enduring style. Explore our collections and discover the Coastwood difference today.
