Open display units look simple on a drawing: an open box in a wall, some shelves, a few objects on show. They are one of the easiest built-in items to under-specify, and one of the most expensive to correct once they are fabricated. Santerson Open Display Units are made-to-measure pieces from our Display Cabinets range, so almost every dimension, material and finish is chosen by the buyer rather than fixed by a catalogue. This article sets out what a procurement team should have in writing before an order is released.
What the product actually is
The Santerson Open Display Units page describes configurable open display units for residential living projects, with finish, layout and dimensions specified to suit each space. The configuration options listed on the page are made-to-measure sizing together with material and finish choices. Nothing else is fixed.
That wording matters when you write a specification. A configurable unit has no single standard width, depth or shelf pitch to fall back on. If your purchase order says only "open display unit, as per drawing", the shop will build something reasonable — but not necessarily what the interior designer drew, and not necessarily what your site can support. The documentation you produce is what closes that gap.
Why open units get specified late and wrong
Three things tend to go wrong on residential and hospitality fit-outs:
- The unit is treated as furniture, not as a built-in. Loose pieces can be adjusted on site. A made-to-measure open unit fixed into a wall cannot, so the wall build-up, floor level and ceiling line all have to match the shop drawing.
- Display intent is never recorded. "Display" for one client means ceramics under light; for another it means books at eye level with nothing lit. The shelf depth, span and lighting provision all follow from that answer.
- Finish continuity is assumed. A veneer or lacquer next to a wardrobe of the same name is not automatically the same colour, grain direction or sheen unless it was specified as a matched batch.
The items to record before you order
Use this as a checklist on your requisition. Each line is something we can confirm against the configuration options, provided it appears in the documents you send.
| Item | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Opening and unit size | Finished width, height and depth; whether the unit fills a recess or projects from the wall; floor and ceiling finished levels. |
| Layout | Number of bays, shelf positions, which spans are open, and where the unit meets adjacent joinery. |
| Shelf depth and pitch | Depth required by the objects being displayed, and clear vertical spacing rather than shelf thickness alone. |
| Material and finish | Board or timber substrate, surface material, colour reference, sheen level, and edge treatment on visible ends. |
| Shelf loading | What will sit on each shelf — books, ceramics, lightweight decor — so spans and thickness are designed for the real load. |
| Lighting | Whether lighting is required at all. If it is, record fitting type, driver location, switching and who supplies power to the point. |
| Wall interface | Substrate behind the unit, fixing method, and any backing panel where the wall finish differs from the unit. |
| Tolerances | Which gaps are allowed to be visible and which must be scribed or shadow-gap detailed on site. |
| Scope split | Who supplies the unit, who builds the wall opening, and who makes good after installation. |
| Approvals | Named approver for the shop drawing, finish sample and dimensional sign-off, with dates. |
How this fits with the rest of the built-in package
Open display units rarely stand alone. On our built-in furniture range, display work usually sits alongside closed storage, so the visual balance between what is shown and what is hidden is a package decision rather than a single-item one. Where a wall mixes both, Santerson Mixed Open & Closed Storage is the usual starting point, and recessed display pockets inside a storage wall are covered by Santerson Open Display Niches.
If the objects need glass or protection rather than an open bay, the same measurement and finish discipline applies to Santerson Curio Cabinets and Santerson Wall Mounted Display Cabinets. Where lighting is built into the cabinet itself, treat it as an electrical item on your services drawing: for Santerson Illuminated Display Cabinet we ask buyers to confirm the lighting specification and electrical details for the project before production.
Whole-house projects show why the paperwork is worth doing once, properly. On our mid-century whole house custom cabinetry project, open staircase bookshelves, a bay window desk with drawers and wood-grain kitchen cabinets were all measured on site to suit the appliances and layout. On the arched niche and full house custom wall cabinet project, arched niches with built-in LED lighting were designed as display shelving for artworks and ceramics, next to a full-height concealed wardrobe. In both cases the open display elements were dimensioned against finished surfaces, not nominal ones — which is exactly what your documentation should force everyone to agree on.
How our team supports this stage
Santerson is a China-based furniture and building materials supplier working on villa, hospitality and office projects. For built-in joinery our custom & OEM service covers bespoke material, finish and texture choices alongside made-to-measure production. Our interior design services cover space layout planning, furniture layouts and 3D visual renderings, with project design coordination across drawings and production.
On the delivery side, logistics and door-to-door delivery covers freight arrangements, packaging and container loading, while installation and after-sales support covers on-site installation and inspection. Import terms, duties, transit times and local site conditions are confirmed project by project — we do not quote them from a standard sheet.
Before you send the enquiry
A complete enquiry for open display units takes one afternoon of drawing markup and usually prevents a production restart later. Send us the room layout with finished levels, a sketch or rendering of the wall elevation, the list of items to be displayed, your preferred material and finish references, and a note on whether lighting is involved. We will come back with a configuration and quotation built on those dimensions rather than on assumptions.
Send drawings and quantities through our contact page, or reach the team directly on WhatsApp +86-13928214007 (PHILLIP) or by email at santerson@qq.com. Include your project location and target installation window so we can sequence survey, production and delivery against your programme.