Start with the room, not just the unit

Send us the floor plan and elevations of the kitchen or bar area where the island will sit. A single dimensioned drawing tells us more than a written brief: it shows what the unit is adjacent to, whether it is freestanding or tied into a run of cabinetry, and how much circulation space is actually available. If you have 3D views or reference images from your design intent, include them; they let us match proportions rather than guess at them.

For island layouts specifically, tell us the clear aisle width on each side. That number drives drawer and door choices, appliance door swings and whether a waterfall edge works at the ends of the worktop.

Give us the made-to-measure dimensions

Our island bar units are made to measure, so we need the envelope you want to fill: overall length and depth of the carcass, the finished height including the worktop, and the overhang if the top is used for seating. Note any fixed constraints as well — floor outlets, structural columns, skirting, ceiling heights and the level of the completed floor finish.

Where a drawing already exists, mark the dimensions on it instead of retyping them in an email. Marked-up drawings are far less likely to be misread than a list of numbers.

Specify the layout and what goes inside

Tell us which side faces the room and which side is worked from, then list the functions you expect: glass storage, drawer banks for cutlery and bar tools, bottle racks, wine chillers or undercounter refrigeration, an ice bucket bay, a sink run, display shelving or a hidden compartment for small appliances. Interior fittings change both price and lead time, so a rough list beats silence.

If you are undecided between an island and a wall-mounted bar, say so in the RFQ and we will quote both. The same collection includes Santerson Wall Mounted Bar Units, and the two solve very different spatial problems.

Name the materials and finishes you want quoted

For each element, give us the material family and the surface treatment: door panels (lacquer, veneer, melamine, acrylic or aluminium frame with glass), carcass board, worktop in stone or marble surfaces, plus any metal trim or edge detailing. Colour references matter — send a RAL number, a Pantone code, a manufacturer's colour card reference or an existing sample you want matched. A verbal description such as "warm grey" produces a prototype nobody recognises.

Where the bar must visually continue an existing kitchen run, tell us which cabinetry supplier made that run and send the door profile and finish specification. We match to your reference; we do not assume compatibility.

List appliances, services and hardware

State quantities, project type and delivery terms

Give us the number of units and whether they are one-off or repeated across several villas or apartments. Tell us the project type — private villa, hospitality, apartment or office fit-out — because that affects packaging, documentation and how we sequence production. Add the destination port or site address, your preferred Incoterms, and your required on-site date so we can work backwards from it.

If you also need other joinery from the same specification, mention it in the same enquiry. Our custom built-in kitchen cabinets are made to order with sizes, panel materials, surface finishes and matching hardware specified per project, so a combined enquiry lets us keep finishes, boards and ironmongery consistent across the whole fit-out instead of reconciling two suppliers later.

What you receive back from our quotation

A complete Santerson quotation covers the confirmed configuration with drawings for your sign-off, the material and finish schedule, the hardware package, packaging and container-loading details, and the freight arrangement you asked for. Our workflow runs through consultation, design and planning, production, logistics, installation support and after-sales, so the quote is a step in that process rather than a standalone number.

A quick pre-submission checklist

• Plans and elevations of the kitchen or bar area, with dimensions marked on the drawings
• Clear circulation widths around the island, and floor-finish levels
• Layout intent: which faces are storage, service and seating
• Appliance models with cut-out dimensions and ventilation requirements
• Sink, tap, waste, power and lighting positions
• Material families and colour references for doors, carcass and worktop
• Hardware preference, including any handleless requirement
• Quantity, project type, destination, Incoterms and required site date

Send the whole set in one enquiry and we can come back with a configuration you can actually price against. If your drawings are still at concept stage, send what exists and mark the open questions — we will tell you which decisions block the quote and which can wait until after the prototype.