A request for quote (RFQ) for walnut solid wood wardrobes is the point where a good wardrobe project is either won or lost. Suppliers receive dozens of enquiries that say nothing more than “walnut wardrobe, how much?”. Without dimensions, layout, door type and finish detail, any number you receive is a guess — and a guess is what later turns into a variation order on site. The checklist below is the same brief our design and production team works from, so you can see exactly what to send and why each item changes the price.

Before You Write: Is Solid Walnut the Right Build?

Walnut is a species, not a construction method. In one-bedroom and apartment joinery it is common to specify walnut where the visible faces are walnut veneer over a stable engineered core, while our walnut veneer wardrobes sit in a separate collection from the solid timber line. That distinction is the first decision to settle in writing, because it drives cost, movement in the panel, and how the carcass is assembled.

  • Solid wood doors and frames. Heavier, more expensive, and the honest choice where edges will be profiled, routed or re-finished on site. Solid timber moves with seasonal humidity, so the build has to allow for that.
  • Veneered panels over an engineered core. Flatter and more dimensionally stable across wide doors and full-height panels, usually at a lower material cost, with the walnut figure doing the visual work.
  • Mixed construction. Solid walnut frames with veneered infill panels — a practical middle ground often used for raised and recessed panel doors.

State which construction you want, and ask the supplier to confirm in writing what they are quoting. If you are open to either, say so and ask for both prices — the gap is frequently worth seeing.

1. Sizes and Levels: The Numbers That Set the Price

Send the overall dimensions of each wardrobe run plus the room’s finished floor level and finished ceiling level. A run quoted at 3.0 m wide and 2.7 m high is a different job from the same run at 2.4 m high. Ask explicitly whether the quote price reaches the finished ceiling or stops at a stated height, and whether a bulkhead or scribe to the ceiling line is priced in.

Because our walnut wardrobes are made to measure to the project’s dimensions, quote numbers follow the actual run, not a standard catalogue size. Alongside overall width, height and depth, include:

  • Case depth for hanging versus shelving or drawer banks — depth drives the rail, door and drawer specification.
  • Whether the unit is freestanding, built-in, floor-to-ceiling, or returned into a corner.
  • A dimensional sketch or the architectural joinery drawing, with the wall lengths, openings and obstructions marked.
  • Site conditions that affect installation: uneven or plastered walls, skirting to be scribed around, floor heating, or a wall that is not square.

2. Door Type and Opening Clearance

Doors are usually the largest single cost item in a wardrobe, and the type you choose changes both the hardware and the clearance the room needs. Specify hinged, sliding, corner or walk-in configurations, and give the room’s circulation space so the supplier can sanity-check the layout. Note the door style too: walnut reads differently in a flat panel than in a raised, recessed or shaker profile.

Ask the supplier to state the door size limits for their chosen hardware and the minimum clearance each opening type requires. That single line of clarification prevents the most common last-minute layout change.

3. Interior Layout and Storage Components

Do not leave the interior “to be confirmed later”. List what goes inside, bay by bay: single or double hanging, shelf spacing, drawer counts and drawer type, trouser or shoe racks, valet rods, mirrors, and dedicated compartments for luggage or bedding. Where a bay needs a different layout, say which one.

Then ask three specific questions back:

  • Are the interior components included in the quoted price or priced as options, and at what unit rates?
  • What are the interior case and shelf finishes, and do they match the exterior walnut or use a contrasting lining?
  • Which brands or grades of hinges, slides and lifting mechanisms are quoted, and are soft-close fittings standard or extra?

4. Finish, Species Confirmation and Sample Approval

“Walnut” covers a wide colour range, so the RFQ should state the finish you expect: clear, matte, satin or gloss, and any tint or stain. Ask the supplier to confirm the species and cut of the walnut shown in their drawings, since the figure and tone vary. Our custom furniture materials and finishes are specified per project, and the same rule applies here — nothing is committed until a physical sample is approved.

Build sample approval into your enquiry: request a walnut sample of the door panel, a sample of the interior lining, and a hardware sample, with a stated deadline for your sign-off. Ask whether the approved sample becomes the reference for the delivered goods, and how the order proceeds if you approve late.

Ask for the warranty period and what it covers — panels, hardware, finish and structure are usually written separately, and an unwritten warranty is not one you can rely on.

5. Scope, Site Interfaces and Responsibility Boundaries

The most expensive gaps in a wardrobe quote are the ones nobody owns. Write them out and ask the supplier to confirm each as in scope, out of scope or priced separately:

  • Site survey and re-measure before manufacture.
  • Lighting provision, transformers and the electrical connection — usually the electrician’s work.
  • Any packing, scribing or fill to bring out-of-square walls to line.
  • Protection of the wardrobe and the room, plus make-good after other trades have been through.
  • Final touch-up and finishing on site versus finishing in the factory.

A supplier who lists these boundaries in the quotation is telling you they have thought about the install. Ask for that list in writing with the price, not verbally at a meeting.

6. Delivery, Packaging and Installation Logistics

For full-fit-out projects, joinery is one part of a larger package, and the delivery plan has to match the rest of the site programme. Our furniture logistics and door-to-door delivery service covers freight, packaging and container loading, and our furniture installation and after-sales support covers on-site installation and inspection. Whatever the supply route, the RFQ should ask:

  • Delivered to the site or to a depot, and who handles the last leg inland.
  • How panels are packaged, protected and labelled so the install crew can identify each bay.
  • Whether goods are delivered in one consignment or in stages that match the site sequence.
  • The inspection process on arrival and how damage or shortage claims are handled.
  • Lead time stated as production time plus transit, not one figure that hides both.

7. Commercial Terms That Should Appear in the Quotation

Ask for the quotation broken down, not as a lump sum. A useful breakdown separates carcasses, doors, interior components, hardware, finishes, packaging, freight and installation, so you can see what a design change actually costs before you approve it. Alongside it, request:

  • Payment stages and what triggers each one.
  • The quotation’s validity period, since timber and hardware prices move.
  • How change orders are priced and when drawings are frozen for manufacture.
  • Currency, taxes, duties and who carries them on an international order.

Also ask about minimum order quantity. If you are furnishing several bedrooms, a whole villa or a development, bundling the joinery into one order is often more efficient than sourcing each wardrobe separately. Our turnkey solutions handle wardrobes, cabinetry, doors, flooring and finishes as one coordinated package, which reduces the number of trades you have to sequence on site.

Send the Brief, Get Comparable Numbers

Suppliers price what they are given. If you send the same complete brief — construction type, dimensions, layout, doors, hardware, finish, scope boundaries, delivery terms and warranty — to two or three suppliers, the quotations become comparable and the outliers become obvious. If you are still resolving the layout, our interior design services cover space planning, furniture layouts and 3D renderings, and we can work from your drawings to prepare the joinery details before pricing is requested.

A well-built RFQ rarely costs extra time. It moves the questions forward to a point where changing your mind is free, instead of a point where the panels are already cut.

SANTERSON — one-stop manufacturer and supplier of furniture and building materials for villa, hospitality and office projects. Send us your wardrobe drawings and dimensions for a quotation prepared against the specification above.