Ready-Made, Made-To-Measure or Bespoke?

Hearths, worktops, flooring, paving and building stone have always been highly sought after products with a vast range of natural and man-made options readily available but what happens when readily available and mass produced just don’t fit? Whether it’s because you have a structure with uneven walls, a boundary at slightly unusual angles or boxed services that cut into your dream kitchen layout, Norse Stone can produce products to your exact requirements.

You might come across three main product descriptions; ready-made, made-to-measure and bespoke. Ready-made are standard designs, shapes and sizes that you buy off the shelf and made-to-measure is the standard design and shape with the option of choosing your sizes although the available sizes can still be limited. So what is the difference then between made-to-measure and bespoke? Bespoke is where almost every aspect of the product can be chosen. Let’s take a hearth as an example, one of our most popular bespoke made products. Each customer can have different requirements whether it is specific dimensions, a different hearth shape, a preferred finish or if cut outs are needed for service connections. With each project as unique and individual as the client themselves, why choose an inadequate “one-size-fits-all” when you could have a bespoke piece made to suit and fit in its surroundings?

Check out this work in progress photographed at our Lieurary quarry. It usually starts off as a simple sketch, more accurate dimensions are then added and, from these, a template can be produced. The optimum stone having been extracted from our own quarry is selected by our expert team and the template is placed on top, ready for cutting to shape.

If you have read our previous blog posts, you may have seen our stone finishes guide, it’s at this point that the chosen finish is applied to the newly cut stone. As a recap, Riven is the natural texture, Brushed Riven is slightly smoother, Antique is just a slight texture, Matt Polished (or Honed) is a smooth surface and High Polished is perfectly smooth with a high sheen. Edge finishes are also added along with optional sealing, oiling and cut outs.

The finished product is a combination of careful planning, thoughtful design and the use of high quality materials, skills and techniques. Using these, the customer can be sure of a stunning end product perfectly suited to their space.

But the hearth is just one example that our onsite design team specialise in with bespoke services available across our range of worktops, memorials, flooring, building stone and paving. So when planning your next design project, don’t settle for a simple ready-made or made-to-measure, which won’t do you or your project justice, find out how you can have your perfect product made exactly the way you want!

Get in touch with the Norse Stone team today.