A Family Workshop
Small enough to know every commission in detail; experienced enough to see larger projects through.
Distinctive Country Furniture was founded in Somerset by Brian Purnell after a career in furniture restoration. Today his son, Rob Purnell, leads the workshop, working with a close-knit team of experienced craftspeople. More than three decades on, the principles Brian established still guide every commission.
Design, making and specialist finishing all take place in our own workshop, so the people who draw a commission are the people who make it. That continuity serves a single door as well as a complete house: our work includes the panelled rooms, Jacobean library and whisky bar at Boleskine House, oak joinery across three floors of a period commercial office in Oxfordshire and recreated furniture for the RAF Museum at Hendon.
About Us
The People, Workshop And Approach Behind Our Work
Our family story, the workshop, how a commission develops, our work on listed buildings and how we collaborate with architects and interior designers.
Family Workshop
Our Story
How Distinctive Country Furniture grew from furniture restoration into a specialist workshop for traditional joinery and period interiors.
Explore
Made In Somerset
The Workshop
A look inside the workshop where our joinery, furniture and specialist finishes are designed, made and prepared for installation.
Explore
How Projects Develop
Our Approach
How we guide a commission from the first conversation through design development, workshop drawings, manufacture, finishing and installation.
Explore
Historic Properties
Listed Buildings And Conservation
Our approach to conservation, repair and historically sensitive joinery for listed buildings and period homes.
Explore
Professional Collaborations
For Architects & Interior Designers
How we work alongside architects, interior designers and conservation professionals on bespoke joinery and furniture commissions.
ExploreStart A Conversation
Every commission begins with the building and a conversation.