Traditional Skills, Modern Precision
Inside the Workshop
Every piece of furniture and architectural joinery we make begins in our Somerset workshop.
It is where period knowledge, hand skills and decades of accumulated experience are brought to bear on each commission. From panelled rooms and libraries to individual pieces of furniture, every project is designed, made and finished here by our own team.
Traditional techniques sit alongside carefully selected modern machinery, each used where it is most appropriate, so that the work is accurate as well as true to its period.
Generations Of Knowledge
A Skilled And Dedicated Team
At the heart of Distinctive Country Furniture is a close-knit team of craftspeople, finishers and designers, led by Rob Purnell. Because the team works closely together, every commission is known in detail by the people making it, and the same team sees it through from the first drawing to the final finish.
Many of the skills used here have been developed over decades, drawing on practical experience, traditional methods and a detailed understanding of historic interiors. That collective knowledge lets us approach each commission with confidence, whether we are recreating a period detail, developing a new design or resolving a complex architectural junction.
Made to Order
Bespoke Joinery and Furniture
Our work ranges from individual pieces of furniture to complete architectural joinery schemes. Each commission is developed around its setting, scale and intended use, whether for a private home, a historic building or a heritage-led commercial interior.
Private Homes & Properties
Bespoke joinery and furniture developed for the architecture, character and daily use of the home.
Listed & Historic Buildings
Historically informed work shaped by surviving fabric, period detail and the requirements of the building.
Commercial Heritage Projects
Joinery and furniture for heritage-led commercial interiors, developed in collaboration with the wider project team.
Private Commissions
Individual pieces of furniture and smaller joinery commissions, designed and made to order.
Specialist Finishing
The Art of Finishing
The character of joinery and furniture is defined as much by its finish as by its construction, and we treat finishing as a specialist craft in its own right.
Traditional methods, including staining, shellac sealing, French polishing, waxing and specialist ageing, remain central to much of our work. Alongside them, our spray-finishing facilities give consistent results across larger projects and painted schemes.
Samples are developed for each commission so that colour, sheen and surface character can be agreed before production. The aim is a surface that feels established within its surroundings and ages well through use.
From Single Pieces to Complete Interiors
Equally at home with a single piece of furniture or a substantial architectural scheme.
The workshop is equipped to undertake projects of considerable scale, often involving multiple rooms, detailed period interiors and highly bespoke architectural features, from the principal rooms at Boleskine House to three floors of a period commercial office in Oxfordshire. With design, making and finishing under one roof, we can manage a commission from initial concept to final installation.
We work with homeowners, architects, interior designers and conservation specialists on commissions across the UK. To start a conversation, use the button below or email project@dcflimited.co.uk.
Our Somerset Workshop
Crafted in Somerset
From our Somerset workshop, we design and make bespoke furniture and architectural joinery for buildings across the UK.
Each commission is developed here, from the first drawings and full-size setting out through to making, assembly and finishing. Bringing these stages together allows details to be resolved directly between designers, cabinetmakers and finishers, with close attention to the building and the way the finished work will be used.
This shared understanding, built through practical experience and knowledge of historic interiors, continues to shape everything we make. You can read more about how a commission develops and our family story.