Buying furniture from China — settle three things first
Most furniture enquiries we receive are not about style. They are about three practical things: whether the sofa will fit the room as drawn, whether the fabric you approved from a photo is the fabric that arrives, and whether a furniture order can travel in the same container as the kitchen, wardrobes and doors for the same project.
All three are settled before production. Sizes are agreed against your floor plan. Fabrics and finishes are approved on physical samples we courier to you. And furniture loads with the rest of your order in one mixed container.
Send your furniture schedule or floor plan on WhatsApp (+86 133 0284 3989) — a coordinator replies within one working day.
What we make
We supply nine categories for a whole home. Furniture is the one that fills the rooms in between — the loose pieces that are not built in.
- Seating — sofas, sectionals and corner units, lounge chairs, dining chairs, stools and benches
- Dining and living — dining tables, coffee and side tables, TV units, console and sideboard units
- Bedroom — beds and headboards, bedside tables, dressers, writing desks and vanities
- Contract and outdoor — guest-room sets for hotels, restaurant and café seating, terrace and garden pieces
Frames are made in solid oak, walnut, ash or teak, and in engineered wood — plywood or MDF cores with veneer — where stability matters more than visible grain. Upholstery comes in linen and cotton blends, velvet, bouclé and performance weaves, plus PU and full-grain leather. Table tops can be engineered stone, marble or sintered slab, matched to your kitchen and bathroom surfaces so one project reads as one scheme.
Structures at a glance
| Structure | Typical use | Durability | Humidity behaviour | Look | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid oak / walnut / ash | Beds, dining tables, chair frames | High; can be sanded and refinished | Good when kiln-dried and sealed | Visible grain, warm | $$$ |
| Plywood core with veneer | Case goods, desks, TV units | High; stable under load | Very good — resists warping | Consistent grain | $$ |
| MDF with lacquer | Painted and curved pieces | Good; not for wet rooms | Good in dry interiors | Smooth painted finish | $–$$ |
| Metal frame with glass or stone top | Occasional and dining tables | High for the top surface | Unaffected | Mixed-material contrast | $$–$$$ |
Which structure you need depends on where the piece sits and who uses it. A hotel lobby sofa is built to a different brief from a guest-room side table, and the drawing stage is where that difference is confirmed.
Configurations
Almost everything is made to size, within the limits of the frame and material you choose. These are the decisions confirmed at quotation stage.
| Item group | Sizes | Customisation | Finish and fabric | Fittings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofas and sectionals | 2-, 3- and 4-seat; L-shape | Length, depth, chaise side, arm profile | Fabric or leather; your own material (COM) accepted | Hardwood or metal legs |
| Dining tables | 4 to 10 seats | Length, width, height, edge profile | Solid wood, veneer, stone or sintered top | Timber or metal base |
| Dining and lounge chairs | Standard seats | Seat and back height | Matching or contrast upholstery | Stackable options for contract use |
| Beds and headboards | Queen, king and made-to-mattress | Width, headboard height, wall-fixed or freestanding | Upholstered, timber or woven panel | Slats, centre rail, under-bed storage |
| Case goods (TV units, desks, sideboards) | Modular widths | Depth, height, internal layout | Veneer, lacquer or stone top | Soft-close runners, cable cut-outs |
Send a drawing, a reference image or a measured sketch. The design team turns it into a shop drawing with dimensions, fabric codes and finish references, and you approve that drawing before anything is cut.
Choosing by project type
Villa and holiday home. Buy the rooms as one scheme: sofas, dining and beds from the same fabric and timber family, sized room by room from your floor plan. Furniture is packed by room, so the installation team opens what it needs, where it needs it.
Apartment developments. The same furniture schedule repeats across floors. We keep the specification fixed by unit type, so floor 12 matches floor 3 — important when replacements are ordered two years later.
Hotels and commercial interiors. Contract pieces are usually specified for heavier use: denser cushioning, tougher seam construction, and fabrics with documented fire performance for your market. Send your FF&E schedule or room-type list and we confirm what can be met before quoting.
Distributors and stock orders. Choose a repeatable range, keep the specification identical between shipments, and use the remaining container space for other categories. Loading is planned so cartons reach your warehouse in the order you need them, by item rather than by factory.
Tell your coordinator which project type you are buying for — WhatsApp (+86 133 0284 3989) or ivana.li@george.cn — a coordinator replies within one working day.
Price ranges
Factory-direct furniture is priced per item, not per square metre, so a relative cost scale is the honest way to start. The column below ranks each group by relative cost:
| Item group | Relative cost |
|---|---|
| Sofas and sectionals | $$$ |
| Dining tables | $$$ |
| Dining chairs | $$ |
| Beds and headboards | $$$ |
| Case goods (TV units, desks, sideboards) | $$ |
Five factors move the price more than anything else:
- Size and frame — a three-seat sofa and an eight-seat dining table use very different volumes of timber and foam.
- Upholstery or finish — linen, bouclé and full-grain leather on the same frame are three different prices. Your own material (COM) changes the calculation again.
- Quantity and mix — unit price drops as quantities rise, and mixing categories in one container spreads freight across the whole order.
- Fittings and detailing — soft-close runners, solid timber legs, stone tops and hand-finished edges all add cost.
- Testing and documentation — contract projects that need fire-performance reports or timber documentation carry a testing cost, agreed before production.
Prices are quoted per specification. Your quotation is itemised line by line, valid for a stated period, and built from your actual drawings.
Then the design fee: design work is charged as a quoted fee, and when your order reaches twenty times that fee, the fee is credited back in full against your invoice. The credit is applied automatically when the order qualifies — no extra request needed. On whole-home furniture orders, most projects cross that line.
MOQ and mixed containers
There is no fixed MOQ per category when items ship together. Furniture is made in batches, so one container can carry sofas for a villa, dining chairs for an apartment block and a few trial pieces from other categories.
Mixed-container loading is how small orders stay economical: share a 20ft or 40ft container with kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, doors and windows, stone, tiles, bathrooms, lighting or textiles, and pay one freight bill. If you want to test a piece before committing, ask — small trial quantities can often ride with a larger shipment when the loading plan allows.
Ask for a loading plan: send your item list on WhatsApp (+86 133 0284 3989) — a coordinator replies within one working day.
Quality control
Every order leaves with a file, not a promise:
- Approved shop drawings — dimensions, timber species, fabric codes, foam specification and edge details are signed off before cutting starts.
- In-production records — photos and video at frame, cushion and upholstery stages, shared as the order moves.
- Pre-shipment inspection — measurements checked against the approved drawing, seams and stitching inspected, moving parts tested, and every finish compared with the physical sample you approved.
- Packing list by room or unit — each carton is labelled by room, unit and item, so a contractor can stage furniture floor by floor.
- Container loading photos — you see what left the factory before the vessel sails.
Certificates are category-specific and shared on request. For furniture, buyers usually ask about fire-performance documentation for upholstery and timber species documentation. Tell your coordinator which market you import into and we confirm what applies.
Lead time and shipping
Production typically runs 30–45 days after drawings and samples are approved. Large upholstery runs or special finishes take longer, and your coordinator confirms the schedule for your order before any deposit is paid.
The pipeline is the same for every project:
- Share Your Brief — floor plan, BOQ or furniture schedule.
- Design & Quotation — space planning, 3D references, itemised pricing.
- Approve the Details — drawings, samples and finishes signed off.
- Production & QC — records collected as the order progresses.
- Packing & Shipping — labelled cartons, loading photos, export documents.
- Delivery & Support — documentation for your customs, door-to-door quoted where your market allows.
Two things buyers should know before they order. On-site installation is not included unless separately agreed — we supply, pack and ship, and your local team installs from our drawings. And screens show colour differently, so product images alone should never be your final finish approval; physical samples are the reference.
FAQ
Do you work from my drawings, or do I choose from a catalogue?
Both. Send architect drawings, a designer’s rendering, a photo or a measured sketch. We redraw it as shop drawings with real dimensions and material codes, you approve, then production starts. Most orders here are fully custom — the catalogue is only a starting point.
What is your minimum order quantity for furniture?
There is no fixed MOQ per category when items ship together. A mixed container lets you combine a few furniture pieces with the rest of your project order, and small trial quantities can often load with a larger shipment.
How do I approve fabric and wood colour if I cannot visit?
We courier physical samples — fabric swatches, timber finish panels and stone pieces — before production. Your approval is given against the physical sample, because screens and photos render colour differently.
Can I send my own fabric or leather?
Yes. COM is standard practice for hotel and villa projects. Send the material to our Foshan facility with a reference quantity, and the coordinator confirms the meters needed and any handling requirements at drawing stage.
Which countries do you ship furniture to?
Furniture moves as part of whole-home orders delivered across 50+ countries, with regular shipments to the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas — 10,000+ projects delivered since 2006, backed by 20 years’ industry experience. If you have a port, we can quote to it.
Do you deliver to my room or just to my port?
We ship to your port, or quote door-to-door where your market allows. On-site installation is not included unless separately agreed; our packing lists by room and installation drawings help your own team place each piece.
How will I know the pieces match the drawings?
The pre-shipment inspection compares measurements, fabrics and finishes against the approved shop drawing and your samples. You receive the inspection record with photos before the container is sealed.
Talk to a person, not a form
Furniture orders get decided in conversations: what fits, what ships, what it costs. Ivana, our senior sales director, worked in the UK for five years and handles enquiries from buyers ordering from China for the first time and buyers who have done it for years.
- WhatsApp: +86 133 0284 3989 — UK line: +44 7719 795480
- Email: ivana.li@george.cn
- Visit us: Tower One, No.46 Jihua 3rd Road, Chancheng District, Foshan, Guangdong, China — our 30,000 m² showroom is open by appointment.
Send your furniture schedule or BOQ on WhatsApp — a coordinator replies within one working day.