The short version on cost, before anything else: recent individual commissions from our workshop ranged from about ₡800,000 to ₡4,700,000 plus 13% IVA — roughly $1,500 to $9,000 — depending on design, wood, and scale. There is no catalog and no fixed price list. Every piece is designed to order, and we adjust the design to work with your budget. The rest of this guide explains where in that range a piece lands, and why.
How commissioning works
Every commission follows the same five steps, whether it is a single mirror or a full kitchen.
1 · Consultation
It starts with a conversation, not a catalog. Tell us about the room, how you use it, and what you have in mind — in person in Guanacaste or over video. This is where budget belongs too: name yours early and we design within it. The consultation is free, with no obligation.
2 · Concept
Bernardo sketches the form by hand, with renders when they help. We refine it together until it feels right. Nothing is built until you approve the design — and the price is agreed before the first cut.
3 · Material
You choose the wood from our own inventory — solid Guanacaste, Cenizaro, or Teak, plus Laurel and Cedar, all sustainably sourced and kiln-dried in-house to 8–12% humidity. For a slab piece, you can pick the exact slab your table will come from.
4 · Crafting
Your piece is shaped, carved, and finished by hand in the Tilarán shop. We send progress photos along the way — most clients say this is their favorite part.
5 · Delivery
We deliver and place the piece ourselves across Costa Rica — Nosara, Tamarindo, Papagayo, Santa Teresa, and beyond — and crate carefully for international shipping. We make sure it sits exactly right before we leave.
What custom furniture costs in Costa Rica
Price follows three things: the wood, the design, and the scale. A wide single slab of figured Guanacaste costs more than glued boards; a sculptural carved base takes more workshop days than a clean straight one; a three-meter table is more wood and more hours than a bench. That is why a live-edge bench can sit near the bottom of the range while a sculptural dining table for eight sits near the top.
The honest way to think about it: decide what the piece is worth to your home, tell us that number, and let us design to it. Budget shapes the design — the wood species, the dimensions, the complexity of the carving — not the quality of the work. Every piece that leaves the shop is solid hardwood, built by the same hands to the same standard. Larger projects like custom kitchens are scoped individually after a site visit or plans review.
Quotes itemize the 13% IVA separately, so you always see the piece and the tax as two clear lines. International shipping is quoted per destination once crate dimensions are final.
A quote from us is not a number in a text message. It is a written spec sheet: the piece described plainly, the wood, the dimensions, the finish, and the price with IVA itemized — so you know exactly what you are approving before anything is built. If the design changes during the concept stage, the sheet is updated and re-agreed. No surprises at delivery.
Getting more piece for the budget
When a design comes in above the number you had in mind, there are honest levers — and none of them is lower quality. The wood is the first: a wide single slab of figured Guanacaste is premium material, while Laurel and Cedar deliver the same solid-hardwood construction at a gentler price, which is why they carry most of our kitchen cabinetry. The base is the second: a clean, straight base takes fewer workshop days than a sculptural carved one, and on many pieces the top is the star anyway. Scale is the third — sometimes the answer is simply a table for eight instead of ten.
You also do not need to arrive with a finished idea. A photo, a floor plan, an architect's drawing, or just a description of the room is enough to start — the concept stage exists to turn that into a design you approve.
How long it takes
Individual pieces usually take 6–8 weeks from approved design to delivery. Larger scopes — a kitchen, several pieces for a whole house — run longer, up to about 12 weeks depending on the project. Two things keep those timelines honest: the wood is already dried, because we keep our own kiln-dried inventory in Tilarán rather than waiting on a sawmill; and the design is fully agreed before building starts, so there are no mid-build surprises.
If you are furnishing a new build, the best moment to start the conversation is when your interior walls are up — that leaves comfortable time for design, building, and delivery before move-in.
Where we deliver
The workshop is in Tilarán, Guanacaste, and we deliver ourselves across the country — the Gold Coast from Papagayo and Playas del Coco down through Tamarindo and Flamingo, the Nosara and Sámara area, Santa Teresa, and the Central Valley including Escazú and Santa Ana. For international clients we crate each piece for export; the wood arrives fully dried and acclimated, so it travels well. You are also welcome to visit the workshop and see your piece being built.