It’s easy to treat furniture as the final piece of a project — the part you tick off once the big decisions have been made. But in our experience, that’s a missed opportunity.

We’ve seen plenty of beautifully designed spaces where the furniture felt like an afterthought. Imported tables that didn’t suit the material palette, chairs that fell apart within a year, or fit-outs that simply didn’t reflect the identity of the brand. Not because people didn’t care — but because the budget or thinking ran out before the last layer was fully considered.

On the other hand, some of the most successful projects we’ve delivered have made furniture part of the design process from day one.

At Matso’s Sunshine Coast Brewery, for example, we worked from the inside out. Every piece of furniture — from the bar to the benches — was crafted from salvaged timber and site-sourced materials. It helped connect the interior back to the building’s heritage, without relying on imitation or nostalgia. And it meant the client didn’t have to compromise on durability, carbon outcomes, or atmosphere.

At Tweed Workplace, we worked within a tight $50k budget to create a fit-out almost entirely from reclaimed materials. By integrating furniture design and fabrication into the process, we were able to create a flexible, disassemblable interior that felt thoughtful and resolved — not patched together.

When furniture is done well, it doesn’t just fill a space — it grounds it. It tells a story. And it ensures the character of the place carries through to the parts people touch every day.

If you’re planning a space that matters — a venue, a workplace, a public site — furniture deserves to be part of the architectural conversation.

You don’t need more stuff. You need the right pieces, made with care, from materials that belong to the place.

Contact us at studio@fivemileradius.org to book in a call and chat about your furniture dreams.