Is it worth doing? We will tell you straight.

Send a photograph. Most upholstered furniture on a hardwood frame is worth doing — loose joints, dropped springs and a worn cover are ordinary work. What matters is whether there is something underneath worth building on. If there isn't, we say so, and why. The three answers we usually give.

The whole piece from the front, and a close-up of whatever is bothering you. A phone is fine. Daylight, no flash — flash flattens exactly the damage we are trying to see. If something is broken underneath, a photograph of the underside is worth more than a tidy one of the top.

The condition of the frame, how much of the inside has to be rebuilt, and the cloth you choose — cloth is often the biggest single line. Stripping and re-finishing timber is priced by the hour, which depends on what is on there now. The approach and the price go in writing before anything starts, and nothing is agreed until you have both. What moves a restoration price.

Your decision, and we ask for it early. Some people want a piece to look as it did when it was made; some want every mark of fifty years kept. Most want the structure sound and the surface honest. Saying which one is the most useful thing you can tell us.

Two, and approximate is fine: the width of your mattress, and the height from the floor to the top of it. For a board going on the wall, a photograph of the wall with the bed against it tells us more than a measurement — sockets, skirting and a window sill all change the answer. The studio walks you through it.

Yes, and it often should. A board that runs past the bed to the outside edge of both bedside tables makes a small room look wider and gives you something to lean on when you sit up. It is one of the few things a made-to-measure board does that a bought one cannot.

Either, and the wall decides. Bolted to the bed frame is simplest and moves with the bed. A wall cleat looks lighter and lets the bed pull out, but needs a wall that will hold it — solid masonry is straightforward, plasterboard needs the fixing planned. Floor-standing legs work anywhere, held in place by the weight of the bed.

Wool and tightly-woven synthetics take the most punishment and clean up best. Linen creases and will keep creasing — lovely if that is what you want, irritating if it isn't. Bouclé snags, so it is a poor choice where there are cats. Leather outlasts all of them and is the only one that genuinely improves. All of them, side by side.

Usually yes. We need to see it before it is cut — some dress and curtain fabrics are not woven for upholstery and will not survive being stretched over a frame. Much better to find that out before you buy ten metres of it.

It depends on the piece and what is already on the bench. You get a real date with the written quote rather than a guess now. If you are working to a date, say so at the start and we will tell you honestly whether it is doable.

To be confirmed: Typical time in the workshop, for restoration and for headboards

Ask when you enquire and we will tell you exactly what it means for your address.

To be confirmed: Collection and delivery area, and what it costs

Yes — while it is happening, not at the end. The useful moment is when the piece is stripped and we can see what is actually under there, because that is when a decision sometimes changes. You get a photograph and a note then, and again before the cover goes on.