Wren, Sharps or Hammonds? How the national chains compare with bespoke fitted furniture

If you’re weighing up Wren, Sharps and Hammonds, or wondering whether bespoke fitted furniture is worth the difference, this page sets the four side by side. Everything in the table above about the three national chains comes from their own websites, checked on 12 October 2026. Below it we explain what each row means and finish with eight questions worth asking any fitted furniture company before you sign.

We should be clear about where we stand: we are one of the four. Advanced Interiors is Aaran and Saffron, based in Sileby, Leicestershire. Aaran has over 15 years’ experience designing and fitting furniture; Saffron co-runs the business. We design and fit; the furniture is made to our specification by established manufacturers in Leicestershire. Read this knowing who wrote it, and check anything against their sites.

How the big three sell a bedroom

Wren. According to their website, checked 12 October 2026, Wren sell made-to-measure “fully built bedroom units” with an 18mm carcase. Prices are shown on the page, with a multi-buy saving of up to 60% when you buy three or more units, “Was” prices, and a countdown on selected offers. Fitting is by “professional approved installers” through a “service partner”.

Sharps. According to their website, checked 12 October 2026, Sharps “don’t use a standard carcass”. There are no top, side or back panels; sides and backs are available on request. The furniture is “hand-cut to shape” in your room by “your professional installer”. They give a “from around” starting figure for a fully fitted bedroom, run a half-price sale “plus we’ll pay the VAT” on selected ranges, and claim “up to 40% more wardrobe space” from a patented formula, without saying what that is measured against. The furniture is made at their facility in the West Midlands.

Hammonds. According to their website, checked 12 October 2026, Hammonds lead with a monthly payment, asterisked, and give a quote after a free design visit. Their wardrobes page states neither a board thickness nor a guarantee length. Fitting is by “our experienced installers”. They point to “100 years of know-how”, Which? Trusted Trader status and their Trustpilot score.

Showrooms. All three are national companies with showrooms. We bring the samples to your home instead, so you choose colours in your own light, against your own walls and carpet.

What the headline price includes

Wren’s headline price is “including frontals only”. Their own small print excludes “plinths, cornices, end panels, handles, and all accessories” and “internal wardrobe fittings and feature units”. So the figure on the page is for the box and the door. The parts that make a wardrobe look built in, and the shelves and rails inside it, come on top. The multi-buy saving needs three or more units, shown against a “Was” price with a clock running.

Sharps give a “from around” figure for a fully fitted bedroom. “From around” is the least you might pay. The half-price sale and the “we’ll pay the VAT” wording apply to “selected ranges” and to orders above a minimum, so ask which ranges, and what the price would be with no sale on.

Hammonds lead with a monthly figure and an asterisk, then quote after the design visit. Ask for the full price before you compare it with anything.

Our quote is one figure, and it includes every panel, plinth, cornice, handle and interior, fitted. We don’t run sales and there is no countdown. The quote is valid for 30 days, and the price on day 29 is the price on day one. We would rather give you the right price once than a high one with a discount attached. Our price guide explains what moves the figure up or down.

How it is built

Wren’s units are 18mm carcases, “fully built” and made to measure. A built unit is a sound way to make a wardrobe; we use carcases too.

Sharps take the opposite approach. With no standard carcase and no top, side or back panels, the panels are hand-cut to shape in the room. There is a logic to it: nothing has to arrive at exactly the right size, and awkward shapes can be cut around. Without a back panel, the back of the wardrobe is your wall, unless you ask for sides and backs, which Sharps say are available on request.

Hammonds’ wardrobes page does not say how thick the board is or how the units are built, so we can’t tell you.

Ours is an 18mm carcase with solid 18mm backs and tops. Every piece is made to our specification in Leicestershire, to the measurements Aaran takes in your room, and then the fillers and end panels are scribed to your wall and ceiling by us on site, to the millimetre. An uneven ceiling or a wall that leans gets a filler scribed to a tight line, not a gap. Hinges and drawers are soft-close. 36mm worktops and dimmable LED lighting in warm or neutral white are available.

Who you deal with

Hammonds describe a design visit, then a professional survey, then installation by “our experienced installers” (their site doesn’t say whether they are employees). Wren fit through “professional approved installers” via a “service partner”; Sharps’ furniture is cut to shape by “your professional installer”. That chain is how a national company works at scale. But it does mean the person who promised you something is not the person who has to make it work on the day, and if there’s a problem you explain it to a third person.

With us, Aaran comes to the design visit, measures, draws the room in 3D while he’s with you, orders the furniture, fits it and comes back if anything needs attention. Saffron looks after the accounts, customer care and the social media. Nobody here earns commission, so there is no reason for us to push you and no “sign today” price. Because Aaran fits every job himself, fitting dates are booked in turn, usually 6 to 8 weeks from your go-ahead.

Guarantees

On paper, theirs are longer. Wren: up to 15 years on bedroom units, with a separate 5-year installation warranty. Sharps: a “full 15-year product and installation guarantee”. Hammonds: no length stated on the wardrobes page, so ask. Ours is a 10-year guarantee, fitted by us.

The number is only part of it. What we’d ask you to weigh is what a guarantee is: a promise about who turns up when a hinge drops or a drawer sticks. With a national company you go through their process. With us it is Aaran, who fitted it and knows the job.

What to ask any fitted furniture company before you sign

1. What exactly does this price include? Plinths, cornices, end panels, handles, interiors, fitting, taking the old furniture away. Get it in writing.
2. What is the price with no sale on? If a discount depends on buying three units or signing today, ask for the figure without it.
3. How is it built? Carcase or no carcase, board thickness, what the back and top are made of, and how it meets your ceiling and walls.
4. Who measures it, and who fits it? Will you meet the fitter before you order, and is the fitter employed or a subcontractor?
5. Does the person quoting earn commission?
6. What does the guarantee cover, for how long, and who comes out? Furniture, fitting, or both.
7. How long is the quote valid, and can the price change before then?
8. How long from design visit to fitting, and what happens on the day? How many days, how many people, who clears up.

Our answers, so you can hold us to them: everything is in the one figure; there is no sale; an 18mm carcase with solid 18mm backs and tops, scribed on site; Aaran measures and Aaran fits; nobody earns commission; a 10-year guarantee, fitted by us; the quote stands for 30 days; and fitting is usually 6 to 8 weeks from your go-ahead.

A fair conclusion

A national chain suits some people.

If you want furniture built to your room with a solid back and top, scribed to your ceiling, priced in one figure with nothing extra, and designed and fitted by the same person, that is what we do. Have a look at our fitted wardrobes, the door styles, colours and handles and our projects by town, then book a free design visit. Aaran will measure, draw it in 3D and give you one price. No obligation, no sales calls.