FAQs

Contract furniture refers to furniture specifically designed and manufactured for use in commercial spaces rather than private homes. This type of furniture is commonly found in restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs, airports, sporting venues, offices, coworking environments, and other public or commercial settings.

The key difference between contract furniture and residential furniture lies in its durability and construction standards. Contract furniture is engineered to withstand frequent, heavy use and is typically constructed with reinforced joints, such as additional screws and dowels, to extend its lifespan. Unlike standard home furniture, contract pieces are built to meet higher performance and safety specifications required in commercial environments.

Another advantage of contract furniture is the flexibility in design and finishes. Because most contract furniture is made to order, businesses can select from a wide range of custom materials, colors, and finishes to align with their brand or interior design vision.

Importantly, contract furniture must adhere to strict health and safety regulations, including certifications such as the Martindale Abrasion Test to ensure fabric durability and the British Standards for Flammability (Crib 5). While this doesn’t make furniture fireproof, it does ensure materials are significantly safer, reducing the risk of fire spread in commercial environments.

In short, if you’re furnishing any non-residential space, contract furniture provides the robust, stylish, and compliant solution your business needs.

At Hill Cross Furniture, we specialise in supplying furniture for commercial projects. We do not sell directly to the general public or typically to those designing domestic, residential purposes, due to minimum order quantities. However, where interior designers are sourcing furniture for private residential projects, we’re always happy to discuss the brief to see whether we may be able to assist within the scope and budget of the project.

This policy is in place for several reasons:

• Our products are sourced from specialist European manufacturers, which incurs specific shipping and logistics costs unsuitable for smaller, individual orders.
• All of our furniture is made to order and therefore non-returnable, as is standard practice within the contract furniture industry.
• Some of our suppliers have minimum order requirements tailored for commercial-scale projects.

We remain fully focused on serving businesses, commercial spaces, and trade professionals who require high-quality, custom-made furniture for hospitality, office, leisure, and other commercial environments.

Who We Supply at Hill Cross Furniture

At Hill Cross Furniture, we specialise in providing high-quality contract furniture designed specifically for businesses and commercial environments. Our furniture is trusted across a wide range of sectors within the hospitality and commercial industries.

Whether you’re designing a new space or refurbishing an existing venue, we’re here to help you bring your commercial furniture vision to life — even if your project doesn’t fit neatly into the sectors listed below. Just get in touch, and we’ll work with you to find the right solution.

Our Core Sectors:

• Restaurant Furniture
• Hotel Furniture
• Café Furniture
• Pub Furniture
• Commercial Outdoor Furniture
• Office Furniture
• Healthcare Furniture
• Retirement Home Furniture
• Hospitality Furniture
• Commercial Furniture
• Contract Furniture

From durable, stylish seating to bespoke tables and statement pieces, Hill Cross Furniture delivers expertly crafted solutions for high-traffic, commercial spaces.

No – the products displayed on our website represent only a small selection of what we can offer. At Hill Cross Furniture, we have access to thousands more furniture options through our trusted network of global manufacturers and suppliers.

If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for online, our team is here to help. We regularly work from mood boards, design concepts, and detailed briefs to source, recommend, and customise furniture that fits perfectly within your project’s vision. In return, we provide carefully thought-through flipbooks and proposals tailored to your aesthetic, functional, and budgetary needs.

Bespoke, Flexible & Budget Conscious:

• Most of our products are fully customisable – from finishes and fabrics to sizes and materials.
• We offer value engineering solutions, providing lower-cost alternatives where needed to achieve the desired look within your budget.
• While some manufacturers may impose minimum order quantities, Hill Cross Furniture does not set any minimums of our own.

Whatever your project’s scope or sector, our team is committed to helping you find the right furniture solutions – even if it’s not displayed on our website.

Yes, Hill Cross Furniture is fully certified to both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards.

• ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for quality management systems. It ensures that we consistently deliver high-quality furniture and maintain excellent customer service through robust processes and continual improvement.
• ISO 14001 is the global standard for environmental management systems. It demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, helping us actively reduce waste, improve efficiency, and minimise our environmental impact while complying with all relevant regulations.

These certifications aren’t just formalities – they reflect our ongoing dedication to quality, sustainability, and responsible business practices across every project we deliver.

ISO Certificate Number: 250605 – ISO 9001 / ISO 14001.

Yes, Hill Cross Furniture is proudly Planet Mark certified. This certification recognises our commitment to actively reducing our carbon footprint and making meaningful progress towards a more sustainable future.

As part of our Planet Mark journey, we measure and verify our carbon emissions annually and work to reduce our environmental impact across all areas of the business – from manufacturing processes to supply chains and operations.

Our Planet Mark certification is more than a badge. It reflects our genuine commitment to:

• Operating more sustainably
• Driving continuous improvements in environmental performance
• Engaging our team and clients in our sustainability efforts

Our Net Zero Goal

We are proud to be working towards achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2035. This is a key part of our wider environmental strategy, alongside our ISO 14001 accreditation, and further strengthens our commitment to supporting a greener, more responsible future for the contract furniture industry.