This is one of the questions I’m asked most often.
If you’re planning to buy furniture from China, you will probably ask yourself how long time it takes ? Let me share some of my real experience :
When should we start?
My answer is always the same.
From the time you place your orders, I recommend allowing at least four months before you need the furniture. If your schedule allows, five months is even better.
Why?
Because after managing many whole-house sourcing projects over the years, this is the timeline I normally work with:
- Around 60 days for production
- Around 60 days for international shipping, customs clearance and final delivery
In other words, I usually plan on around 120 days from placing the order to receiving everything.
This doesn’t mean every factory needs 60 days.
It doesn’t mean shipping always takes 60 days either.
It’s because a whole-house project involves many different factories, many different products and many different stages. I always plan for the entire project, not just one factory’s production time.
But That Doesn’t Mean You Should Wait Until Four Months Before
This is something many people misunderstand.
The four months starts after you place your orders.
Before that, you should spend some time planning.
If you’re planning to come to China for sourcing, I recommend preparing these things before you arrive:
- Decide your overall style.
- Collect inspiration photos.
- Prepare your furniture and materials list.
- Set your budget.
- Decide which products need to be customised.
All of this can be done at home.
Then, when you come to China, you can focus on making decisions, visiting factories and placing orders, instead of spending your time trying to work out what you want to buy.
The better prepared you are, the smoother your sourcing trip will be.
Why Don’t I Plan Around a Factory’s 45-Day Lead Time?
Many clients ask a factory:
“How long is production?”
The answer is often:
“About 45 days.”
That may be true for one product.
But a whole-house project is very different.
Some cabinets may be finished.
The stone may still be in production.
The lighting may be ready.
The hardware may still be waiting to arrive.
Sometimes almost everything is finished, but everyone is waiting for the last few items before the container can be loaded.
So the real production time is often longer than the lead time shown on a quotation.
That’s why I normally allow around 60 days for production, not just the shortest production time a factory gives me.
Production Isn’t the End
Even after production is finished, your project still isn’t finished.
There is still:
- Packing
- Booking the shipment
- Waiting for the vessel
- International shipping
- Customs clearance
- Local delivery
Some parts of this process are outside anyone’s control.
Shipping schedules can change.
Ports can be busy.
Customs inspections can happen.
Local delivery can also take longer than expected.
That’s why I normally allow another 60 days for shipping and delivery.
I’d rather my clients receive their furniture earlier than planned than have everything arrive late.
A Simple Example
Let’s say your new home will be ready on 1 December 2026.
I would work backwards like this:
- Early December — Move in
- Mid November — Furniture installation
- Before that — Shipping, customs and delivery
- Before that — Production
Working backwards, your main orders should ideally be placed around June or July.
That gives the project enough time without unnecessary pressure.
My Final Advice
The smoothest projects I’ve worked on were not the biggest ones.
They were the ones that started planning early.
Before you come to China, prepare your style, your shopping list and your budget.
Then, once you’re here, you can focus on turning that plan into reality.
And after you place your orders, allow enough time for the entire journey—not just the factory’s production time.
My advice is simple: allow at least four months from placing your orders to receiving your furniture. If you can allow five months, you’ll have much more flexibility and a lot less stress.
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