Who we are

Bombora Custom Furniture is a family-owned and run business with a passion for creating beautiful, functional furniture with eco-responsibility.  Our hope is that with carefully considered design, the use of great quality materials and construction, our furniture will be a treasured possession that will be passed on through the generations.

Bombora furniture designer Luke Collins

Creativity for Luke comes from converting necessity into something of beauty. Taking what the client needs for their home to display, hide or house things and designing something that transcends the purpose with a timeless style that will see it last the decades. The design process is fluid and continues into the build of the piece as the timber is chosen and laid out.  The timber is moved until each piece looks its best.  Not traditionally trained as a designer, Luke creates organically, seeking inspiration from a wide range of sources so that his furniture is original and not influenced by what others have done.  

Luke's ultimate muse is the timber itself. He loves to use reclaimed and recycled wood with a history and tale to tell such as from bridges, piers and old buildings.  It is this one-of-a-kind character that cannot be manufactured or reproduced. A personality all of its own. 

History of Bombora custom furniture

Luke began designing and building custom furniture in Melbourne out of necessity 12 years ago to create a beautiful home on a students budget. His passion for wood, design and working with his hands developed over time.  In Feb 2011, after the house was full of beautiful pieces, Luke made 2 dining tables which he quickly sold on Gumtree. From here, Luke began to receiving orders and the word of mouth referrals kept coming until Luke needed to move into a larger workshop space in Brunswick. After the birth of their Daughter early in 2012, the Collins family decided to have a sea change and move form Melbourne to Torquay on the Victorian Surf Coast.  Wife, Alison Collins, a now retired Osteopath, came on board in late 2012 to develop the website, marketing and administration part of the business. Read more about our story here.

Sustainable timber furniture

Sustainability and running an eco-responsible business is very important to us. We love to use local native southern Australian hardwoods such as Messmate, Victorian Ash and Tasmanian Oak both for their beauty, durability and to reduce travel miles. We prefer to use recycled and reclaimed timber over new timber as there is little environmental impact to transform it from its previous life as a bridge or pier to a stunning piece of furniture.  In 2015 we launched our 1 piece = 1 tree initiative whereby we plant a tree for every piece of furniture that we create. We also have a staff planting day once a year in association with our local landcare group to regenerate our beautiful Surf Coast environment. 

In 2022, we installed a solar system which powers all the workshop machinery, lights, heating, cooling and computers without the use of fossil fuels.

The custom furniture design process

At Bombora, we want our customers to have as much input into the design as they desire to ensure that their piece is truly ’them’ and will suit their home forever.  For customers local to the Geelong and Surf Coast areas, we can come to your home to offer you advice on design, dimensions, timber and finishes by getting a feel for the colors, light and aesthetic of your space. This is especially important for those ordering inbuilt cabinetry. 

As wood is such a tactile medium, we welcome appointments at our Torquay workshop + showroom, 1.5 hours from Melbourne, to look at the timber, finish and to discuss your ideas.  As all of our furniture is made to order, we do not hold any stock but there are always multiple pieces in production to view.  But for safety reasons, visits are strictly by appointment only. To arrange an appointment, please contact us here. For those where are workshop visit is not practical, we can post out timber samples and arrange a “virtual” tour.

To find out more about our design process from concept to completion, follow this link to a blog post that takes you step by step through the process. 

We can arrange delivery of our custom furniture to you Australia wide.  Our delivery pricing to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane are listed here.  Please contact us for pricing to other areas.

What we create

We work together with our clients to create a wide range of furntiure pieces such as dining tables, beds, bedside tables, and timber frame couches. We also love to create “inbuilt furniture” or joinery pieces such as solid wooden kitchen cabinets, barn doors, entrance doors, timber vanities, bench tops and bookcases. If its made from timber, we can create it!

Over the years, we have developed a network of other local small business that share our ethos of quality, sustainability and beauty to collaberate with us on projects. We have a metal fabricator, concrete crafsman, cabinet maker and stone mason that we regularily work with to bring our clients projects to life.

Naturally finished timber furniture

To produce the natural look and silky feel to our furniture, we protect the wood using a natural oil and wax finish called Osmo.  We love this finish as it enhances rather than hides the natural beauty of the wood whilst being durable, family friendly, hard wearing and easy to maintain.  When compared to plastic finishes, it is easy to repair thereby ensuring the longevity of the piece.  It is low VOC, non-toxic, food safe and approved for use on toys.

The Bombora Custom Furniture Aesthetic

Head designer Luke Collins, finds inspiration in classic Nordic furniture, 70′s design, modernist architecture, the beauty of the Victorian Surf Coast as well as the timber itself. Bombora furniture has a simple silhouette, clean lines and joinery detailing that ensures that the natural beauty of the timber is the star of each piece.