Question 1

What exactly is knuslabs?

Accepted Answer

A small Amsterdam studio for designing furniture. You describe what you want, the AI generates a piece you can iterate on, and you end up with a design that fits a specific spot in your home. The goal is to make every step from idea to finished piece feel doable. Today the studio handles the design half. The making half is what we’re working on next.

Question 2

Who is this for?

Accepted Answer

People with an idea of what they want for a specific spot: an alcove bookshelf, a bench under a window, a wardrobe that fits the awkward corner. If you’ve ever stood in a room with a tape measure wishing the catalogue had your exact dimensions, that’s the brief.

Question 3

How is this different from IKEA or a regular carpenter?

Accepted Answer

IKEA is fast and cheap, but you’re picking from a catalogue. A carpenter will make you exactly what you want, but it’ll take six weeks and cost three times as much. The intent is to land in the middle: designed to fit, eventually priced and delivered more like a flatpack. The making side isn’t live yet; the design side is real and free to try.

Question 4

Do I need to be good at design?

Accepted Answer

No. The brief can be as short as “somewhere to keep coats by the door, a bit Scandinavian, in oak.” The studio gives you a starting point and you iterate from there. No CAD, no drawings, no measurements you can’t take with a tape.

Question 5

Can I just have a look without committing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The studio is free to use. You can generate, iterate, save designs to your account, come back next month. There’s very little to commit to, partly because there’s nothing to buy yet.

Question 6

How did this start?

Accepted Answer

I moved to Amsterdam at the start of 2026 with a head full of ideas for things I wanted in my flat and very little way to turn them into reality. I’d sketch a bench for the hallway or a shelf above the desk and then run into the same wall every time: it would take weeks to commission, cost too much for what it is, and the catalogue version always missed the dimensions by 4cm. Knuslabs is an attempt to flatten that gap, starting with the design step.

Question 7

How does designing actually work?

Accepted Answer

You start with a prompt or a photo. The studio generates a piece. You iterate: adjust the layout, change the wood, stretch the proportions, swap the legs. When it feels right, you validate the design, plug in measurements, and review it as a whole. The final step would be to order, and that part isn’t live yet.

Question 8

How accurate is it really?

Accepted Answer

The studio respects the dimensions you give it down to the millimetre. The render reflects the exact proportions of the piece you’re designing, not an idealised picture. If you measure your alcove wrong, the design will faithfully match your wrong number. Measure twice. Always.

Question 9

What if I don’t love the first thing I see?

Accepted Answer

You iterate. That’s the whole point. Generate, then nudge: longer, shorter, lower shelf, different wood, different leg. Each pass updates the design rather than throwing it away. You’re not picking from a fixed set of options, you’re sculpting it until it matches what you actually want.

Question 10

How much can I customise?

Accepted Answer

A lot. Wood, finish, proportions, shelf positions, handle and hardware choice. Structural changes (turning a bookshelf into a wardrobe, say) tend to be cleaner as a fresh generation. Small to medium tweaks are exactly what the iterate loop is built for.

Question 11

How is this different from asking ChatGPT to design furniture?

Accepted Answer

ChatGPT will hand you a pretty render and a vague list of dimensions, and that’s where it stops. Knuslabs is being built so the design you make here is something you can eventually have in your home. We aren’t the manufacturing layer yet, but every part of the studio (the materials, the proportions, the validation step) is pointed at making the jump from idea to real object. That trajectory is what ChatGPT isn’t.

Question 12

Who owns the designs I generate?

Accepted Answer

You do. They live in your account. You can save them, export them, share them, come back to them.

Question 13

Can I bring my own design or sketch?

Accepted Answer

You can use a photo or a written description as a starting prompt and iterate from there. If you have a paper sketch, snap a photo and feed it in. The studio treats it as inspiration rather than blueprint, but it’s a fine place to start.

Question 14

What materials can I design with in the studio?

Accepted Answer

You can imagine pieces in a range of common woods (birch ply, oak, walnut, ash) with a few standard finish directions (matte oil, satin lacquer, soap). For now these are design choices. Once production partners are in place they’ll line up with what’s actually available to order.

Question 15

Where do the materials come from?

Accepted Answer

They don’t come from anywhere yet, because nothing is being made yet. We’re actively looking: European mills for the timber, workshops for the cutting and finishing, suppliers for the hardware. When the supply chain is set, you’ll see exactly who and where on every order.

Question 16

What finishes are you planning to offer?

Accepted Answer

The shortlist: a matte hardwax oil (food-safe, easy to repair), a clear water-based lacquer (more durable, less repairable), and a soap finish for lighter woods. No solvents, no off-gassing. The final selection lands once we know what each workshop can deliver reliably.

Question 17

Will the materials be sustainable?

Accepted Answer

That’s the intent. FSC-certified timber where we can get it, water-based finishes throughout, recycled steel for hardware, packaging without plastic film. No sustainability claims yet, because there are no suppliers behind them. Those are the criteria we’re using to choose.

Question 18

Can I see samples?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Once we have material partners, a sample pack is one of the first things we want to offer. For now the studio shows photographic textures so you can get a feel for grain and tone before you commit to a direction.

Question 19

What does the studio cost?

Accepted Answer

Nothing while we’re in early access. No card on file, no trial countdown, sensible weekly limits so the lights stay on.

Question 20

Will it stay free forever?

Accepted Answer

Probably not. Eventually there will be a price for the design side, and the actual furniture will cost what furniture costs. If pricing changes, you’ll hear about it well in advance, and your saved designs stay yours either way.

Question 21

Is there a paid tier I can upgrade to?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Everyone’s on the same plan: free, with weekly generation limits. If you’re mid-project and bumping the cap, write to ruud@knuslabs.com and we’ll lift it for you.

Question 22

When can I actually pay you to make something?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Ordering is the one step in the flow that doesn’t go anywhere today. We’re working on it. Until then, the studio is for designing and saving ideas you might want to commission later.

Question 23

Can I order a finished piece today?

Accepted Answer

No. The design half of knuslabs works; the manufacturing half is what we’re building next. We’d rather wait until we can do it well than ship something half-finished and disappointing.

Question 24

What are you working on for production?

Accepted Answer

Two things, in parallel. Finding workshops in Europe that can take a generated cut list and turn it into a finished, sandable, finishable kit. And lining up mills who supply consistent timber in the woods we want to offer. Both take time, and we’re in no rush to commit to bad partners.

Question 25

Where will you ship to?

Accepted Answer

The plan is the Netherlands and immediate neighbours first, then the rest of the EU, then further out once the workshop and shipping side proves itself. None of that is live yet.

Question 26

How will assembly work?

Accepted Answer

The goal is no power tools. Sanded, finished, pre-drilled, numbered, with the right Allen key in the box. Once kits start shipping, each one will come with a printed booklet, photographs rather than hieroglyphs, and a phone-friendly version online.

Question 27

When will all of this actually happen?

Accepted Answer

No date until I’m confident enough to keep it. If you want to be told when ordering goes live, write to ruud@knuslabs.com and I’ll add you to the short list.

Question 28

Who runs knuslabs?

Accepted Answer

Ruud, the founder. The studio is in the Jordaan in Amsterdam. Knuslabs is deliberately small at this stage and will stay that way until the product itself feels ready to handle more.

Question 29

How do I get in touch?

Accepted Answer

Email ruud@knuslabs.com or use the contact form. I read everything that comes in, usually replying within a working day. If you’re writing about a saved design, include the project name from your account; saves us a back-and-forth.

Question 30

Press, podcasts, partnerships?

Accepted Answer

ruud@knuslabs.com. Happy to chat in English, Dutch, or German. I’ll write back even if it’s a polite no.

All the questions,
all in one place.

What knuslabs is, who it’s for, how the studio works.

What exactly is knuslabs?

Who is this for?

How is this different from IKEA or a regular carpenter?

Do I need to be good at design?

Can I just have a look without committing?

How did this start?

How the studio works, what you can change, what to expect.

How does designing actually work?

How accurate is it really?

What if I don’t love the first thing I see?

How much can I customise?

How is this different from asking ChatGPT to design furniture?

Who owns the designs I generate?

Can I bring my own design or sketch?

What you can design with today, and what we’re planning for production.

What materials can I design with in the studio?

Where do the materials come from?

What finishes are you planning to offer?

Will the materials be sustainable?

Can I see samples?

What it costs to use the studio today.

What does the studio cost?

Will it stay free forever?

Is there a paid tier I can upgrade to?

When can I actually pay you to make something?

What happens after design, eventually.

Can I order a finished piece today?

What are you working on for production?

Where will you ship to?

How will assembly work?

When will all of this actually happen?

Who’s behind it and how to get in touch.

Who runs knuslabs?

How do I get in touch?

Press, podcasts, partnerships?

Got a question we missed?

All the questions,all in one place.

What knuslabs is, who it’s for, how the studio works.

What exactly is knuslabs?

Who is this for?

How is this different from IKEA or a regular carpenter?

Do I need to be good at design?

Can I just have a look without committing?

How did this start?

How the studio works, what you can change, what to expect.

How does designing actually work?

How accurate is it really?

What if I don’t love the first thing I see?

How much can I customise?

How is this different from asking ChatGPT to design furniture?

Who owns the designs I generate?

Can I bring my own design or sketch?

What you can design with today, and what we’re planning for production.

What materials can I design with in the studio?

Where do the materials come from?

What finishes are you planning to offer?

Will the materials be sustainable?

Can I see samples?

What it costs to use the studio today.

What does the studio cost?

Will it stay free forever?

Is there a paid tier I can upgrade to?

When can I actually pay you to make something?

What happens after design, eventually.

Can I order a finished piece today?

What are you working on for production?

Where will you ship to?

How will assembly work?

When will all of this actually happen?

Who’s behind it and how to get in touch.

Who runs knuslabs?

How do I get in touch?

Press, podcasts, partnerships?

Got a question we missed?

All the questions,
all in one place.