Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
Chinatown Built-in Bookshelves
We make built-in bookshelves for homes in Chinatown, designed around the room you have. We design your built-in bookcase at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Space for art books and records
- Bookshelves in keeping with an older house
- Shelving behind a desk for books and files
Need built-in bookshelves in Chinatown?
Built-in bookshelves in Chinatown: what you get
Older rooms often have skirting, picture rails and coving to work around. Shelves can stop beneath the picture rail, run to the cornice or be cut around the details, whichever suits the room. Since period walls are rarely flat, the edges are scribed to follow them. We make built-in bookshelves from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are space for art books and records and shelving that frames a window.
Older houses tend to come with picture rails, tall skirtings and cornices, and built-in bookshelves need to meet those lines neatly. Homes built before 1919 make up a large share of the housing around Chinatown, so those details are worth looking at closely during the design visit. The top line can stop at the rail or run on to the cornice, depending on the room.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Location
- Chinatown (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Borough
- Westminster
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting works for built-in bookshelves
Finishing comes last. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is usually only filling and touching up to do in the room; hand painting, if that’s what you chose, can be done in place once everything is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so we ask for a clear space to work near the room. Dust is kept down and cleared up as we go. Where the finish is hand-painted, it can be done after the pieces are in.
- You send us some details about the room and what the shelves will hold, and whether you want cupboards below.
- We come to measure, look at how the wall is built and agree the layout. Long spans and heavy books are planned for at this stage.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out.
- Each section is built in our workshop to the measurements we took.
- We install the bookcase, set it level and fix it with fixings that suit the wall.
How to prepare
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Ask for a quote
To make a start, get in touch through our contact form and tell us a little about the room and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a quote in writing follows.
Advice
Also near Chinatown
More for homes in Chinatown
Tips worth knowing
A little care keeps the finish looking good. These practical tips help:
- Decide whether you want doors on the lower section
- Mention parking and stairs when we visit
- Plan heavy items for the lower shelves
- Note the sizes of your largest books and records
Take the books off before moving an adjustable shelf, and check the supports are fully seated.
Keep heavy things on low shelves and use a step rather than the shelves to reach up.
How it’s made
Plinths and scribe strips
The plinth raises the shelving and hides a sloping floor. It can line up with the skirting.
Shelves
Shelves can be fixed, adjustable or a mix. Fixed shelves brace the bookcase, while adjustable ones can follow your books.
Living-room storage in Chinatown
About 50% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Chinatown went up before 1919, and about 23% since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how built-in bookshelves are fixed and fitted. 32 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of central Chinatown. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Since the zone was extended to the outer boroughs in August 2023, the whole of London has been inside the ULEZ. So any van that delivers or fits furniture in Chinatown is covered by it. Access and parking are talked through at the design visit.
For families living near Soho Parish CofE Primary School, built-in bookshelves can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. The wider area includes historic houses like Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.4 miles south-east. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give built-in bookshelves a line to finish at. Close to St Anne's Churchyard? Built-in bookshelves can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Chinatown is about 1 mile west of City of Westminster, in the City of Westminster. From period terraces to newer flats in Chinatown, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. In Westminster, Chinatown is one of the places we cover.
Every address in W1F, W1D and W1T is within our area for built-in bookshelves, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street like Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bruton Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for built-in bookshelves. The A4 and A301 run close to Chinatown, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Other places close to Chinatown include Soho (1 mile north), St James's (1 mile south), West End (1 mile north-east), Seven Dials (1 mile north-east) and St Giles (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Westminster we cover include Paddington Green (2 miles west), Paddington (2 miles west), Lisson Grove (2 miles north-west), Westbourne (3 miles west), Little Venice (2 miles west) and Westbourne Green (3 miles west). Chinatown is one of the larger places we cover in Westminster.
What’s near Chinatown
Our area takes in the homes around LITE Regal International School, Harris Westminster Sixth Form and Waxy O'Connor's pub and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Chinatown itself: Tottenham Court Road station. A little further out are Leverian collection (a few minutes’ walk south-east) and Kingly Court (a few minutes’ walk west). Open spaces near Chinatown include St. James's Park Lake and Ludgate Hill.
When is bespoke worth it?
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
The real difference is in the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. Off-the-shelf furniture cannot usually do that in an older room.
What we don’t do
We do not treat damp or carry out building work, so these points are worth knowing:
- Moving a radiator, which is a plumber’s job
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Painting walls and ceilings around the shelving
Not sure whether your space suits built-in bookshelves? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Fixed and adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Cupboards below
- Spray-painted finish
Common questions about built-in bookshelves
How do you fit built-in bookshelves in a flat in Chinatown?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Chinatown?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
Do you do the electrics?
No. Sockets, switches and lighting are for your electrician, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We’ll design around them.
How long will the fitting take?
It depends on how long and how tall the shelving is, and your quote sets out the fitting days. The making happens in our workshop.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It needs a little planning: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.