Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Kingston upon Thames · London
Motspur Park Built-in Bookshelves
Thinking about built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Shelves that sag under books
- Somewhere to keep toys and books tidy
- Shelving that frames a window
Built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park
About our built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park
Built-in shelving fills a wall, an alcove or a whole room, and is made for that space. It can run wall to wall and up to the ceiling. For a home in Motspur Park, we start with a design visit to measure the wall and talk through what the shelves will hold. People normally come to us about bookcases that lean or wobble and room for a record collection, and the answer is built in our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Plenty of semis and interwar houses have been extended at the back or had the back rooms knocked through, which matters around Motspur Park, where homes like these are a big part of the housing. A long through room gives built-in bookshelves a whole wall to work with. New plasterboard in an extension and older brick or block in the original house take different fixings.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. They say what will be made, what it’s made from and how it will be finished, all taken from the design visit.
- Where
- Motspur Park (KT3, SW20, KT2)
- Borough
- Kingston upon Thames
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke built-in bookshelves or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf bookcases come in fixed depths, which may be too deep for paperbacks or too shallow for art books. We can make deeper sections below and shallower ones above to suit what you own. Ready-made furniture rarely suits a bay, a box room or a bulkhead over the stairs, and those are common in interwar houses. Fitted furniture is made around them.
There is no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. Instead, we measure, go through the design and then quote in writing. To arrange a design visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Why us?
- Over 300 projects completed
- Work across the whole of London
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
- Finished by spray or by hand
Take a look at bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
Living-room storage in Motspur Park
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Motspur Park were built before 1919 (about 34%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 31%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Motspur Park include The Royal Oak Public House (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west, and Coombe Cottage (Grade II), about 0.5 miles north. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Kingston upon Thames is inside it. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Motspur Park. We plan parking and access with you at the design visit.
Living in a block of flats near New Malden station? Then it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day. For a family home near St Matthew's CofE Primary School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Motspur Park is about 2 miles west of Kingston upon Thames, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Homes in Motspur Park are part of the area we cover for built-in bookshelves. We list Motspur Park among 16 places we cover in Kingston upon Thames.
Postcode districts we cover here for built-in bookshelves: KT3, SW20 and KT2. Whether you live on a street such as Traps Lane, Coombe Road and Coombe Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for built-in bookshelves. Main roads around Motspur Park include the A238, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover New Malden (1 mile south-west), West Barnes (1 mile south-east), Coombe (1 mile north-west), Raynes Park (1 mile south-east) and Copse Hill (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Kingston upon Thames we cover include Kingston upon Thames (2 miles west), Surbiton (2 miles south-west), Hampton Wick (3 miles west), Chessington (4 miles south-west), Seething Wells (3 miles south-west) and Hook (4 miles south-west).
Landmarks near Motspur Park
The streets we cover here include those near The Royal Oak Public House, Ursuline Preparatory School and Coombe Girls' School. The closest station to Motspur Park is New Malden station, roughly 0.5 miles south-west. Nearby you will also find Atkinson Morley Hospital (0.8 miles north-east) and Wimbledon Museum (1.7 miles north-east). For a walk, there is Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads.
Pricing built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park
Several things affect the price:
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Parking and unloading on your street
- The internal fittings
- How square the room is
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
Helping us understand the room
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. Just send what you can:
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Rough measurements: width, height and depth
To get a quote for built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park, get in touch through our contact form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
Also near Motspur Park
What else we make in Motspur Park
Do you need built-in bookshelves in Motspur Park?
New owners of older houses often want shelving that suits the house. The alcoves beside a chimney breast are an obvious home for shelving, and built-in shelves sit well in a period room.
Here’s what built-in bookshelves can help with:
- Bare walls that could hold shelving
- Bookcases that lean or wobble
- Low shelves children can reach
- Wasted wall space around a door or window
Southside House, about 0.8 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for built-in bookshelves.
Choosing a carpenter
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
Questions from Motspur Park
I live near New Malden station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Kingston upon Thames and the rest of London. You can use our contact form to arrange a design visit, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Does a conservation area in or near Motspur Park affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Do you move sockets or add lighting?
No. Any new wiring, sockets or lights need an electrician. We will design around them.
What if my walls and floors are out of level?
It is something we deal with all the time. The furniture is scribed to follow the walls and levelled on feet or a plinth, so there are no gaps at the sides.
What if the stairs or lift are small?
Getting it in is planned at the measuring visit. The stairs, landings, any lift and the doorways are measured, and each section is made to a size that will get through.
How deep should bookshelves be?
We set the depth to suit what you own. Deeper cupboards or shelves at the bottom and shallower shelves above is a common layout, and it keeps paperbacks from getting lost at the back.
When you need someone else
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. In practice, that means:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Decorating the rest of the room
- Plumbing work around the shelves
Not sure whether your space suits built-in bookshelves? You can message us from the contact page and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Cupboards below
- Fixed and adjustable shelves
What happens on fitting day
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it’s going into, and that happens on fitting day. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it, until the line is tight. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how long and how tall the shelving is, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. In a 1930s house with a converted loft, the stairs to the loft room are often steeper than the main flight, so pieces for a loft room are sized for the narrowest point. The main stairs in houses of that age are typically straighter. Each section is assembled and fixed in the room.
- It starts when you tell us about the wall and your books.
- At the design visit we measure and plan the shelves together.
- We send a quote in writing.
- The bookcase is made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray finish is applied there too, if you chose it.
- The shelving is fitted, fixed and checked with you. Fresh paint needs time to cure, so it’s best to load the shelves gently at first.
Before we arrive
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
Starting with a design visit
We quote once we have seen the room. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To book a design visit, get in touch through our contact form.