Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Old Town Built-in Bookshelves
Built-in bookshelves in Old Town: bookcases and shelving walls built into your home. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Somewhere to keep toys and books tidy
- Bookcases that lean or wobble
- A room lined with books
Ask about built-in bookshelves in Old Town
How we make built-in bookshelves for Old Town
Shelving can frame a door or a window. We can build shelves either side of a door and bridge them over it, and the same works around a window with a seat beneath it. It makes use of wall space that is typically left bare. We make built-in bookshelves from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are shelves packed two rows deep and shelves that sag under books.
Internal walls in newer homes are normally plasterboard on metal or timber studs, and the board will not carry a heavy load on its own. Around Old Town, where many homes were built since 2000, that shapes how built-in bookshelves are fixed: tall units stand on the floor and are tied into the studs.
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.
- Location
- Old Town (CR0, CR9, CR90)
- Area
- Croydon
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
From workshop to your room
Every fitting follows the same order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on how long and how tall the shelving is, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Newer homes often have stud walls, so on fitting day heavy pieces go into the studs or stand on the floor. Floors are protected throughout, as many newer homes have finished floors that mark easily, and dust is kept to a minimum.
- You contact us with a short note about the shelving you have in mind, and whether you want cupboards below.
- At the design visit, we measure up, check the wall and plan the shelf spans with you. Long spans and heavy books are planned for at this stage.
- You receive a written quote setting out the shelving, materials and finish.
- The bookcase is made at our workshop.
- We fit it in your home, fixed securely to the wall.
How to prepare
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
Getting a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we have measured, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
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Where other trades come in
We design, make and fit the furniture. In practice, that means:
- Plastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Plumbing work around the shelves
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
If in doubt, you can use our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Cupboards below
- Fixed and adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
What it is made from
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF in a moisture-resistant grade is stable and paints evenly, so we use it for uprights, panels and faces. It suits shelving on an external wall, which can be colder.
Hand-painted finish
With hand painting, you see the colour in the room’s own light. Scribed edges and joins are painted along with the rest.
The problems built-in bookshelves solve
A move into a period home often prompts it. Alcoves and chimney breasts make natural places for books, and fitted shelves look as though they belong.
We’re often asked to help with:
- Shelves deep enough for large books
- Empty alcoves that could hold books
- Shelving behind a desk for books and files
- Shelving that works with picture rails and cornices
If you live in a flat close to West Croydon station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Where they’ll park and unload
Common questions about built-in bookshelves
Is parking a problem for fitting in Old Town?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. 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 measuring visit, so the day can be planned around it.
How do you fit built-in bookshelves in a flat in Old Town?
We measure the route in not just the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Built-in bookshelves are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture doesn’t normally need planning permission. If the building is listed, works affecting its character can need listed building consent.
What keeps bookshelves from bowing under books?
Sag comes down to span, depth and load. We choose the shelf thickness and material to suit. Spreading heavy books helps too.
Can bookshelves go around a door?
Yes. A bookcase around a door or window uses the whole wall. We measure the openings at the measuring visit, and we plan the shelves around the architraves.
Can my walls take a full bookcase?
That depends on how the wall is built. We fix bookshelves with fixings that suit the wall into sound structure. Where a wall cannot take the load, we will say so.
Living-room storage in Old Town
Homes built since 2000 make up about 42% of the housing in the streets around Old Town, with about 31% built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. 6 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of central Old Town. 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. More than a third of the homes in the neighbourhood around Old Town (about 42%) were built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. In homes built since 2000, living rooms are often open-plan with stud walls, so built-in bookshelves are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor.
If your children go to The Minster Nursery and Infant School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If you live near Duppas Hill, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Old Town is about 2 miles north of Thornton Heath, within the London Borough of Croydon. We design and make built-in bookshelves for homes in Old Town, as part of our work in every London borough. Our Croydon coverage includes Old Town and the places around it.
Every address in CR0, CR9 and CR90 is within our area for built-in bookshelves, from the main roads to the quieter streets. We cover homes on streets such as Park Lane, Fell Road and Abbey Road, for built-in bookshelves and any of our other fitted furniture. Neighbouring places we cover for built-in bookshelves include Waddon (1 mile south-west), Broad Green (1 mile north), Beddington (1 mile west), Bandonhill (1 mile south-west) and Russell Hill (2 miles south-west). We also make built-in bookshelves in nearby places such as Thornton Heath (2 miles north), Coulsdon (4 miles south), Purley (3 miles south), Upper Norwood (3 miles north), Selhurst (2 miles north-east) and South Norwood (2 miles north-east).
Landmarks near Old Town
We fit furniture in homes around St Andrew's CofE School, The Gun Tavern and Rutherford School, among other places. Old Town has its own railway station: West Croydon station. Well-known places in the area include Centrale Croydon (within half a mile north-east) and Croydon Airport Visitor Centre (1.3 miles south-west).
Tips worth knowing
None of this takes much effort. Here’s what we suggest:
- Tell us if a radiator sits where you’d like shelves
- Mention anything very heavy, like records or large art books
- Allow room for the collection to grow
- Ask your electrician about sockets early
Keep a record of the colour. Small marks on a hand-painted finish are simple to touch up.
Use mats under plants and vases on painted shelves to avoid water marks. Dry any spills quickly.