Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Wandsworth · London
Putney Built-in Bookshelves
We make built-in bookshelves for homes in Putney, designed around the room you have. Your built-in bookcase is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- A home library or study
- Shelving that works with picture rails and cornices
- Shelving that frames a window
Built-in bookshelves in Putney
Built-in bookshelves in Putney: what you get
Shelves can be fixed or adjustable. Fixed shelves help brace the bookcase, while adjustable shelves let you move the spacing later. We often mix the two, with fixed shelves where the bookcase needs strength. Most enquiries start with bookshelves in keeping with an older house and shelves deep enough for large books, and the answer is made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
A good share of the homes around Putney were built in the post-war years, between 1945 and the early 1970s. Post-war rooms tend to be squarer, with fewer alcoves and often no chimney breast. So built-in bookshelves often run along a whole wall, or create their own recesses around the screen or a window. Some walls of that age are concrete or blockwork, and the fixings are matched to them.
The furniture is built in our workshop after you’ve had the quote and decided to go ahead. It describes the design, the materials and the finish agreed at the visit, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Place
- Putney (SW15, SW19, SW13)
- Area
- Wandsworth
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we’re often asked
I live in a flat in Putney. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in as well as the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It is useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Will a conservation area stop me having built-in bookshelves fitted in Putney?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t 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 I need to be in when you fit?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room, but it’s useful to be around at the end.
My walls are not straight. Is that a problem?
Walls and floors that aren’t true are part of the job in older homes. The furniture is scribed to follow the walls and levelled on feet or a plinth, so it sits tight to the room.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture, which helps avoid condensation and mould. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
What keeps bookshelves from bowing under books?
We plan each shelf for its span, depth and load. Long spans get a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip, a support or shorter bays. Tell us about heavy collections at the measuring visit.
Places near Putney
Other services in Putney
Why bespoke in Putney?
With off-the-shelf shelving, you are limited to the maker’s finishes. We paint ours in the colour you choose, by spray or by hand, so they can match the walls or stand out. Concrete and block walls can make it hard to fix ready-made furniture securely, while fitted furniture is planned with the right fixings from the start. That matters for tall units and loaded shelves.
We do not publish set prices, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote, with the materials and finish set out. To arrange a design visit, use our contact form.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Putney
- We work across all London boroughs
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Built around your room
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
Where other trades come in
It is worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Structural changes, such as taking out a chimney breast
- Plastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Moving a radiator, which is a plumber’s job
If in doubt, you can use our contact form and describe the room. Our process from visit to fitting.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Fixed and adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Cupboards below
Could you do it yourself?
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that aren’t square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths.
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture typically costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
How fitting day works
You’re welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made at the design visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving everything tidy. The time the fitting takes depends on how much shelving there is and how many cupboards sit below it, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Stairwells in post-war blocks can have tight turns, so sections are sized for both the stairs and any lift. Letting the caretaker or managing agent know ahead of time helps. Common parts are protected while we carry in.
- You contact us with some details about the wall and your books. A rough idea of the wall and the books is plenty to start with.
- We visit to measure up, look at the wall and agree shelf depths and spacing.
- You receive a quote setting out the layout and the paint finish.
- We build the shelving in our workshop, sizing each shelf for what it carries.
- Fitting day: the bookcase goes in, is levelled and scribed, and fixed securely. Fixings are chosen to suit brick, plaster or stud walls.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
Getting a quote
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, once the room is measured and the design talked through. For a quote, fill in our short enquiry form.
Advice
The problems built-in bookshelves solve
Records, large art books and collections need shelves sized for them. Off-the-shelf bookcases seldom have the right depth, and that is where bespoke shelving helps.
If you recognise any of these, it’s worth talking to us:
- Storage for children’s books and games
- Bare walls that could hold shelving
- Shelves deep enough for large books
- Books piled on the floor
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Church of St Mary the Virgin, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Before you choose who makes it
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
- Have they thought about parking near you?
Putney homes and built-in bookshelves
About 32% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Putney went up between 1945 and 1972, and about 28% before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Within a mile of the centre of Putney, 17 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. About 32% of homes in the area around Putney were built between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Post-war rooms tend to be simple shapes, often without a chimney breast, so a full wall of built-in bookshelves is often the answer, with fixings chosen for the wall.
Close to Bishops Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. For an older house near Polish Church of St John the Evangelist, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for built-in bookshelves.
Putney is about 2 miles east of Clapham Junction, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Putney included. Putney is one of 15 places on our list for Wandsworth.
In SW15, SW19 and SW13, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. We cover homes on streets such as Putney High Street, Upper Richmond Road and Spencer Walk, along with the roads around them, whether you want built-in bookshelves or another piece made for the room. The A3 and B306 run close to Putney; on busy main roads, unloading built-in bookshelves takes a little planning. Other places close to Putney include Roehampton (1 mile south-west), Barnes (1 mile north-west), Fulham (1 mile north-east), Mortlake (2 miles west) and Wimbledon Park (2 miles south). Elsewhere in Wandsworth, we also cover Clapham Junction (2 miles east), Battersea (2 miles east), Tooting (3 miles south-east), Tooting Bec (3 miles south-east), Balham (3 miles south-east) and Southfields (2 miles south-east). As one of the bigger places in Wandsworth, Putney is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Around Putney
The streets we cover here include those near Putney School of Art and Design, The Railway pub and ARK Putney Academy and the streets around them. Putney has its own railway station: Putney station. Nearby you’ll also find Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (0.8 miles south-east) and Antique Breadboard Museum (close by, under half a mile north-east). Open spaces near Putney include WWT London Wetland Centre.