Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Camden · London
Seven Dials Built-in Bookshelves
Bookcases and shelving walls built into your home, designed for your room in Seven Dials. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Empty alcoves that could hold books
- Shelves that sag under books
- Room for a record collection
Ask about built-in bookshelves in Seven Dials
Practical tips
Looking after painted furniture is simple. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Think about whether the spacing needs to change later
- Plan heavy items for the lower shelves
- Let us know if a radiator sits where you’d like shelves
- Let us know about access early
A soft, dry or slightly damp cloth is all painted shelves need. Avoid abrasive pads and strong sprays, as they can dull the finish.
Don’t load shelves beyond what they were planned for. If you plan to add a heavy collection later, say so at the measuring visit.
About our built-in bookshelves in Seven Dials
You can have fixed shelves, adjustable ones or a mix. Fixed shelves add stiffness and look solid, while adjustable shelves let you move the spacing later. A mix often works best so the bookcase stays rigid and you keep some flexibility. Most enquiries start with somewhere to keep toys and books tidy and room for a record collection; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Rooms in houses from before 1919 tend to have generous ceiling heights, and around Seven Dials, a large share of homes are that age. That gives full-height built-in bookshelves room to reach the picture rail or the cornice, so the furniture looks as if it belongs to the house. Blocked fireplaces are common too, and a capped chimney should still be ventilated before anything is built against it.
The furniture is built in our workshop after you have had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Where
- Seven Dials (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Area
- Camden
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
When you need someone else
Not everything around built-in bookshelves is carpentry, such as an electrician, a plumber or a Gas Safe engineer. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Relocating radiators or pipework
- Any wiring or new sockets (your electrician handles that)
- Plastering, which is a plasterer’s job
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Hand-painted finish
- Cupboards below
- Fixed and adjustable shelves
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Also near Seven Dials
More for homes in Seven Dials
The problems built-in bookshelves solve
A move into a period home often prompts it. The alcoves beside a chimney breast are an obvious home for shelving, and fitted shelves look as though they belong.
Here’s what built-in bookshelves can help with:
- Alcoves beside the chimney breast going to waste
- Shelves that suit a period room
- Storage for children’s books and games
- Room for a record collection
If your children go to St Josephs Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Before you choose who makes it
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- How parking will work on your street
Questions from Seven Dials
I live in a flat in Seven Dials. 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 helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Can you make built-in bookshelves for a home in Seven Dials?
Yes, Seven Dials is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Camden and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
How long are you in the house for fitting?
How long the fitting takes depends on how much shelving there is and how many cupboards sit below it, and your quote sets out the fitting days. We will talk you through what to expect beforehand.
Can built-in shelves be adjustable?
It is your choice: fixed, adjustable or a mix. Fixed shelves add stiffness to the bookcase, while adjustable ones let you change the spacing later. A mix often works best.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by prior arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch.
Do you do the electrics?
No. We are carpenters, so electrical work is for your electrician. We can plan cable routes into the design, and new sockets should be in place before fitting day.
Living-room storage in Seven Dials
In the streets around Seven Dials, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 49%) and the years since 2000 (about 21%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). That matters for built-in bookshelves, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The National Heritage List has 887 entries within half a mile of the centre of Seven Dials. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. More than a third of the homes in the area around Seven Dials (about 49%) were built before 1919, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Alcoves either side of a chimney breast and tall ceilings make older houses natural homes for built-in shelving, with shelves sized so they do not sag under books.
Near listed buildings like Church of St Giles in the Fields, under half a mile north-west of the centre of Seven Dials, older homes may keep original joinery that built-in bookshelves can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If your home is one of the older houses near Soho Baptist Chapel, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for built-in bookshelves.
Seven Dials is about 1 mile north-east of St Pancras, part of the London Borough of Camden. Seven Dials is part of the area we cover. Our Camden coverage includes Seven Dials, along with the rest of the borough.
Design visits and fitting in W1F, W1D and W1T work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If your home is on a street such as Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for built-in bookshelves. Seven Dials is near the A301 and A400; on busy main roads, unloading built-in bookshelves takes a little planning. Nearby, we also make built-in bookshelves in St Giles (1 mile north), West End (1 mile west), Soho (1 mile west), Covent Garden (1 mile east) and Chinatown (1 mile south-west). Across the rest of Camden, our area takes in Hampstead (4 miles north-west), West Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Agar Town (2 miles north), Kentish Town (2 miles north), Greenhill (4 miles north-west) and Chalk Farm (2 miles north-west). Seven Dials is one of the larger places we cover in Camden.
Near you in Seven Dials
Our area takes in the homes around LSE Shaw Library, Two Brewers pub and Mercers' School and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Seven Dials itself: Tottenham Court Road station. Well-known places in the area include St Paul's Hospital (a few minutes’ walk north-east) and Leverian collection (a few minutes’ walk south-west). Green spaces nearby include Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.
How fitting works for built-in bookshelves
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site. The time the fitting takes depends on how long and how tall the shelving is, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. If your hall still has its original tiles or boards, they’re covered before any carrying starts. Fixings into older walls are made carefully, as lath and plaster can crack if treated roughly. Any decorating around the new pieces is for your decorator.
- You get in touch with some details about where the bookshelves will go.
- At the design visit we measure up and look at how the shelving meets the ceiling, the skirting and any door or window frame.
- A written quote follows, with the design, materials and finish.
- The sections are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the shelving in your home, scribing the edges to follow the walls and ceiling.
- The finish is either sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted once the shelves are in place.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
Ask for a quote
To make a start, drop us a line using the contact form and let us know which room you have in mind and roughly what you’d like. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Advice
How it is made
Birch plywood
Birch plywood carcasses make a rigid bookcase.
Spray-painted finish
A sprayed coat gets into corners and along edges, which suits shelving with lots of edges. You choose the colour at the design stage.