Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Built-in bookshelves in Shoreditch, Hackney
We make built-in bookshelves in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Shoreditch. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Low shelves children can reach
- Space for art books and records
- Books piled on the floor
Built-in bookshelves for your home in Shoreditch
About our built-in bookshelves in Shoreditch
Built-in bookcases are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF gives smooth panels that paint well, and birch plywood gives strong shelves. You can have a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, in a colour agreed with you. We work across London, including Shoreditch. Typical reasons to get in touch are a room lined with books and shelves packed two rows deep; the furniture is made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Many homes around Shoreditch were built since 2000, and newer homes rarely come with any built-in shelving or media storage. We plan built-in bookshelves around the existing sockets and aerial points, with routes for cables designed in. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, which is fine for fitted furniture when the fixings are right.
You get the quote in writing, so there is time to read it properly and talk it over at home. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Location
- Shoreditch (E1, E2, N1)
- Borough
- Hackney
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how much shelving there is and how many cupboards sit below it, and your quote sets out the fitting days. In a newer home, floors, walls and door frames are often freshly finished, so everything on the way in is covered before the sections arrive. Door frames and corners get covers too. Once inside, the pieces are joined in place.
- To begin, tell us about the room on our contact form; a brief note on the books and objects you want on show is plenty.
- We visit to measure, check how the wall is built and plan the spans, because long shelves under heavy books need a thicker shelf, a lip or a support.
- Your written quote sets out the shelving and the finish.
- In our workshop we make the shelves from birch plywood or moisture-resistant MDF, sized for the span and the load.
- We fit it in your home with fixings that suit the wall, and a hand-painted finish, if you chose one, follows on site.
Before fitting day
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
Arranging a design visit
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’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, message us from the contact page.
Read more
Living-room storage in Shoreditch
About 39% of the homes in the streets around Shoreditch went up since 2000, and about 28% between 1945 and 1972, 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. Part of Shoreditch is in the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, according to Historic England’s records. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. About 39% of homes around Shoreditch were built since 2000, well above the figure for Hackney as a whole, about 24%, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. That makes plasterboard stud walls and compact rooms more likely, which shapes the fixings and sizes.
Near listed buildings like Church of St Leonard, under half a mile north-east of the centre of Shoreditch, 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. Mansion House, about 1 mile south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why built-in bookshelves are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. For an older house near St Leonard's Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why built-in bookshelves are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Shoreditch is part of the London Borough of Hackney. Wherever you are in Shoreditch, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Shoreditch is one of 20 places on our list for Hackney.
Every address in E1, E2 and N1 is covered for built-in bookshelves, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Whether you live on a street like New Road, Moor Lane and City Road or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for built-in bookshelves. Main roads around Shoreditch include the A1 and A10. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. If you are just outside Shoreditch, we also cover Haggerston (1 mile north), Hoxton (1 mile north-west), St Luke's (1 mile west), Spitalfields (1 mile south) and Finsbury (1 mile west). Other parts of Hackney we cover include Homerton (2 miles north-east), West Hackney (2 miles north), Hackney (2 miles north-east), Lower Clapton (2 miles north-east), Stoke Newington (3 miles north) and Shacklewell (2 miles north). Being one of the larger places in Hackney, Shoreditch is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Around Shoreditch
Our area takes in the homes around Hackney University Technical College, Former London Apprentice pub and The Prince's School of Traditional Arts. Nearby too are St Mary-at-Hill (1.1 miles south) and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives (0.5 miles south). Shoreditch has its own railway station: Shoreditch High Street station. Well-known places in the area include Dennis Severs' House (less than half a mile south) and Tower of London (1.2 miles south). Not far away are Tower Hill.
Looking after your furniture
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. Here are a few tips worth knowing:
- Measure your tallest and deepest books
- Decide whether you want doors on the lower section
- Let us know about parking and access during the design visit
- Mention anything very heavy, like records or large art books
If you have adjustable shelves, move them when they’re empty, and check the supports are fully seated.
Watch for damp marks on external walls behind the shelves. The cause is a job for the right trade.
Bespoke built-in bookshelves or ready-made?
Bespoke is not instant: it needs a design visit, a quote and making time. If you are only staying a short while, standalone shelving can make more sense. Standalone furniture fixed to plasterboard needs the right fixings, and often does not get them. Built-in pieces are designed with the right fixings from the start.
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections, which the quote allows for. Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured.
What you get with us
- We visit, measure and go through the design before we quote
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
- Built around your room
Read bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what to look for in a quote.
What it is made from
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is stiff and strong, so it’s a good choice for shelves that carry books. Its layered edge can be painted or left on show.
Shelves
Shelves can be fixed, adjustable or a mix. Fixed shelves brace the bookcase, while adjustable ones can follow your books.
Questions we are often asked
Does a conservation area in or near Shoreditch affect fitted furniture?
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. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
I live near Shoreditch High Street station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Hackney and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room.
Should my shelves be fixed or adjustable?
You can have fixed shelves, adjustable ones or a mix. Fixed shelves brace the bookcase, and adjustable ones let the spacing change. Many people choose both.
Do you move sockets or add lighting?
No. Any new wiring, sockets or lights need an electrician. We’ll design around them.
Can you fit furniture to uneven walls?
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 happens when you come to measure?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Honest limits
Electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering and structural work aren’t part of what we do. Please bear these in mind too:
- Any wiring or new sockets (your electrician handles that)
- Relocating radiators or pipework
- Structural changes, such as taking out a chimney breast
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can drop us a line using the contact form and we will give you a straight answer. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Cupboards below
- Fixed and adjustable shelves