Example photo by Jelezniac Bianca on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
Built-in bookshelves in Smithfield, City of London
Planning built-in bookshelves for a home in Smithfield? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing, before anything is made.
- Shelving that works with picture rails and cornices
- Shelves deep enough for large books
- Books piled on the floor
Need built-in bookshelves in Smithfield?
Built-in bookshelves in Smithfield
A full bookcase is heavy, so the fixings matter. Each bookcase is fixed with fixings chosen for the wall, from solid brick to lath and plaster or plasterboard on studs. If a wall is weak or the plaster is loose, it is best put right before fitting. Most enquiries start with a bare wall above a doorway and shelves packed two rows deep; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Purpose-built flats are home to most households around Smithfield, from mansion blocks to modern developments. In a mansion block flat, the living room may still have a chimney breast and alcoves, and walls that are far from flat, whereas a modern flat tends to have plasterboard walls and an open-plan layout. Either way, built-in bookshelves are made for the room as it is.
The furniture is made at our workshop after you have had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Location
- Smithfield (EC1V, EC1P, EC1R)
- Borough
- City of London
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Is bespoke worth it?
With off-the-shelf shelving, you’re limited to the maker’s finishes. Ours are painted in a colour agreed with you, spray painted in the workshop or hand painted. In a flat, every bit of floor counts, and standalone furniture uses more of it than it needs. Built-in pieces use the full height and the awkward corners.
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. We will talk through what you need inside at the measuring visit, then set it out in the quote.
Why us?
- More than 300 projects completed
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- We visit, measure and go through the design before we quote
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and what to look for in a quote.
Common questions about built-in bookshelves
Is Smithfield in the area you cover for built-in bookshelves?
Yes. We cover all of the City of London and the rest of London, and Smithfield is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, and then we send a quote.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Smithfield?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to tell us about parking at the design visit. The whole City of London is also inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the ULEZ covers every London borough.
What if the stairs or lift are small?
It is made in sections, each one sized to fit the way in. That is why we measure the stairs, lift and doorways at the design visit.
Do pictures help?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit, along with rough measurements. It is useful to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings can require listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
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, often in birch plywood. Let us know about heavy collections during the design visit.
Fitting day, step by step
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and fitting day is where that happens. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how much shelving there is and how many cupboards sit below it, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Sections come into the flat in the order they’re fitted, so the flat doesn’t fill up. Floors are covered and dust is kept down. The fixings suit each wall, whether solid or stud.
- It starts when you tell us about the wall and your books.
- We come to measure and discuss the design.
- Your written quote follows, covering the design, materials and finish.
- The bookcase is built 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.
Before fitting day
- Tell us about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
Starting with a design visit
To make a start, message us from the contact page and tell us a little about the room and roughly what you’d like. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a quote in writing follows.
Read more
What it costs
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. This is what makes the difference:
- The overall size of the piece
- The number of doors and drawers
- How square the room is
- Parking near your home
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, which the quote allows for. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space.
What we need to know
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. When you get in touch, it helps to send:
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Examples of the look you are after
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, get in touch through our contact form. The written quote follows the visit.
Living-room storage in Smithfield
About 32% of the homes in the streets around Smithfield went up since 2000, and about 28% between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. The National Heritage List has 472 entries within half a mile of the centre of Smithfield. Original fireplaces, shutters and panelling are worth keeping where they survive, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. The whole City of London, Smithfield included, is inside the Congestion Charge zone. Access, loading and timings are planned with that in mind.
If you live in a flat close to Farringdon station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. If you live near Postman's Park, built-in bookshelves can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. Near listed buildings like Church of St Sepulchre, less than half a mile south of the centre of Smithfield, 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.
Smithfield is in the City of London, about 1 mile south-east of City of London. Whether your home in Smithfield is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. We list Smithfield among 8 places we cover in the City of London.
We make built-in bookshelves across EC1V, EC1P and EC1R for built-in bookshelves. You’ll find streets here like Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane, and we cover homes on all of them for built-in bookshelves. Main roads around Smithfield include the A1 and A4. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. If you are just outside Smithfield, we also cover Farringdon (1 mile north), Blackfriars (1 mile south), Holborn (1 mile west), Temple Bar (1 mile south-west) and Clerkenwell (1 mile north).
Landmarks near Smithfield
The streets we cover here include those near St Alban's Church of England Primary School, London Nautical School and Barts Health Archives. Other local landmarks include Oriole pub (within half a mile south-west) and St Mary-at-Hill (1 mile south-east). Smithfield has its own railway station: Farringdon station. A little further out are Montfichet's Tower (a few minutes’ walk south) and Gabriel's Wharf (0.8 miles south). For a walk, there is Ludgate Hill.
Looking after your furniture
These points come up often when people plan built-in bookshelves. They’re worth knowing before and after fitting:
- Mention parking and stairs when we visit
- Allow room for the collection to grow
- Measure your tallest and deepest books
- Decide whether you want fixed shelves, adjustable shelves or both
A soft, dry or slightly damp cloth is all painted shelves need. Skip scouring pads and harsh cleaners, which can mark the paint.
Watch for damp marks on external walls behind the shelves. The cause is a job for the right trade, and it’s easier to deal with before it spreads.
When you need someone else
We make and fit furniture, and we do not do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. Please bear these in mind too:
- Making new openings, removing walls or other structural work
- Plastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Any wiring or new sockets (your electrician handles that)
If in doubt, you can send us a few details through our contact form and describe the room. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Cupboards below
- Hand-painted finish
- Fixed and adjustable shelves