Example photo by Aleksandra Dementeva on Unsplash, not our project
Southwark · London
Bankside Fitted Wardrobes
We make fitted wardrobes in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Bankside. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- A bedroom that never feels tidy
- Space under the eaves going to waste
- Bedroom alcoves that could hold clothes
Fitted wardrobes for your home in Bankside
Fitted wardrobes in Bankside: what you get
Wardrobes can be built around a bed, with cupboards each side and a run of storage above the headboard. In other rooms, the units sit either side of a window. We plan the layout so the room still feels open. We make fitted wardrobes from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are condensation behind a wardrobe on an outside wall and bedroom alcoves that could hold clothes.
In a compact bedroom, the swing of hinged doors can clash with the bed, so the layout and the kind of door are worked out together. Around Bankside, many homes date from 2000 onwards, and newer bedrooms tend to be on the small side. We measure the space in front as well as the wall.
A quote in writing follows the design visit. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
- Location
- Bankside (SE1, EC4Y, EC4V)
- Area
- Southwark
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for fitted wardrobes?
The usual reason is simple: there is not enough storage. Clothes spill onto chairs, into spare rooms and under the bed. Built-in wardrobes make use of the full wall, up to the ceiling, which adds a lot of space without taking more floor.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Clothes with nowhere proper to go
- A bedroom that never feels tidy
- Not enough hanging space
- No space in front for doors to swing
Close to Bernie Spain Gardens? Morning light matters, so tall pieces go where they won’t shade the window.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Where they’ll park and unload
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
Bedroom storage in Bankside
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Bankside were built since 2000 (about 48%) and before 1919 (about 19%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. The Bear Gardens Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Bankside. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. The council can confirm if you’re not sure. Red routes, run by TfL, have strict rules on stopping and loading. If you live on or close to a main road in Bankside, let us know during the design visit. It lets us plan the stop before fitting day.
Near listed buildings like Church of St Benet, less than half a mile north of the centre of Bankside, older homes may keep original joinery that fitted wardrobes can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent. If you live in a period home close to St Mary Mounthaw, tall ceilings give fitted wardrobes room to reach the cornice.
Bankside is about 3 miles south of East Dulwich, part of the London Borough of Southwark. Design visits and fitting in Bankside can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Bankside is one of 21 places on our list for Southwark.
Every address in SE1, EC4Y and EC4V is within our area for fitted wardrobes. We cover homes on streets like Bear Lane, Bush Lane and Swan Lane, along with the roads around them, for fitted wardrobes and any of our other fitted furniture. Bankside sits close to the A201 and A300. Other places close to Bankside include Blackfriars (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north-west), Temple Bar (1 mile north-west), Waterloo (1 mile south-west) and Smithfield (1 mile north). We also make fitted wardrobes in nearby places like East Dulwich (3 miles south), Herne Hill (4 miles south), Camberwell (2 miles south), Peckham (3 miles south-east), Rotherhithe (3 miles east) and Surrey Quays (3 miles south-east). Being one of the larger places in Southwark, Bankside is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Landmarks near Bankside
In Bankside, that includes homes near The Cathedral School of St Saviour and St Mary Overy, St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School and St Mary-at-Hill and the streets around them. Also close by are Barts Health Archives (0.6 miles north) and Founders Arms (a few minutes’ walk west). There is a railway station in Bankside itself: London Blackfriars station. A little further out are Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women (0.6 miles west) and Gabriel's Wharf (a few minutes’ walk west). Not far away are St. James's Park Lake and Ludgate Hill.
Also near Bankside
Other services in Bankside
Flats, leases and landlords
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. If there’s a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Let us know about it when you get in touch.
In conversions and newer blocks, many internal walls are timber or metal stud with plasterboard. We choose fixings to suit the wall, after checking the walls at the measuring visit.
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish often suits wardrobes in older houses. The colour is agreed with you.
Spray-painted finish
A sprayed coat covers edges, corners and panels evenly and leaves no brush marks. The colour is agreed at the design stage.
Questions we are often asked
Does a conservation area in or near Bankside affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about 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.
My home in Bankside is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in as well as the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Fitted wardrobes 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’s worth checking those early.
What affects the price of fitted wardrobes?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish. The price comes in a written quote after the design visit.
Can I choose the layout inside the wardrobe?
We plan it with you during the design visit, starting from the clothes you have. Adjustable shelves keep some flexibility for later.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
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, then send a written quote.
How is the furniture painted?
You can choose between two finishes: spray painted or hand painted. A spray finish is smooth and even, while a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later.
From workshop to your room
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and that happens on fitting day. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, until the line is tight. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the size of the wardrobes and the number of doors, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. On the day, floors are covered first and the sections brought in. The pieces are levelled and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Any hand painting can be finished on site.
- You contact us with a few details about the room and the wardrobes you’d like, with a rough idea of what you need to hang and fold.
- At the design visit, we measure the room, check the walls, floor and ceiling and plan the doors and inside with you. Hinged or sliding doors are part of that conversation.
- You receive a quote setting out the design and the paint finish, ready for you to read through.
- We build the wardrobes in our workshop, in sections sized to get into your home. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit them in your home, scribe them to the walls and hang the doors.
Before we arrive
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
Getting a quote starts with a few details: which room it is, rough measurements and a couple of photos if you can take them. To send them, message us from the contact page. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Read more
When is bespoke worth it?
If you are handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that are not square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.