Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Islington · London
TV and media units in Islington
Built-in TV walls and media cabinets, designed for your room in Islington. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- A TV stand that doesn’t fit the wall
- Equipment with nowhere proper to go
- Speakers muffled behind doors
TV and media units in Islington
Where other trades come in
It’s worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Plastering or decorating around the unit
- Setting up and tuning the TV, boxes and speakers
- New sockets behind the TV, which need an electrician
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Ventilated cabinets
- Cable routes
TV and media units in Islington
A built-in TV wall often needs sockets in new places. That job is for your electrician, and Part P of the Building Regulations covers some electrical work in homes. It’s best done before we fit so the sockets land in the right place. If you are living with set-top boxes stacked on a stand and alcoves either side of the chimney breast going to waste, that is what TV and media units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Ceilings in homes built before 1919 are often taller than in later houses, and a large share of the homes around Islington date from then. That gives full-height TV and media units room to reach the picture rail or the cornice, with the top line set to match the room’s own mouldings. Blocked fireplaces are common too, and a capped chimney should still be ventilated before anything is built against it.
The furniture is made at 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.
- Where
- Islington (N1, N7, NW1, EC1V)
- Borough
- Islington
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Built-in living-room furniture in Islington
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Islington were built before 1919 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 16%), 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 TV and media units are fixed and fitted. Near the centre of Islington, Historic England’s list includes Union Chapel (Grade I), less than half a mile north, and Canonbury Tower (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles north-east. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, may need listed building consent. It is worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Parking on many inner London streets is controlled, with zones run by each borough. So a van fitting furniture in Islington typically needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension arranged through the council. Parking is worth mentioning at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Close to Barnard Park? TV and media units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. If you live in a flat close to Essex Road station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Islington is about 1 mile north of Highbury, within the London Borough of Islington. From period terraces to newer flats in Islington, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Our work takes in places right across the rest of London, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
In N1, N7, NW1 and EC1V, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street like Gibson Square, Old Royal Free Square and Cloudesley Square or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for TV and media units. The B515 and A5203 run close to Islington; on busy main roads, unloading TV and media units takes a little planning. We also cover the places around Islington: Pentonville (1 mile south), Angel (1 mile south), Barnsbury (1 mile north-west), Clerkenwell (1 mile south) and Lower Holloway (1 mile north-west).
Local landmarks in Islington
Our area takes in the homes around The King's Head Public House, Islington Green School and St Mary's CofE Primary School, among other places. There’s a railway station in Islington itself: Essex Road station. Other landmarks nearby include Montfichet's Tower (1.7 miles south) and Queer Britain (0.8 miles west). For a walk, there’s Barnsbury Wood.
Common questions about TV and media units
I live near Essex Road station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover the whole of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
I live in a flat in Islington. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: 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.
How do you stop equipment overheating in a TV unit?
Equipment gives off heat, so it needs air around it. We design open backs, gaps or vents where it sits. Keep the vents clear once it is in use.
How do you hide the TV cables?
We design the unit so cables run out of sight. Access panels make future changes easy. If the TV is wall-mounted, we plan a route behind the screen.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not normally. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture to avoid condensation. If there is damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
Could you do it yourself?
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture normally 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
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth, which keeps the lines straight. After that, it’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that’s solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. On fitting day, edges are trimmed on site to follow the walls, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. Dust is kept down and cleared up as we go. Hand painting, if that is your finish, can follow the fitting.
- It starts with a short note from you about the TV wall.
- At the design visit we measure the wall and also the hall, stairs and doorways the unit has to pass through.
- We send a quote in writing.
- The unit is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections that fit the route in.
- The sections are carried in, assembled and set level, ready for your equipment. The finish is sprayed beforehand or painted by hand on site.
Before fitting day
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Getting a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, and the written quote comes after. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. To book a design visit, message us from the contact page.
Advice
Boards, parts and paint
Moisture-resistant MDF
Moisture-resistant MDF is stable and takes paint well, so we use it for panels, doors and the faces you see.
Shelves
Open shelves suit speakers and things you want on show.
The problems TV and media units solve
Families with consoles, games and controllers want them tidied away. Cupboards and drawers in the unit keep them in one place, and open shelves hold what’s used every day.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Clutter around the TV
- Leads that show from every angle
- Wasted space around the screen
- A screen at the wrong height
For an older house near St Mary's Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why TV and media units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Real projects you can actually look at
- A quote in writing that sets out the job