Fitted carpentry

PrimeCraft Surface Solutions builds fitted wardrobes, alcove units, media walls and home-office storage across London and the Home Counties — cut to the actual dimensions of your room, not to a standard catalogue size.

Most London homes carry years of small dimensional oddities: ceilings that aren't quite level, walls that angle in slightly, chimney breasts that push into a room at an awkward point. Flat-pack furniture ignores all of that. A fitted unit is made to the space as it actually measures — so there are no gaps at the top, no wasted corners, and no filler strips trying to hide the difference.

What the work involves

The most common jobs of this kind fall into three types:

Alcove units around chimney breasts. Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Islington (N1), Clapham (SW4), Fulham (SW6), Hampstead (NW3) and Highgate (N6) typically have twin alcoves either side of a fireplace — often running floor to ceiling. The build slots shelved and cupboarded units into those alcoves: open shelving above, closed storage below, or a combination. The joinery is sized to the alcove's exact width and height — period walls are rarely square, and a typical job accounts for that at the survey stage.

Floor-to-ceiling fitted wardrobes. Bedrooms in period terraces and mansion-block flats lose significant usable space to freestanding wardrobes. A full-height fitted wardrobe runs to the ceiling, integrates around the cornice where it exists, and can be finished with painted MDF doors, solid hardwood frames, or a veneered face — whichever suits the room. Internal layouts (rails, drawers, shelving) are agreed at the design stage before anything is cut.

Media walls, home-office storage and under-stairs units. Open-plan living spaces — common in Canary Wharf (E14) new-builds and converted warehouse flats around Tower Hamlets — suit a built-in media wall: housing, cable management, and integrated shelving in a single flush unit. Under-stairs storage and fitted home-office alcoves follow the same principle: a unit sized to fit what's there, rather than what a manufacturer offers. On a fuller renovation, this carpentry is sequenced alongside the kitchen and decoration so the storage is built into the room rather than added afterwards.

Materials and finishes

The work runs in painted MDF, hardwood (oak, ash, walnut), and veneered board depending on budget and the look you want. Painted MDF is the most cost-effective finish for most alcove and wardrobe work; a hardwood frame takes stain or oil for a warmer result. Finish options include hand-painted in any RAL or Farrow & Ball colour, or spray-finished for a smoother, harder surface — the kind of painted finish carried across the rest of a room. The right choice is advised at the survey, since there is no single right answer.

As market guidance for the type of work, fitted wardrobes in London typically run £2,200–£5,500 per unit depending on size, material, and internal fittings; alcove units £900–£2,800 per alcove; and a media wall £2,500–£6,000. The fitted wardrobes cost guide breaks down what sits behind those figures. These are editorial ranges for the kind of joinery described here, not a fixed quote — the price for any room depends on its dimensions, the material, and the internal layout.

Wandsworth, Islington and Tower Hamlets are the boroughs where alcove and wardrobe work comes up most often, but PSS covers Greater London and the Home Counties. Get a written quote →

Related

• Fitted carpentry and joinery — the full service
• Renovations and kitchens — where built-in storage is sequenced into the wider job
• Fitted wardrobes cost in London
• Get an estimate