Bespoke joinery — JAG Construction London

Built-in joinery is the part of a renovation that turns a finished room into a finished home. Alcove units either side of a chimney breast. A run of shelving in a study. A bench seat with hidden storage. A vanity unit shaped to a bathroom's exact dimensions. A wardrobe wall in a bedroom that uses every inch.

We design and build joinery to fit your space. Materials we work in regularly: hardwood ply, oak, ash, walnut, MDF for painted finishes, and combinations of all of them. We use traditional joinery techniques where they make sense — dovetails on drawers, mortice and tenon on frames — and modern methods where they make better sense.

Bespoke joinery is almost always part of a wider project. We rarely take on standalone joinery commissions, because most of the value comes from the joiner being on site as the room is built — measuring against the wall as it goes up, not against a drawing.

How we approach it

The way we work on every bespoke joinery project.

Measured to the wall

Bespoke joinery is bespoke because it is measured against the actual wall, not the drawing. We measure twice, plane once, and shim where the wall is out of plumb.

Designed for use

A unit is designed for what you put in it. Shelves spaced for books or for objects. Drawers deep enough for what they hold. Cupboards on the side that opens away from the door.

Materials honest

Plywood that's shown is birch ply, edge-banded properly. Oak is solid oak, not veneer. MDF where MDF makes sense. We do not pretend chipboard is hardwood.

Fitted by hand

Joinery is fitted by hand, not slammed in. Scribed against walls, levelled across a floor, packed if needed. The eye sees a wonky shadow gap from across the room.

Painted or finished on site

Paint goes on after fitting where possible, so the lines are continuous. Hardwood is finished with hardwax oil, not lacquer, so it can be patched if it ever needs to be.

Related projects

Recent bespoke joinery work.

Devonshire House

A full house refurbishment, finished to the last grout line.

What is typical

Honest, specific, no price list.

Typical scope Alcove units, shelving, vanity units, wardrobes, bench seats, kitchen cabinetry, library walls.

Typical timeline Two to six weeks for a substantial joinery package, usually within a larger renovation programme.

Typical project size From £8,000 for a single substantial unit. Most joinery is part of a larger project.

Frequently asked

Real questions, answered honestly.

Can I provide my own design or do you design the joinery?

Either. If you have a designer or an architect already, we will build to their drawings. If not, James and the joiner will design with you on site, sketching against the wall.

What's the lead time on bespoke joinery?

Typically four to six weeks from sign-off to fitting, depending on materials. Hardwood timbers occasionally have longer leads in certain widths and grades.

Do you do walk-in wardrobes?

Yes. Walk-in wardrobes work best when designed alongside the room itself, not retrofitted. A bedroom refurbishment with a walk-in wardrobe is one of the more common joinery commissions we get.

Will it match the rest of the house?

It will match what you want it to match. We can pull paint colours from the existing scheme, profile new skirtings to match originals, and continue floorboards into a built-in unit so it reads as part of the architecture, not bolted on.