Bespoke Oak Floating Shelves in Bristol, Measured, Made and Fitted for You
Are you looking for solid oak floating shelves for your alcoves? You are in the right place. We design, make and fit bespoke floating shelves for homes in Bristol and the surrounding areas, and we do the whole job for you, from measuring to final fit.
If you have a home of a certain age in Bristol the chances are you have alcoves, and floating shelves are one of the simplest, most useful things you can do with them. Chunky solid oak, no visible brackets, just clean lines and somewhere lovely for your books, plants and treasures.
Why choose bespoke floating shelves?
You can buy floating shelves online, of course. But here is the thing, alcoves are almost never square. Walls lean, they are not straight or vertical, and the gap at the top is rarely the same as the gap at the bottom. A shelf you have measured yourself relies on, well, your measuring.
When we make your shelves, we come to you first and template the space and measure the alcove itself, so each shelf is made for your walls, not a standard size. You do not need to measure a thing.
How does it work?
It is a simple process:
- You send us your rough alcove size, how deep you would like your shelves, how many, and which wood you fancy. This is just a rough estimate, so do not worry about precision at this stage! A photo of the space is really helpful too, if you have one.
- We send you back an estimate. If you are happy, we book you in for a measuring visit, usually within a couple of weeks.
- Jim visits and templates your alcove, then we head back to the workshop and make your shelves from solid wood.
- About two weeks later we return to fit them, and we clean up properly afterwards so you can use the room straight away.
One of our lovely clients, Hope in Henleaze, put it like this after we made her a cabinet and shelves either side of her fireplace:
“Jim and Jo were wonderful to work with. They communicated very well throughout, guided me in my decisions and talked us through what they thought would be best. I am so pleased with the finished result and Jim cleaned up so well after so we could use the room straight away!”
How are floating shelves fixed to the wall?
This is the question we get asked most, and it matters. A floating shelf is only as good as its fixing.
In an alcove we fit ours using solid battens fixed to the wall on three sides, with a routed groove along the sides and back of the shelf that slots over them. Fitted well like this, a really strong, secure fixing is possible, with nothing visible, no brackets, no plugs on show, just the shelf and the wall.
Can you fit floating shelves on tricky walls?
Usually, yes, and this is where having a maker visit really earns its keep.
Adrian in Coombe Dingle asked us to make four oak floating shelves for his home, and he was kind enough to leave us this review:
“Fantastic high quality workmanship and a really good quality finish on our new shelving, it was easy to discuss things and everything was delivered to timescales that really suited us. Great friendly quality craftsmen, and it was great to see photos of the wood from its unfinished arrival through to final finished state. We are very happy to recommend you!”
A few months later he emailed us again:
“You made and fitted some fantastic shelves for us earlier on this year, and they really are great! We’ve now more or less finished the conservatory and I would like to enquire what sort of shelving you think it might be possible to fit. Ideally I’d like the same sort of floating shelf as you fitted in the main part of the house, however most of the wall is just foam and stud partition and so I don’t know if this is possible, or whether the shelves would be strong enough?”
Jim visited, made a template so Adrian could see exactly what was possible, and worked out the best places to get a good solid fixing into that new conservatory wall. Two more floating shelves, fitted and holding strong and the client was very happy. So if your wall is not straightforward, do not rule it out, ask us to take a look.
What wood can I choose?
Our favourite is English oak. It is a beautiful, characterful wood and we buy it from one of two local family run woodyards. It costs a little more than European oak, which is a great alternative if you are watching the budget.
We can also make your shelves in solid ash, or in tulipwood, which is a lovely choice if you would like a painted finish.
Our shelves are solid wood all the way through, usually around 40mm thick, which gives them that satisfying chunky look and the strength to match.
If you would like something a little different, we can add detailing to the edges of your shelves, and we can look at lighting too. These are extras, so just mention them when you get in touch and we will include them in your estimate.
How much do bespoke floating shelves cost?
Most of our shelves fall between £300 for tulipwood and £500 for English oak, for a shelf roughly 1m long, 250mm deep and 40mm thick, measured, made and fitted. Plus VAT.
Every alcove is different though, so we are always happy to price up your project. Just send us your rough alcove size, how deep you would like your shelves, which wood you are thinking of and how many you need, and we will come back to you with an estimate.
Part of something bigger, or just shelves?
Floating shelves often form part of a larger project, above a pair of alcove cabinets for example, or alongside fitted wardrobes. But we are just as happy to make them on their own, whether you want a pair of shelves or a whole alcove filled top to bottom.
Michel in Redland summed up her project nicely:
“Great communication, very efficient and produced exactly what was asked for. Would recommend.”
Ready to fill that alcove?
We would love to hear about your project. Send us your rough sizes and we will get you an estimate and book in your measuring visit. No measuring tape required on your part, we promise.
