Bespoke kitchens & wardrobes in Tower Hamlets.

The kitchen you have in Tower Hamlets is most likely to be in a flat – sometimes a galley, often one wall of an open-plan living room, occasionally the back room of an old terrace. Each needs a different plan.

Open-plan kitchens in new-build apartments

In the newer blocks around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs, the kitchen usually runs along one wall of the living space, sometimes with a short peninsula. Because it is on show from the sofa, it pays to treat it as furniture: tall units that run to the ceiling and hide the fridge, a handleless run of fronts, and a worktop that carries on to form a breakfast bar. See our handleless kitchens and islands and peninsulas. Where the developer’s original kitchen is being replaced, we measure the existing services and plan around them.

Galley kitchens in conversions and ex-council flats

Flats carved out of Victorian terraces in Bethnal Green and Bow, and many ex-council flats, have narrow kitchens where every centimetre counts. Made-to-measure units mean no filler strips wasted at the ends, corner storage that actually works, and wall cabinets taken right up to the ceiling. Our small kitchens page shows how.

Terraces and period houses

In the houses around Tredegar Square or Driffield Road, kitchens are often in a rear room or a later extension, with chimney breasts, alcoves and walls that are out of square. End panels are scribed to the walls and alcoves can become tall storage or a dresser. A shaker kitchen in painted MDF – in any colour – tends to sit naturally in an older house.

Warehouse flats

Converted warehouses in Wapping and Limehouse can have high ceilings, exposed brick and columns in awkward places. A bespoke kitchen can wrap around a column, run tall units up to a higher ceiling, and be planned so the brickwork stays visible where you want it.

Worktops are laminate or compact laminate, including stone-effect and wood-effect décors; compact laminate is about 12 mm thick, waterproof and allows an undermounted sink. More on materials and finishes.

Tower Hamlets has the lowest proportion of owner-occupiers of any area in England and Wales – about 23% of households in 2021 – and around 38% of households rent privately. A great many kitchens and wardrobes here are in flats that are let, sold on or lived in for a few years.

Whether you are a landlord preparing a flat for the next tenancy, an owner-occupier replacing a tired developer kitchen, or an investor fitting out a newly bought apartment, the brief is usually the same: something durable, easy to clean, sensible in colour and finished properly to the walls and ceiling, so the flat lets or sells well and needs little attention afterwards.

That changes what matters. In a rented flat, a kitchen has to stand up to tenants: 18 mm melamine-faced carcasses, thick ABS edging, moisture-resistant board under the sink, Blum soft-close hinges and full-extension runners. Compact laminate worktops are waterproof and hard-wearing. Neutral finishes that suit most tenants tend to work better than a strong personal choice.

Refitting developer kitchens

The apartment towers of Canary Wharf, the Isle of Dogs and Leamouth were mostly fitted out by the developer. When those kitchens wear out or an owner wants something better, a bespoke kitchen can be designed to the same footprint, so it fits the existing layout and services, or the layout can be rethought if your building and freeholder allow.

Furnishing a whole flat

Because we make kitchens, wardrobes and the rest of the furniture, a flat can be fitted out in one project with one design and one itemised price. Our page for landlords and developers explains how this works.

Most of the work in a Tower Hamlets kitchen happens before anything is fitted: checking access, building rules and timing, so installation goes smoothly.

Blocks, lifts and concierges

In apartment blocks we check lift sizes, stairwells and corridor turns at the measure, so tall units and worktops are made to come in. Many blocks have a concierge or managing agent who needs to know about deliveries, and set working hours for noisy work. In leasehold flats you often need consent from the freeholder or managing agent before replacing a kitchen – check your lease.

Parking and loading

Parking near many addresses is tight. Tower Hamlets Council offers parking bay suspensions in its residential parking zones and dispensations to wait or load on a single yellow line; it asks for at least three working days to process a dispensation. Check the current rules with the council for your street.

Listed buildings and conservation areas

The council lists 58 conservation areas in the borough, from Elder Street and Brick Lane and Fournier Street to Tredegar Square, Wapping Wall and Narrow Street. Conservation area status mainly affects external changes. A new kitchen or fitted wardrobes inside a home normally do not need planning permission, but a listed building – such as many of the early Georgian houses in Spitalfields – usually needs listed building consent for many internal alterations. Check with the council before you plan work in a listed house.

Timing

Allow 1–2 weeks for the measure and design, then typically 4–6 weeks from approved design to finished installation. If you are coordinating with a builder, a lease end or a new tenancy, tell us the date when you enquire and we will plan the measure, manufacture and fitting around it. In a block, booking the lift or a delivery slot with the building manager early avoids delays on the day.

Working with your trades

We do not do building work, plastering, electrics, gas or decorating. We work alongside your builder and trades, and any gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

The process is the same whether you live in a Spitalfields house or a flat on the Isle of Dogs.

1. Enquire online. Send us the details through the quote form. We reply within one working day.
2. Free measure. Our London fitter measures the room at your home, including access to the flat or house.
3. Free first 3D design. You see the kitchen or wardrobes in 3D, with a fixed, itemised price that includes manufacture, delivery to London and fitting. The measure-and-design stage usually takes 1–2 weeks.
4. Approve. There is no deposit and no obligation until you approve the design and the price.
5. Made in our workshop. Everything is made in our own workshop in Bulgaria and travels to London by dedicated transport.
6. Fitted. The same fitter who measured the room installs it – typically 4–6 weeks from approved design to finished installation.

As a guide for budgeting, not a quote, a bespoke kitchen costs around £1,000–£1,200 per linear metre. Your own price comes with your design. More on kitchen prices and our process.