CASE STUDY

Painted Fitted Wardrobes for a Highgate Period Home

This Highgate period family home principal bedroom had original cornicing, picture rail and a chimney breast with shallow alcoves either side. The existing storage was a mix of freestanding pieces that did not respect the room. The owners wanted painted shaker fitted wardrobes that worked with the period detailing rather than against it.

Transform Your Space

Fitted Wardrobes period family home in Highgate by Bravo London

Project Snapshot

property: Highgate period family home
room: Principal bedroom
service: Painted shaker fitted wardrobes
furniture: Hinged shaker wardrobes scribed to period walls
finish: Soft sage painted, oak interior
challenge: Awkward alcoves and original period detailing
result: A wardrobe scheme that respects the period architecture

The Brief

What the customer asked for

Full-height fitted wardrobes in a soft sage painted shaker finish, terminating below the cornice line and scribed individually to the period walls. The brief was for a complete adult wardrobe across the principal run with matched alcove cabinets either side of the chimney breast.

Shaker alcove pair scribed to original walls fitted wardrobes - Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

the challenge

What the room required

Highgate period walls are noticeably out of true. The cornice and picture rail run continuously around the room and need to be respected by any new cabinetry. The challenge was scribing the wardrobes cleanly and terminating below the cornice with a shadow gap so the moulding still reads continuously.

The Solution

ZONE 1

Shaker doors at period proportion

Five-piece frame-and-panel shaker doors with stile-and-rail proportions matched to the room's existing painted joinery. The doors are hand-painted on site after installation for a continuous finish.

Oak interior storage behind the painted doors fitted wardrobes — Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

Internal drawers within the alcove wardrobe run fitted wardrobes - Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

ZONE 2

Cornice respect

The wardrobes terminate 50mm below the original cornice with a shadow-gap detail, so the cornice reads continuously around the room and is not interrupted by the cabinetry.

ZONE 3

Alcove pair

Matched alcove cabinets either side of the chimney breast, scribed individually to the depth of each alcove. The elevations match precisely; the internal carcasses differ in depth.

Period-appropriate beaded shaker detail — Fitted Wardrobes — Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

Soft sage painted finish fitted wardrobes - Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

THE FINISH

Materials & Detailing

Soft sage painted, oak interior, brushed-brass small knob handles. The finish picks up the room's existing palette without competing with it.

THE RESULT

How it lives

The wardrobes hold a complete adult wardrobe across the principal run, with off-season storage in the alcove cabinets. The cornice and picture rail still read continuously around the room; the new cabinetry sits within the period architecture rather than imposing on it.

Project Gallery

Inside the Highgate project

Scribed installation respecting cornice and wall lines — Fitted Wardrobes — Period Family Home in Highgate by Bravo London

Why This Works in Highgate

Highgate's period family homes - particularly those around Highgate Village, Pond Square and South Grove - almost always have original cornicing, picture rails and chimney-breast configurations that off-the-shelf wardrobe systems cannot accommodate. Made-to-measure shaker fitted wardrobes are the standard premium solution for these rooms.