Bespoke media walls in Chelmsford

From the front, you could not see the family albums. Their compartments opened along the side of the media wall, at a more accessible height. That was the arrangement we built for a client in our wider portfolio who regularly looked through albums dating back to the 1950s and 1960s.

The original low cupboards could have held them. Using them meant bending down to lift heavy albums each time, so we changed where the storage opened. For similar storage in your Chelmsford home, show us the objects and how you would reach them. We need to know their weight and how often you use them as well as their size.

A switch, disc slot or plug can end up out of reach behind a cupboard door. We ask how you use each device and draw its position inside. A console you handle regularly needs a different arrangement from a box you rarely touch.

Send the model numbers before we fix the compartments. The clear space has to accommodate connections and the manufacturer's ventilation requirements as well as the device. We also check how it comes out for replacement. A removable shelf or reachable cable route needs deciding while we can still change the joinery.

The strip may work perfectly and still have too little room to cast light onto the shelf. We have encountered that on our own installations. Turning it up does not resolve poor placement: we need to check where the light can actually fall.

Before finishing, we check the channel position and setback against the shelf surface. The fitting may need moving or changing. We keep the source out of the usual viewing angle and look at the finish beneath it, because dark timber reflects light differently from pale paint.

If every strip is configured as one lighting group, you cannot turn down the TV halo while leaving the shelves brighter. Tell us how you want to use the wall in the evening. We can then choose compatible controls and drivers for those groups before wiring.

Access belongs in that decision too. We agree where the driver compartment opens and keep its connections reachable, so a failed component can be replaced. At handover, we demonstrate the lighting groups and show you how to open the access panel.

Side access only works if there is space to stand beside it. Photograph the route past the proposed cabinet and include any nearby doorway. We check the open doors and the approach to the compartments, so useful storage does not become awkward once the room is furnished.

A view from the kitchen or dining area also shows exposed cabinet ends that a front photograph misses. We can decide where the joinery stops and how those ends are finished. If the full-width arrangement takes too much space, a shorter cabinet may do the job.