Adjustable vs made-to-measure shelving

Adjustable shelving lets you move the shelves after it is up, and made-to-measure shelving is sized to your wall. They are separate choices you can combine, so the best adjustable shelving system is the one that moves in the ways you need and fits your wall closely enough for the room.

A third word, modular, describes shelving built from parts you can add to, swap, or rearrange. A system can be one of these, two, or all three.

What do adjustable, made-to-measure, and modular mean?

They answer three separate questions: can the shelves move, is the width set to your wall, and can you add or change parts?

• Adjustable shelving holds each shelf on a track, pins, or uprights, so you can change the spacing without making new holes. The distance between positions, called the pitch, decides how finely it adjusts.
• Made-to-measure shelving has its width set to your wall, rather than picked from fixed sizes.
• Modular shelving is built from repeated parts that work together, so you can add a section, swap a part, or replace one that is damaged.

Here is how common types combine them:

So the question is which of the three you need, and how much of each.

How do adjustable shelving systems work?

Most hold each shelf on something that hooks into a row of slots or holes, and the gap between those positions sets how finely you can adjust.

Twin-slot uprights. Metal uprights are screwed to the wall, and brackets drop into the slots and lock in place. The shelf boards rest on the brackets and are separate parts, so they can be cut to the width of the wall. The slots are often 32 mm apart, so shelf heights can be set finely. One supplier recommends spacing the uprights no more than 600 mm apart, so a wide wall needs several. The uprights and brackets stay on show, and moving an upright means new holes.

Pin-and-hole cabinets and bookcases. The side panels have rows of small holes, and each shelf rests on pins pushed into them. Ready-to-assemble and European-style cabinets often follow the 32 mm system: 5 mm holes, 32 mm apart. The shelves sit inside the cabinet, so it can stand on the floor or be built in. The cabinet fixes the shelf width, though, and more storage means another cabinet.

Wall rails with pins. This is how ours works. Plywood rails are fixed to the wall, with a position every 100 mm, and shelves and cabinets hang on steel pins. Lift one off and hook it back on at another position. Moving a shelf never means new holes; moving a rail does. The steps are coarser than 32 mm, but drawers and cupboards move as well as shelves.

Which shelving is easiest to reconfigure or expand?

The easiest systems are those where everything hangs on the same uprights, so a shelf, a cabinet, or a new section goes on without taking anything else down.

Check four things before you buy:

• Rearranging: can the shelves and the storage both lift off and go back on? On twin-slot uprights, the brackets move to new slots. On ours, shelves and cabinets lift off and hook back on at another position.
• Expanding: does a new section need only one more upright? A new bay of ours needs one more rail, and nothing already on the wall comes down.
• Replacing: are single parts sold? We sell parts individually, down to a single shelf, rail, or door.
• Moving house: freestanding units are the easiest to take with you, because only an anti-tip strap holds them to the wall. RoSPA points to these straps, tethered to a bracket fixed to the wall, as an easy way to keep televisions and other furniture upright. Wall-hung systems come down too, but the uprights or rails need fixing again in the new room, and each bay keeps the width it was made to.

When does adjustability matter more than fit?

Adjustability matters more when what you store changes more than the room does.

• Collections that grow or change height, such as books, records, or children’s things.
• A room that changes job, such as a nursery that becomes a study.
• Fitting the most shelves into a height. Fine steps, such as 32 mm, waste less space between shelves than 100 mm steps.
• Renting or moving soon. A freestanding adjustable unit moves with you.

In these cases, a system in standard widths with a gap at each side is a fair trade.

When does fit matter more than adjustability?

Fit matters more when the wall decides the width: an alcove, a run between a door frame and a corner, or a living-room wall where a gap would show.

• If what you store will not change, fixed shelves cut to the space do the job.
• If the walls are uneven, or the shelving must touch both sides or reach the ceiling, a joiner who scribes to the walls is the better route. A joiner can also drill the sides for shelf pins, so you get both. Our article on made-to-measure vs bespoke joinery covers that choice.
• If the wall is reasonably straight, a made-to-measure system gets close without scribing.

How does our system give you both?

We set each bay’s width to your wall and hang every shelf and cabinet on pins you can move later.

• Width: any bay from 500 to 800 mm in 1 mm steps, priced instantly. Widths can differ along one wall, and narrower or wider bays are priced by quote.
• Height: rails are 900 mm tall, or 1800 mm with two stacked.
• Positions: shelves and cabinets hang on steel pins at positions every 100 mm. Lift one off and hook it back on higher or lower.
• Shelves: 220 or 300 mm deep, or 360 mm deep between bookends.
• Storage: one- and two-drawer cabinets, two-door cupboards, and open cabinets hang on the same rails, so they move too. You can swap a shelf for a drawer cabinet later, and the new part hangs on the same rails.
• Growth: a new bay needs one more rail, and we sell parts individually.

Space shelves from shelf top to shelf top; each gap loses the 18 mm board above it. Most books need 300 mm spacing. Records in 12-inch sleeves need 400 mm spacing and the 360 mm-deep shelf between bookends.

Our one-bay open shelving layout is £828.34 (October 2026), including VAT and delivery to mainland UK addresses, and the configurator prices any layout as you design. See adjustable shelves for how the pins work, made-to-measure shelving for setting the widths, and modular shelving units for the parts.

What does not adjust?

The bay widths, the rail height, the shelf depths, and where the rails go are set when we make your order or when you drill.

• Spacing changes in 100 mm steps, not to any height you like.
• Each bay keeps the width we make it to.
• You choose the rail height when you order. Nothing is taller than 1800 mm.
• Each shelf keeps the depth we make it to.
• The rails stay where you fix them. Moving a rail means new holes, so settle the bay positions before you drill.
• Bays are straight and square, not scribed, so expect small gaps where a wall is out of true.
• It hangs on the wall. There is no freestanding version, and lath and plaster walls are not suitable.

What is the best way to get adjustable alcove storage without building it in?

Hang an adjustable system on the alcove’s back wall, sized to its narrowest width, or stand an adjustable unit in the alcove and strap it to the wall.

• A wall-hung system set to the alcove. With ours, the alcove needs the overall width plus 20 mm of clearance at each side. One 600 mm bay is 632 mm wide overall, so it needs at least 672 mm. Shelves and cabinets move, and nothing is scribed.
• Twin-slot uprights on the back wall, with boards cut to the alcove’s width. You get fine steps, with the metal uprights and brackets on show.
• A freestanding unit with pin holes, sized to slide into the alcove, with an anti-tip strap to the wall. Nothing is built in, and it leaves with you.

Whichever you choose, measure the width at the top, middle, and bottom, and use the smallest figure. Check the depth from the back wall to the face of the chimney breast. Keep anything combustible, such as plywood, outside the distance your fire or stove requires. Our alcove shelving page covers sizing a bay to an alcove, and wall-mounted vs freestanding shelving covers what your wall needs.

Next step: try the spacing for what you own in the configurator. Set the bay widths to your wall, hang the shelves and cabinets, and see the price as you design.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between adjustable and made-to-measure shelving?

Adjustable shelving lets you move the shelves after it is up, on a track, pins, or uprights. Made-to-measure shelving has its width set to your wall. They are separate choices, and one system can offer both.

Can shelving be both adjustable and made to measure?

Yes. A joiner can build an alcove unit to the walls and drill it for shelf pins, and boards for twin-slot uprights can be cut to the wall. Ours sets each bay from 500 to 800 mm in 1 mm steps and hangs shelves and cabinets on pins every 100 mm.

How finely can adjustable shelves be adjusted?

It depends on the pitch. Twin-slot uprights and pin-and-hole cabinets often use 32 mm steps. Our rails have a position every 100 mm, which is coarser, but drawers and cupboards move as well as shelves.

Do I need to drill new holes to move a shelf?

Not on a track, pin, or rail system, because the shelf moves and the uprights stay put. On ours, moving a shelf or cabinet never means new holes. Moving a rail does, so settle the bay positions before you drill.

Which adjustable shelving is best for an alcove?

The one that fits the alcove’s width and adjusts the way you need. Twin-slot uprights with boards cut to width give fine 32 mm steps, with the metal on show. A made-to-measure rail system such as ours moves shelves and cabinets on one set of rails. For uneven walls, a joiner’s unit drilled for shelf pins gives you both fit and adjustment.

Sources

• Twin Slot Matt Black Upright, 425mm (Wickes): twin-slot uprights fixed directly to the wall, with slots 32 mm apart and brackets set at the heights you choose, held by locking slots.
• TwinSlot Light-Duty Custom-Build Wall Mounted Shelving System (BiGDUG): a 32 mm upright pitch, drop-and-lock brackets, shelves sold as separate parts, and uprights fixed with screws and plugs no more than 600 mm apart.
• 32 mm cabinetmaking system (Wikipedia): rows of 5 mm holes, 32 mm apart, used for ready-to-assemble and European-style frameless cabinets, with shelves placed on pins.
• Flat-screen TV safety advice (RoSPA): anti-tip straps, tethered to a bracket fixed to the wall, for televisions and other furniture.