Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Redbridge · London
Aldersbrook Alcove Units
We make alcove units in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Aldersbrook. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Shelving for books and records
- A place for a small desk
Need alcove units in Aldersbrook?
How we price alcove units
Several things affect the price:
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- The overall size of the piece
- How square the room is
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
There is no price list, because each job is designed for a single room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote. To start, use our contact form.
What we need to know
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- Any ideas or images you have saved
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- How you want to use the space
It helps to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line tell us a lot about the space, along with rough measurements. To share them, use our contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
How we make alcove units for Aldersbrook
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It is a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you. We make alcove units from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and people most often get in touch about shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess and old alcove cupboards that have seen better days.
Older houses tend to come with picture rails, tall skirtings and cornices, and they set the lines that alcove units have to meet. Homes built before 1919 make up a large share of the housing around Aldersbrook, so mouldings are something we expect to talk about during the design visit. The top line can stop at the rail or run on to the cornice, depending on the room.
Our quotes are written in plain words, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, all taken from the design visit.
- Place
- Aldersbrook (E11, E12, E7)
- Borough
- Redbridge
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after fitting day
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
Don’t let stored things block the chimney breast vent. Air moving through the chimney helps keep damp away, which protects the units too.
Spread heavy loads and keep the heaviest things on lower shelves. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging.
FAQs: alcove units in Aldersbrook
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Wanstead Park station?
Yes. We cover all of Redbridge and the rest of London. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room.
Does a conservation area in or near Aldersbrook affect fitted furniture?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character may need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that aren’t square?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. You don’t need to watch us work, but it helps to be around at the end.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Flats, leases and landlords
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through.
Nearby places to Aldersbrook
Also in Aldersbrook
Alcove units in Aldersbrook: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Aldersbrook were built before 1919 (about 55%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 18%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. Near the centre of Aldersbrook, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Mary (Grade I), about 0.5 miles north, and Church of St Gabriel (Grade II), less than half a mile west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features such as panelling can require listed building consent. It is worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Controlled parking zones are run by the boroughs, so the rules in Redbridge are set locally. If parking near you is controlled, a visitor permit or a bay suspension may be needed, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. Parking near your home is worth mentioning at the design visit.
If you live near Valentines Park, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. Valentines Mansion, about 1.5 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Aldersbrook is about 3 miles north of Woodford, part of the London Borough of Redbridge. We cover Aldersbrook as part of our work across Redbridge. We cover places right across Redbridge, large and small.
Every address in E11, E12 and E7 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street such as Dover Road, Merlin Road and Belfry Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Main roads around Aldersbrook include the A116, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. If you are just outside Aldersbrook, we also cover Bushwood Area of Leytonstone (1 mile west), Forest Gate (1 mile south), Wanstead (1 mile north), Leytonstone (1 mile west) and Redbridge (1 mile north-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Woodford (3 miles north), Ilford (2 miles east), Loxford (2 miles south-east), South Woodford (2 miles north), Newbury Park (2 miles east) and Gants Hill (2 miles north-east).
Near you in Aldersbrook
Around Aldersbrook, we cover homes near Tyndale Academy, The George pub and Wanstead High School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Wanstead Park station, roughly 0.9 miles south-west. A little further out are Wanstead Hospital (1.5 miles north) and Passmore Edwards Museum (1.8 miles south-west).
What prompts alcove units in Aldersbrook
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Standard furniture seldom fits an alcove, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. A fitted unit fills the recess up to the ceiling if you want.
Here’s what alcove units can help with:
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Shelving for books and records
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Units that sit well with original features
Living in a block of flats near Wanstead Park station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Before you hire any carpenter
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- How parking will work on your street
How fitting day works
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details, so it looks as though it was always there. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so neighbours may appreciate a note before fitting day. Each section is sized for the tightest door or turn. Saturdays can be arranged.
- To begin, drop us a line using the contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Before we arrive
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Arranging a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a quote in writing. We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. To arrange a visit, get in touch through our contact form.