Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
Alcove Units in Aldgate
Thinking about alcove units in Aldgate? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a written quote, before anything is made.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Alcove units in Aldgate
Questions from Aldgate
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Aldgate?
At the design visit, we measure the way in along with the room itself. Alcove units are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it’s worth checking those early.
Will alcove units fit if my walls aren’t straight?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the design visit, then the units are made at our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. We plan the height and depth with you.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Each room is quoted on its own: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You’ll get a quote in writing once we’ve measured up.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work is not something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
About our alcove units in Aldgate
Alcove units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it works best. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, while birch plywood is strong and holds screws well. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in a colour agreed with you. If you are living with shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess and tired cupboards in the alcoves, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
A large share of the homes around Aldgate date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes rarely come with any built-in shelving or media storage. We plan alcove units around the existing sockets and aerial points, with routes for cables designed in. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, which is fine for fitted furniture when the fixings are right.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and the workshop works from it.
- Where
- Aldgate (E1, EC2A, SE1)
- Borough
- City of London
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
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. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, so fixings go into the studs or use fixings made for the board. Floors are protected throughout, as many newer homes have finished floors that mark easily, and dust is kept to a minimum.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Preparing the room
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Starting with a design visit
It helps to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them give us a good feel for the space, particularly with rough measurements. To share them, get in touch through our contact form, and we will suggest a time for a design visit.
Advice
How it is made
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribe strips are the edges we trim on site to follow the wall. It is how a straight unit meets a wall that is not straight.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later.
Neighbourhoods near Aldgate
What else we make in Aldgate
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
If you’re handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.
Caring for painted furniture
Getting the most from alcove units starts with the planning and carries on after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
Keep a record of the colour for future touch-ups. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Every so often, check that hinges and handles haven’t worked loose.
Alcove units for homes in Aldgate
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Aldgate were built since 2000 (about 48%) and before 1919 (about 18%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. 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. There are 375 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Aldgate. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. More than a third of the homes in the streets around Aldgate (about 48%) were built since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Newer homes usually have plasterboard stud walls and open-plan rooms, often with no chimney breast, so the fixings go into the studs, or heavier pieces stand on the floor.
Mansion House, about 0.5 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. For an older house near St James Duke's Place, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Aldgate is about 1 mile west of City of London, in the City of London. Design visits and fitting in Aldgate can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. We cover places right across the City of London, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Every home in E1, EC2A and SE1 is within our area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets like Bush Lane, Swan Lane and Mark Lane, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Aldgate is near the A3 and A10, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Spitalfields (1 mile north-east), Bishopsgate (1 mile north-west), Tower Hill (1 mile south), Whitechapel (1 mile north-east) and City of London (1 mile west).
Around Aldgate
We fit furniture in homes around Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, East India Arms and Fund Academy, among other places. Nearby too are London Enterprise Academy (0.6 miles east) and St Mary-at-Hill (within half a mile south-west). Aldgate has its own railway station: London Fenchurch Street station. Nearby you will also find The City Wall at Vine Street (under half a mile south-east) and Gabriel's Wharf (1.4 miles west). For a walk, there’s Tower Hill.
The problems alcove units solve
Sometimes it is the clutter of a busy living room. Toys, games, post and chargers all need a home, and closed cupboards hide them away. The shelves above can then stay tidy.
Some of the things we are asked to solve include:
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Space for a growing book collection
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Near listed buildings like Church of St Katherine Cree, less than half a mile west of the centre of Aldgate, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Choosing a carpenter
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- How parking will work on your street
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?