Hackney · London
Alcove Units in Hackney
Wherever you are in Hackney, we design and make alcove units for your room. Every job starts with a design visit, then a written quote.
Alcove Units across Hackney
Alcove units across Hackney
Every piece is designed after a visit to your home. Find your neighbourhood in the lists below for local details, or get in touch to arrange a design visit.
Largest neighbourhoods
Our alcove units across Hackney
In a tall room, a full-height alcove cupboard holds a great deal. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, and set out the shelves and rails around it. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and people most often get in touch about worn or badly fitted alcove units and bare alcoves beside the fireplace.
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made at the design visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote.
- You tell us which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- Once you’re happy, the units are built in our workshop.
- Fitting day: the units go in, are scribed to the alcoves and levelled on a plinth or feet. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Quotes in Hackney
Awkward rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it.
What you get with us
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- 300+ projects completed
Starting with a design visit
If you know what you want, say so; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To start, use our contact form.
Local landmarks in Shoreditch
Our area takes in the homes around Virginia Primary School, St Leonard's Church and Hackney University Technical College, among other places. You’ll also find The Prince's School of Traditional Arts (a few minutes’ walk west), Former London Apprentice pub (less than half a mile north-west), Artillery Ground (0.5 miles south-west) and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives (0.5 miles south). Shoreditch has its own railway station: Shoreditch High Street station. A little further out are Dennis Severs' House (close by, under half a mile south) and Tower of London (1.2 miles south). Not far away are Tower Hill.
- Places of worship nearby include St Mary-at-Hill (1.1 miles south)
Living-room carpentry across Hackney
We make alcove units for homes across Hackney, in Shoreditch, Hoxton and Homerton and beyond. Walls could be solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard, so fixings are chosen for each. Long shelves are sized so they don’t sag.
Homes built before 1919 make up about 35% of the housing in Hackney, with about 24% built since 2000, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. About 60% of households in Hackney live in purpose-built flats, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. In a block, each section is sized to get up the stairs or into the lift and through the door. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day. Of the 20 places we have local pages for in Hackney, 7 have their centre inside a conservation area, according to Historic England’s data. The rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission.
Homes across Hackney range from period terraces to modern blocks, and we work in all of them. Wherever you live, it starts with a visit and a quote.
Shoreditch: If you live in a period home close to St Leonard's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live near Artillery Ground, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Tips worth knowing
New paint needs time to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. Beyond that, these tips help:
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Check whether there’s a vent in the chimney breast
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
To clean painted units, a soft cloth that is barely damp is enough. Skip scouring pads and harsh cleaners, which can dull or mark the paint. Wipe it dry when you’ve finished.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units.
Pricing alcove units in Hackney
What you pay depends on:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- The number of doors and drawers
- The width and height of the space
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because the size, the layout and the finish all vary. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
Helping us understand the room
To give us a picture of the room, it is useful to include:
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
Getting a quote starts with some details: which room it is, rough measurements and a couple of photos if you can take them. To send them, drop us a line using the contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a written quote.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let, often to make the most of a small or tricky room. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations. We cannot advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Materials and finishes
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we normally scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF in a moisture-resistant grade is stable and paints beautifully, which makes it our choice for doors and visible panels. It is a good match for alcoves on an external wall.
Could you do it yourself?
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well, and it’s easy to buy.
FAQs: alcove units in Hackney
What do you do at the measuring visit?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, then send a quote in writing.
How do I get a quote?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form and let us know about the room. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a quote in writing.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
That is a job for your electrician. Ideally it is done before fitting so the sockets line up with the design. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that are not square?
Yes. Each alcove is measured during the design visit, then the units are made in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It needs a little planning: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Do you work outside London?
No. We work in London and nowhere else, across all the boroughs and the City of London.
Do pictures help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit, along with rough measurements. It helps to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.