Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Arkley Alcove Units
Planning alcove units for a home in Arkley? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing.
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units in Arkley
How we make alcove units for Arkley
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It gives you a place to work without turning a room into an office. Desk height and depth are agreed with you. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand, and the usual reasons to get in touch are space for a growing book collection and old alcove cupboards that have seen better days.
Around Arkley, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
We write quotes in plain English. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Where
- Arkley (EN5, NW7)
- Borough
- Barnet
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. On fitting day, the sections are carried in, assembled, scribed to the wall and levelled. Hand-painted furniture can be finished on site; spray-painted pieces arrive finished from the workshop. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and talk through the design, including the paint finish.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that is done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Before fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Ask for a quote
A quote begins with some details from you: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of pictures if you can take them. When you are ready, message us from the contact page. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Related advice
When is bespoke worth it?
If you are handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, because scribing and the right fixings start to matter.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
Common questions about alcove units
Is parking a problem for fitting in Arkley?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Arkley?
Yes. We cover all of Barnet and the rest of London, and Arkley is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
Someone needs to let us in at the start of the day. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it, along with access and parking. The price comes in a quote in writing after the design visit.
Should I send pictures?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit. It is useful to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
Is bespoke worth it?
Some flat-pack shelves are thin and start to sag once they’re loaded. We size our shelves for their span and what they’ll carry, with birch plywood where it is needed. That said, if you are renting or moving soon, a good off-the-shelf unit may make more sense. Ready-made furniture rarely suits a bay, a box room or a bulkhead over the stairs, and interwar homes often have all three. Built-in pieces are designed to fit them.
Rooms that aren’t square take more work: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That’s reflected in the quote.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Arkley
- Scribed to uneven walls
- We work across all London boroughs
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- More than 300 projects completed
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
Honest limits
As carpenters, we leave some work to other trades. It is useful to know these before you plan the job:
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can send us a few details through our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
Neighbourhoods near Arkley
Also in Arkley
Do you need alcove units in Arkley?
Some homes already have alcove cupboards, but they’ve seen better days. Starting again lets you rethink the layout, from the doors to what goes inside.
We’re often asked to help with:
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Room to work in an alcove
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Alcoves that are wasted space
For families living near Whitings Hill Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
Built-in living-room furniture in Arkley
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 35% of the housing in the area around Arkley, with about 33% built between 1919 and 1939, 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. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Arkley include Arkley Windmill (Grade II*), about 0.6 miles south-west, and Church of St Peter (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west. If your own home is listed, works inside that affect its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, can require listed building consent. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. Parking controls in London are set borough by borough, so Barnet has its own. Where a street in Arkley is controlled, a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension from the council. Let us know about parking at the measuring visit.
If you live in a period home close to St Peter's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live near Whitings Hill Open Space, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Arkley is part of the London Borough of Barnet, about 4 miles south-east of Finchley. Homes in Arkley are part of the area we cover for alcove units, as part of our work in every London borough. Arkley is one of the places in Barnet where we make alcove units, and the borough has 41 places on our list.
In EN5 and NW7, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. We cover homes on streets like Well Road, Glebe Lane and Brett Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around Arkley include the A411, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Other places close to Arkley include Rowley Green (1 mile north-west), High Barnet (1 mile north-east), Hadley (1 mile north-east), Totteridge (2 miles south-east) and Mill Hill (2 miles south). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Finchley (4 miles south-east), Barnet (2 miles east), Burnt Oak (3 miles south-west), East Finchley (5 miles south-east), Hendon (4 miles south) and Whetstone (3 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Arkley
Our area takes in the homes around Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Queen Elizabeth's School and The Arkley pub. Arkley’s nearest station is Elstree & Borehamwood station, about 2.1 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include Spires Shopping Centre (1.3 miles north-east) and Barnet General Hospital (0.7 miles east). Not far away are Glebe Lane Pastures.