Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
Alcove units in Barbican Estate, City of London
In Barbican Estate, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Alcoves that are not square
Alcove units designed for your room
Materials and finishes
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish can be done on site, after the units are fitted. Small marks are easy to touch up, and it gives a softer, traditional look.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is also good for drawer boxes because it stands up to daily use. It is painted to match the rest of the unit, or the edge is left as a detail.
How we make alcove units for Barbican Estate
A classic layout is a low cupboard with open shelves above. Closed cupboards hide everyday clutter, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The top of the cupboard makes a useful surface at a comfortable height. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. Most enquiries start with alcoves that are wasted space and room to work in an alcove, and the answer is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Rooms from the 1950s and 1960s tend to be plain, with flat walls and simple skirting. Many homes around Barbican Estate were built between 1945 and the early 1970s, so alcove units often have no period details to work around. The furniture can then become the main feature of the room.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- Place
- Barbican Estate (EC1V, EC2A, EC1Y)
- Borough
- City of London
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What we don’t do
As carpenters, we leave some work to other trades. It helps to know these before you plan the job:
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
If in doubt, you can fill in our short enquiry form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What it is made from
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
Flats, leases and landlords
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them during the design visit.
Nearby places to Barbican Estate
Other services in Barbican Estate
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Some flat-pack shelves are thin and start to sag once they’re loaded. Shelves in a bespoke unit are sized for the span and the load. That said, if you’re renting or moving soon, a good off-the-shelf unit may make more sense. Post-war rooms are often compact, and standard furniture sizes waste space at the ends and the top, while fitted furniture fills the space. The pieces are made to the room’s own widths.
The finish affects the cost: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
Why us?
- More than 300 projects completed
- Saturday work by arrangement
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.
Your questions about alcove units in Barbican Estate
Is parking a problem for fitting in Barbican Estate?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. 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, so we can plan the day around it. The whole City of London is also inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the ULEZ covers every London borough.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Moorgate station?
Yes, homes across the City of London and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with a few details about the room.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how awkward the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to let us in at the start of the day. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you contact us, and we’ll see what we can do.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
From workshop to your room
Getting everything level comes first. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference. After that, it’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Drilling into concrete is noisier than into brick or plaster, so a word with the neighbours before fitting day can help. Fitting day is planned around any building rules on noisy work. Dust is kept down and cleared as we go.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Arranging a design visit
To make a start, use our contact form and tell us a little about the room. We then arrange a design visit to measure and discuss the design, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Read more
Barbican Estate homes and alcove units
In the neighbourhood around Barbican Estate, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 33%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 31%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. 32 conservation areas have at least part of their area less than a mile from the middle of Barbican Estate. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. Purpose-built flats are home to about 85% of households in the neighbourhood around Barbican Estate, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Building management rules on lifts, deliveries and working hours are worth checking early.
If your children go to Prior Weston Primary School and Children's Centre or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If you live in a flat close to Moorgate station, the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it. Mansion House, about 0.5 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Barbican Estate is about 1 mile south of City of London, within the City of London. Whether your home in Barbican Estate is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. We cover places right across the City of London, large and small.
Every address in EC1V, EC2A and EC1Y is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street such as Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Barbican Estate sits close to the A1 and A40. If you’re just outside Barbican Estate, we also cover Finsbury (1 mile north), City of London (1 mile south), St Luke's (1 mile north), Bishopsgate (1 mile east) and Aldgate (1 mile south-east).
Landmarks near Barbican Estate
We fit furniture in homes around The Jugged Hare pub, Charterhouse Square School and Barts Health Archives. Barbican Estate has its own railway station: Moorgate station. A little further out are Montfichet's Tower (0.5 miles south-west) and Gabriel's Wharf (1 mile south-west). For a walk, there is Ludgate Hill.