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City of London · London
Alcove units in Bishopsgate, City of London
In Bishopsgate, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. We design your alcove unit at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Space for a growing book collection
Alcove units for your home in Bishopsgate
Alcove units in Bishopsgate: what you get
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Alcove units turn that space into cupboards and shelves that look as though they belong there. If your home in Bishopsgate has alcoves like these, each alcove gets a unit designed for it, starting with a design visit to measure. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are space for a growing book collection and empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast.
A large share of the homes around Bishopsgate date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes rarely come with any built-in shelving or media storage. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with routes for cables designed in. Plasterboard on studs takes fitted furniture well, as long as the fixings suit it.
A quote in writing follows the design visit. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so it’s clear what’s included.
- Location
- Bishopsgate (E1, EC2A, EC1Y)
- Area
- City of London
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Flats, leases and landlords
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
Mansion blocks and purpose-built blocks often have house rules about lifts, entry systems and when trades can come in. Let us know about them during the design visit, so fitting day is planned around them.
Materials and finishes
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It’s easy to touch up later, and it gives a softer, traditional look.
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribing means trimming the edges on site so they follow the wall. It’s how a straight unit meets a wall that isn’t straight.
Common questions about alcove units
My home in Bishopsgate is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in not just the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It’s useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Bishopsgate?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It’s useful to let us know about parking at the design visit. The whole City of London is also inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the ULEZ covers every London borough.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. Many people use one alcove for a desk and the other for cupboards. The desk is planned around the way you work.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Bishopsgate?
The first step is to message us from the contact page and tell us about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and talk through the design with you. We will also ask about access and parking.
Should I send photos?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot, particularly with rough sizes. You can send them when you tell us about the room on our contact form.
Places near Bishopsgate
What else we make in Bishopsgate
Elsewhere in the City of London
Alcove Units in all 8 neighbourhoods in the City of London
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Areas we cover
About alcove units
How fitting day works
There isn’t much for you to do on fitting day. Someone needs to let us in, and the room should already be cleared, as we will have talked about at the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Fitting day starts by covering floors and setting out the sections. Each piece is levelled and fixed to suit plasterboard or block. Any hand painting can be finished on site.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish set out.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that’s what you chose.
- We bring them to your home and fit them in place.
Preparing the room
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
To get a quote for alcove units in Bishopsgate, fill in our short enquiry form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind. We will arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
Related advice
Alcove units in Bishopsgate: local notes
Homes built since 2000 make up about 41% of the housing in the streets around Bishopsgate, with about 22% built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. The Bishopsgate Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Bishopsgate. The controls in a conservation area are mostly about the outside of buildings, so furniture fitted inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If you’re unsure, check with the council before work starts. Near central London, streets tend to be narrow and busy, so the route from the van to your door is planned beforehand, particularly for larger pieces.
Near listed buildings like Guild Church of St Ethelburga the Virgin, under half a mile south of the centre of Bishopsgate, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features may need listed building consent. If your home is one of the older houses near Church of St Ethelburga, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live near Finsbury Circus, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Bishopsgate is in the City of London, about 1 mile west of City of London. Wherever you are in Bishopsgate, it works the same way: a design visit, a written quote, furniture made at our workshop and fitting in your home. In the City of London, Bishopsgate is one of the places we cover.
Every address in E1, EC2A and EC1Y is covered for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Bush Lane, Swan Lane and Love Lane, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. The A3 and A10 run close to Bishopsgate, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. We also cover the places around Bishopsgate: Aldgate (1 mile south-east), Spitalfields (1 mile east), City of London (1 mile west), Tower Hill (1 mile south) and Whitechapel (1 mile east).
Around Bishopsgate
In Bishopsgate, that includes homes near The Aldgate School, St Mary-at-Hill and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives. Bishopsgate has its own railway station: London Liverpool Street station. A little further out are Gabriel's Wharf (1.2 miles south-west) and London Bridge Hospital (0.7 miles south). Open spaces near Bishopsgate include Tower Hill.
What affects the price in Bishopsgate
What you pay depends on:
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- Spray painting or hand painting
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
Helping us understand the room
To give us a picture of the room, it helps to include:
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Your postcode and the borough
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a written quote. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
What alcove units can’t fix
Electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering and structural work aren’t part of what we do. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What it is made from
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood