Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Haringey · London
Bounds Green Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Bounds Green. Every piece is made in our workshop and fitted in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
Need alcove units in Bounds Green?
Built-in living-room furniture in Bounds Green
Homes built before 1919 make up about 56% of the housing in the area around Bounds Green, with about 15% built between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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. Near the centre of Bounds Green, Historic England’s list includes St Leonard's House (judge Fuller's Almshouses) (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-east, and Porters and Walters Almshouses (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-east. If your own home is listed, internal works that affect its character, like fixing into or removing original joinery, may need listed building consent. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Haringey included. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Bounds Green, as it does anywhere else in London. We go through parking and access during the design visit.
For a family home near Bounds Green Infant School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If your home is one of the older houses near St Barnabas Greek Orthodox Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live in a flat close to Bowes Park station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Bounds Green is within the London Borough of Haringey, about 3 miles east of Tottenham. Wherever you are in Bounds Green, it works the same way: a design visit, a quote in writing, furniture made at our workshop and fitting in your home. Our work takes in places right across Haringey.
Every home in N22, N11 and N13 is covered for alcove units. We cover homes on streets such as Oak Lane, York Road and Park Road, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. The A109 runs close to Bounds Green, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Close by, we also work in Bowes Park (1 mile south-east), Arnos Grove (1 mile north), New Southgate (1 mile north-west), Oakthorpe Park (1 mile north-east) and Palmers Green (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Haringey we cover include Tottenham (3 miles east), Tottenham Green (3 miles south-east), Crouch End (2 miles south), South Tottenham (3 miles south-east), Seven Sisters (3 miles south-east) and Duckett's Green (2 miles south-east).
Around Bounds Green
We fit furniture in homes around The Springfield pub, Ming-Ai and Alexandra Park School. There is a railway station in Bounds Green itself: Bowes Park station. Nearby you will also find Greentrees Hospital (1.1 miles east) and The Mall Wood Green (1.1 miles south-east).
Alcove units for homes in Bounds Green
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It’s a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you, and leave a route for cables to reach the sockets. We make alcove units from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and the things people most often want solved are everyday clutter left on show and shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess.
Older houses tend to come with picture rails, tall skirtings and cornices, and alcove units need to meet those lines neatly. Homes built before 1919 make up a large share of the housing around Bounds Green, so those details are worth looking at closely during the design visit. The top line can stop at the rail or run on to the cornice, depending on the room.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it is made from and how it is finished.
- Place
- Bounds Green (N22, N11, N13)
- Area
- Haringey
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Neighbourhoods near Bounds Green
More for homes in Bounds Green
Questions we are often asked
My home in Bounds Green is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. Alcove units are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
My house in Bounds Green is Victorian. Can you deal with uneven walls?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you don’t need to stay in the room, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.
What happens when you come to measure?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. Access and parking are worth talking about too.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
That is a job for your electrician. It is best done before the units go in. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. We do not treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Fitting day, step by step
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so neighbours may appreciate a note before fitting day. The sections are sized for the narrowest point on the route. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out.
- The units are made at our workshop.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Preparing the room
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
Getting a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Bounds Green, fill in our short enquiry form. Let us know the room and the rough idea. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
Read more
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture typically costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
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.
Tips worth knowing
The finish lasts best with a little care. These practical tips help:
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
A soft, slightly damp cloth is all painted units normally need. Avoid abrasive pads and strong cleaning sprays, which can dull or mark the paint. Wipe it dry when you have finished.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Wipe up spills right away.
Why bespoke in Bounds Green?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, rather than the nearest standard size. Chimney breasts in older houses stand out by different amounts, so the recesses either side are rarely the same, which means a matching pair of ready-made units seldom fits both. Each side can be made to its own size.
We do not publish set prices, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote. To start, send us a few details through our contact form.
Why us?
- Over 300 projects completed
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Made for your room, not a standard size
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.
What it is made from
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we typically scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s the difference between a unit that sits in the alcove and one that belongs there.