Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
City of London Alcove Units
In the City of London, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made in our workshop.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Shelving for books and records
Ask about alcove units in the City of London
Alcove units in the City of London
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. Closed cupboards hide everyday clutter, and the shelves are for books and favourite objects. 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. Typical reasons to get in touch are standard units leaving gaps at the sides and cupboards in keeping with an older house; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
A good share of the homes around the City of London were built in the post-war years, between 1945 and the early 1970s. Rooms from that era are often squarer than in older houses, and many have no chimney breast at all. So alcove units often run along a whole wall, or create their own recesses around the screen or a window. Some walls of that age are concrete or blockwork, and the fixings are matched to them.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Where
- City of London (EC4V, EC1A, EC2M, EC2Y)
- Area
- City of London
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Honest limits
We are carpenters, so some jobs belong to other trades. It’s useful to know these before you plan the job:
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
If in doubt, you can send us a few details through our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Neighbourhoods near the City of London
Other services in the City of London
From workshop to your room
You will not need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and it helps to have the room cleared beforehand, as we will have talked about during the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Stairwells in post-war blocks can have tight turns, so sections are sized for both the stairs and any lift. Letting the caretaker or managing agent know in advance helps. Common parts are protected while we carry in.
- 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. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- A written quote follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
Preparing the room
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Starting with a design visit
A quote begins with some details from you: the room, rough measurements and some photos if you have them. To send them, get in touch through our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a quote in writing.
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Living-room carpentry in the City of London: local notes
In the neighbourhood around the City of London, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 40%) and the years since 2000 (about 27%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. There are 392 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of the City of London. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of inner London. That normally means a van in the City of London needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council. It’s useful to let us know about parking during the design visit.
The wider area includes historic houses like Mansion House, about 0.2 miles south-east. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like Church of St Lawrence Jewry, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If your children go to Fashion Retail Academy or a school nearby, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
The City of London is one of London’s 33 local authority areas. Design visits and fitting in the City of London can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. We cover places right across the rest of London, large and small.
Design visits and fitting in EC4V, EC1A, EC2M and EC2Y work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover homes on streets like Aldermanbury Square, Monkwell Square and Paternoster Square, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. The A1 and A3 runs close to the City of London, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Barbican Estate (1 mile north), Bishopsgate (1 mile east), Finsbury (1 mile north), Aldgate (1 mile east) and St Luke's (1 mile north).
Local landmarks in the City of London
We fit furniture in homes around Golden Fleece pub, Prior Weston Primary School and Children's Centre and Barts Health Archives and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in the City of London itself: London Cannon Street station. Other landmarks nearby include Gabriel's Wharf (0.8 miles south-west) and London Mithraeum (a few minutes’ walk south). Green spaces nearby include Ludgate Hill.
When is bespoke worth it?
It is worth being honest about cost: off-the-shelf furniture usually 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.
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
How it’s made
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we typically scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Shelves
Shelf heights are planned around your things. Upper shelves can be shallower for a lighter look.
Your questions about alcove units in the City of London
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, internal works that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Is parking a problem for fitting in the City of London?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by 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. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it. The City is inside the Congestion Charge zone too, and the ULEZ covers all of London.
Do you cover areas outside London?
No. Our work is in London only: all 32 boroughs and the City of London.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in the City of London?
Simply message us from the contact page. Rough sizes and a few photos help, and we will arrange a design visit, followed by a written quote.
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, and afterwards we send a quote in writing.
What are your alcove units made from?
We build with moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, depending on the part and the design. The materials are named in your written quote.
Flats, leases and landlords
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that is best sorted before fitting day. We can’t advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.