Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Enfield · London
Alcove units in Crews Hill, Enfield
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Crews Hill. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Alcove units in Crews Hill
How fitting day works
Every fitting follows the same order: we protect the floors, bring the sections in, set them level, scribe them to the walls, fix them and finish them. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out 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. We cover the floors in shared areas on the way in.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you.
- We send a written quote for the units, so you can look it over in your own time.
- The units are built in our workshop.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls. Then we go through the doors and shelves with you.
Before we arrive
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Arranging a design visit
We quote once we have seen the room. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a written quote. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To book a design visit, message us from the contact page.
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About our alcove units in Crews Hill
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It’s a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. Desk height and depth are agreed with you. If you’re living with somewhere to keep books and records and toys and paperwork with no proper home, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand can solve it.
Concrete floors and ceilings are common in post-war blocks, and they need the right drill and fixings. With many homes around Crews Hill dating from the post-war decades, the walls are checked during the design visit before the design of alcove units is settled. On a lightweight partition, heavier pieces stand on the floor and are fixed back.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. You will see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Location
- Crews Hill (EN2)
- Area
- Enfield
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Crews Hill
Also in Crews Hill
Living-room storage in Crews Hill
In the streets around Crews Hill, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 36%) and before 1919 (about 34%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Near the centre of Crews Hill, Historic England’s list includes Glasgow Stud Farmhouse (Grade II), less than half a mile north, and Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II), about 0.6 miles south. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, can need listed building consent. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Parking controls in London are set borough by borough, so Enfield has its own. Where a street in Crews Hill 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.
For families living near St John's CofE Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. The wider area includes historic houses like Forty Hall, about 1.5 miles south-east. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Crews Hill is about 4 miles south-east of Edmonton, in the London Borough of Enfield. We can visit homes in Crews Hill on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our work takes in places right across Enfield, large and small.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: EN2. Whether you live on a street like Rosewood Drive, Theobalds Park Road and Whitewebbs Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. We also cover the places around Crews Hill: Clay Hill (1 mile south-east), Gordon Hill (1 mile south-east), Forty Hill (2 miles south-east), Enfield Chase (2 miles south) and Enfield (2 miles south). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Edmonton (4 miles south-east), Palmers Green (4 miles south), New Southgate (5 miles south), Bush Hill Park (3 miles south), Upper Edmonton (5 miles south) and Oakthorpe Park (5 miles south).
What’s near Crews Hill
Around Crews Hill, we cover homes near Chace Community School and The Plough pub. There is a railway station in Crews Hill itself: Crews Hill station. A little further out are Chase Farm Hospital (1 mile south).
The problems alcove units solve
Some homes already have alcove cupboards, but they’ve seen better days. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works.
Most of the enquiries we get are about things like these:
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- A place for a small desk
- Shelving for books and records
If you live in a flat close to Crews Hill station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Before you hire any carpenter
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Where they’ll park and unload
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether they measure the room themselves
What affects the price in Crews Hill
A few things affect what fitted furniture costs:
- How many doors and drawers there are
- The width and height of the space
- How square the room is
- Parking and unloading on your street
In London, parking can affect the price. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so we may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay. It is useful to talk about parking at the design visit, so we can plan for it.
What we need to know
Some details help us understand the job before we visit. It’s useful to include:
- Examples of the look you’re after
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Rough sizes: width, height and depth
It helps to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space, along with rough sizes. To send them over, get in touch through our contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
Boards, parts and paint
Shelves
Shelves can be fixed in place or set on adjustable supports. Fixed shelves add stiffness to the unit, while adjustable ones let you change heights later.
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF doesn’t have a grain to show through the paint, so a painted finish looks even and calm. We choose the moisture-resistant grade for fitted furniture.
Questions from Crews Hill
Does a conservation area in or near Crews Hill affect fitted furniture?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Is Crews Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Enfield, Crews Hill included, and across the rest of London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
It depends on the room and the look you want. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice. The height is settled at the design visit.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. We’ll plan the desk around how you work.
How is the price worked out?
Every job is priced for its room: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You’ll get a quote in writing once we have measured up.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. We measure each alcove carefully at the design visit, make the units in our workshop and trim the edges on site to meet the wall, which closes the gaps you’d see with standard furniture.
Flats, conversions and lettings
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.
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work, with a spray or hand-painted finish.