Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Tower Hamlets · London
Cubitt Town Alcove Units
For homes in Cubitt Town, we make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Room to work in an alcove
Alcove units designed for your room
Living-room storage in Cubitt Town
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Cubitt Town were built since 2000 (about 67%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 17%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. The National Heritage List records 14 entries within half a mile of the centre of Cubitt Town. You can check whether a particular building is listed on Historic England’s list. The Ultra Low Emission Zone has covered all of London since it reached the outer boroughs on 29 August 2023. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Cubitt Town, as it does anywhere else in London. How the van gets to your door is planned at the design visit.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Christ Church, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. Queen's House, about 1.1 miles south, 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. If you live in a period home close to Christ Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Cubitt Town is within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, about 3 miles north-west of Whitechapel. We can visit homes in Cubitt Town on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Across Tower Hamlets, we cover Cubitt Town and the places around it.
In E14, SE10 and E22, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Streets in the area include Undine Road, Amsterdam Road and Preston's Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Cubitt Town sits close to the A1206, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover the places around Cubitt Town: North Greenwich (1 mile south-west), Isle of Dogs (1 mile south-west), Millwall (1 mile south-west), Maze Hill (1 mile south) and Greenwich (1 mile south). Elsewhere in Tower Hamlets, we also cover Whitechapel (3 miles north-west), Spitalfields (3 miles north-west), Tower Hill (3 miles west), Bethnal Green (3 miles north-west), Cambridge Heath (3 miles north-west) and Mile End (2 miles north-west).
Around Cubitt Town
In Cubitt Town, that includes homes near The Gun pub, Canary Wharf College 3 and Tower Hamlets College. The closest station to Cubitt Town is Canary Wharf station, about 0.8 miles north-west. Other landmarks nearby include Old Royal Naval College (1 mile south) and Poplar Hospital (1 mile north). Open spaces near Cubitt Town include Sue Godfrey Nature Park.
Alcove units in Cubitt Town
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it works best. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in the colour you choose. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and cupboards in keeping with an older house.
In a home built since 2000, the aerial point and sockets are usually already fixed in place. Many homes around Cubitt Town are from those years, so alcove units are usually designed around what’s already there. Any new socket is a job for your electrician.
If the job needs another trade, such as an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Location
- Cubitt Town (E14, SE10, E22)
- Borough
- Tower Hamlets
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Cubitt Town
More for homes in Cubitt Town
Common questions about alcove units
Is Cubitt Town in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Tower Hamlets, Cubitt Town included, and across the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it, along with access and parking. The price comes in a written quote after the design visit.
Should I send photos?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit. It helps to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It is up to you. A matching pair balances the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. Shared details, such as the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
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.
Where other trades come in
Before you plan the job, it is useful to know what we don’t do:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
Practical tips
People planning alcove units often ask about these. They’re worth knowing whatever the room:
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
Do not let stored things block the chimney breast vent, even when the cupboards fill up. Air moving through the chimney helps keep damp away, which protects the units too.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water to stop rings and water marks on the paint. Wipe up spills right away.
How it is made
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we usually scribe the sides and often the top too. It is what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish suits alcove units in a period room. The colour is agreed with you.
Fitting day, step by step
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, so on fitting day heavy pieces go into the studs or stand on the floor. Floors are covered while we work, and dust is kept to a minimum.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
Starting with a design visit
To get a quote, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us a little about the room and what you want the furniture to do. We then arrange a design visit to measure and go through the design, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Related advice
Is bespoke worth it?
With bought furniture you’re limited to the maker’s finishes. We paint ours in the colour you pick, either spray painted in the workshop or hand painted. They can match the walls, the woodwork or neither. Big standalone units can dominate a compact room, while fitted furniture, painted in a colour that suits the walls, reads as part of the room.
Rooms that aren’t square take more work: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. That is reflected in the quote, which we write after seeing the room.
Why us?
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Finished by spray or by hand
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Over 300 projects completed
Take a look at bespoke vs off-the-shelf and how to compare quotes.