Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Alcove Units in Dalston
Thinking about alcove units in Dalston? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Room to work in an alcove
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
Alcove units in Dalston
Why people ask for alcove units in Dalston
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Standard furniture seldom fits an alcove, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. Built-in units use the whole recess.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Shelving for books and records
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
Living in a block of flats near Dalston Junction station? Then alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room.
Before you choose who makes it
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- Where they’ll park and unload
How we make alcove units for Dalston
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It gives you a place to work without turning a room into an office. Desk height and depth are agreed with you, with a gap or hole planned so cables can reach the sockets. Typical reasons to get in touch are a desk that tucks into an alcove and somewhere to keep books and records, and the answer is made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
With most households around Dalston in purpose-built flats, getting the furniture into the building matters as much as the design. Each piece is built in sections that fit the stairs, the lift and the doorways, then joined and scribed in the room. A lease can require consent before you fix furniture to the walls, so it is worth checking first.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it is made from and how it is finished, and the workshop works from it.
- Location
- Dalston (E8, N1, N16)
- Borough
- Hackney
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we’re often asked
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Dalston?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit.
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’ll also ask about access and parking.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. Many people use one alcove for a desk and the other for cupboards if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Will alcove units fit if my walls are not straight?
Yes. Most period alcoves are out of square in some way, so we scribe each unit to follow the wall. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
How is the price worked out?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Before and after fitting day
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
Painted finishes feel dry quickly but take longer to cure fully. For the first while, treat the units gently: lift things onto the shelves rather than sliding them, and don’t scrub the surfaces.
Watch for damp marks on the chimney breast or the walls near the units. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade.
From workshop to your room
Finishing comes last. If the furniture was spray painted in the workshop, we fill the fixing holes and touch up on site; hand painting, if that’s what you chose, can be done in place once everything is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed in your quote. Parking near blocks of flats can be limited, and loading may need planning, so tell us about bays, permits or any loading area during the design visit. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You tell us which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- Once you are happy, the units are made at our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Arranging a design visit
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line give us a good feel for the space, along with rough sizes. To send them over, send us a few details through our contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
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How we price alcove units
We quote each job after the design visit, because no two rooms are the same. These are the things that affect it:
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- How square the room is
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- The width and height of the space
Tricky rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That’s reflected in the quote.
Helping us understand the room
Before the design visit, it helps us to know about:
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Any ideas or images you have saved
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
A quote begins with some details from you: the room, rough measurements and some pictures if you have them. To send them, get in touch through our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design, then send a written quote.
Dalston homes and alcove units
Homes built before 1919 make up about 35% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Dalston, with about 24% built between 1945 and 1972, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Dalston include Church of St Mark (Grade II*), under half a mile north, and Church of St Barnabas (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles north. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for instance removing original joinery or fixing into it, may need listed building consent from the council. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. About 62% of households in the streets around Dalston live in purpose-built flats, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day.
If your home is one of the older houses near Holy Trinity Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Close to Haggerston Park? Alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Dalston is about 1 mile south of Shoreditch, part of the London Borough of Hackney. Wherever you are in Dalston, the process is the same: a design visit, a written quote, furniture built in our workshop and fitting in your home. Our Hackney coverage includes Dalston, along with the rest of the borough.
We cover every part of E8, N1 and N16 for alcove units. We cover homes on streets like Glebe Road, Forest Road and Boleyn Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Dalston sits close to the A107 and A1207. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Kingsland (1 mile west), De Beauvoir Town (1 mile west), Hackney Central (1 mile east), London Fields (1 mile south-east) and Shacklewell (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Stamford Hill (2 miles north), Upper Clapton (2 miles north), Manor House (2 miles north-west), Lea Bridge (2 miles north-east) and Hackney Marshes (2 miles north-east).
Around Dalston
Around Dalston, we cover homes near The Petchey Academy, The Duke Of Richmond Public House and Kingsland Secondary School. Dalston has its own railway station: Dalston Junction station. Other landmarks nearby include Clowns Gallery-Museum (less than half a mile west) and Hackney Walk (0.9 miles east).
When is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it is easy to buy.