Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
De Beauvoir Town Alcove Units
Thinking about alcove units in De Beauvoir Town? We start with a design visit and a written quote, before anything is made.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Need alcove units in De Beauvoir Town?
From workshop to your room
Finishing comes last. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is normally only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed in your quote. Where there’s no lift, each section is sized to be carried up the stairs safely. The tightest landing sets the largest piece. The pieces are assembled in the flat.
- 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.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Arranging a design visit
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and discuss the design with you. Afterwards, we send a written quote, so you can take your time with it. To book one, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Advice
How we make alcove units for De Beauvoir Town
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. The plinth height can match the skirting for a tidy line around the room. We agree these details at the design visit. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are alcoves that are wasted space and tired cupboards in the alcoves.
In a flat, one room often does the work of a living room, dining room and study. Around De Beauvoir Town, where most households live in purpose-built flats, alcove units that use the height of the room help keep the floor clear. A shallow run on one wall can hold a lot without taking much floor.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so it’s clear what’s included.
- Where
- De Beauvoir Town (N1, E8, N16)
- Area
- Hackney
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
The problems alcove units solve
Often the alcoves are simply the biggest unused space in the room. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. Built-in units use the whole recess from wall to wall.
We’re often asked to help with:
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Room to work in an alcove
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Somewhere to keep books and records
For a flat near Dalston Junction station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
Alcove units in De Beauvoir Town: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the area around De Beauvoir Town were built before 1919 (about 39%) and since 2000 (about 25%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. 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. The National Heritage List has 105 entries within half a mile of the centre of De Beauvoir Town. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. About 23% of households in the streets around De Beauvoir Town live in flats in converted or shared houses, according to Census 2021. Conversions often leave rooms in unusual shapes, with partition walls, boxed-in pipes and chimney breasts in odd places, and the way in often goes up shared stairs. A lease can require consent for alterations, so it’s worth checking yours first.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like St Paul's Church, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent. If your children go to Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design.
De Beauvoir Town is in the London Borough of Hackney, about 1 mile south of Shoreditch. Design visits and fitting in De Beauvoir Town can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. We cover places right across Hackney.
In N1, E8 and N16, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street like Dove Road, Essex Road and Clare Lane or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Kingsland (1 mile north-east), Canonbury (1 mile west), Mildmay (1 mile north), Dalston (1 mile east) and Newington Green (1 mile north). Elsewhere in Hackney, we also cover Homerton (2 miles east), Lower Clapton (2 miles east), Stamford Hill (2 miles north), Upper Clapton (2 miles north-east), Manor House (2 miles north) and Lea Bridge (2 miles north-east).
Around De Beauvoir Town
Our area takes in the homes around The Prince of Wales pub, Kingsland Secondary School and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, among other places. There’s a railway station in De Beauvoir Town itself: Dalston Junction station. A little further out are Hackney Walk (1.3 miles east) and Clowns Gallery-Museum (less than half a mile east). For a walk, there is Barnsbury Wood.
Flat-pack or bespoke?
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture can’t usually do that in an older room.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there is normally a gap left over at the top or at one end. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can use the full height and width.
What alcove units cannot fix
It’s worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can message us from the contact page and we will tell you before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it is made from
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
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. Off-the-shelf furniture is sized for an average room, and flats are rarely average, leaving gaps or crowding a door or radiator. Built-in pieces are designed around them.
How it is painted is part of the price: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Why work with us in De Beauvoir Town
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Neighbourhoods near De Beauvoir Town
More for homes in De Beauvoir Town
Your questions about alcove units in De Beauvoir Town
Does a conservation area in or near De Beauvoir Town affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
I live in a flat in De Beauvoir Town. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It’s useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Should alcove units go up to 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. We agree the height during the design visit.
What happens during the design visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, and the written quote comes afterwards.
How do I get started?
It is easiest to use our contact form and let us know about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It needs a little planning: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.