Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Alcove units in East Village, Newham
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in East Village. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- Storage that suits a period room
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Clutter with nowhere to go
Alcove units designed for your room
How fitting day works
Getting everything level comes first. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference, which keeps the lines straight. After that, it’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that’s solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Parking at newer developments can be restricted, with private bays or loading areas, so tell us what applies at the measuring visit. On fitting day, the sections are carried in, assembled and fixed. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- To begin, use our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Before fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
Getting a quote
The design visit is where every quote starts. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and discuss the design with you. A written quote follows the visit for you to look over. To book one, use our contact form.
Advice
Alcove units in East Village: what you get
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, whichever suits the room. The plinth height can match the skirting so the units feel part of the room. We agree these details during the design visit. If you are living with worn or badly fitted alcove units and units that sit well with original features, alcove units made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish can solve it.
Many homes around East Village were built since 2000, and newer homes seldom have fitted storage in the living room. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with cable routes built in. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, which is fine for fitted furniture when the fixings are right.
The written quote is your record of the job. It describes the alcove unit we have designed for the room, its materials and its finish, and the workshop works from it.
- Location
- East Village (E15, E20, E9)
- Borough
- Newham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Alcove units in East Village: local notes
About 68% of the homes in the neighbourhood around East Village went up since 2000, and about 12% before 1919, 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. Near the centre of East Village, Historic England’s list includes The Theatre Royal (Grade II*), about 0.6 miles south-east. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can need listed building consent from the council. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Newham sets its own rules. Where a street in East Village 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 design visit.
If your home is one of the older houses near St Eleutherius, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. For a flat near Stratford International station, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room. If your children go to Chobham Academy or a school nearby, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design.
East Village is about 2 miles south-east of Plaistow, part of the London Borough of Newham. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, East Village included. East Village is one of the places in Newham where we make alcove units.
We cover every part of the E15, E20 and E9 postcode area. If your home is on a street like Angel Lane, Major Road and Forbes Lane, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Temple Mills (1 mile north-west), Stratford (1 mile south-east), Maryland (1 mile south-east), Hackney Wick (1 mile south-west) and Holloway Down (1 mile north-east). Elsewhere in Newham, we also cover Plaistow (2 miles south-east), Canning Town (3 miles south-east), Forest Gate (2 miles east), East Ham (3 miles south-east), Upton Park (2 miles south-east) and Greengate (2 miles south-east).
What’s near East Village
In East Village, that includes homes near Colegrave Primary School, The Cow pub and Eton Manor Boys' Club. There is a railway station in East Village itself: Stratford International station. Nearby you’ll also find V&A East (a few minutes’ walk south-west) and Westfield Stratford City (within half a mile south). Not far away are Old Ford Island.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through without a struggle.
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of, which we check at the measuring visit.
Places near East Village
More for homes in East Village
Where other trades come in
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we don’t do:
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
If in doubt, you can drop us a line using the contact form and describe the room. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
FAQs: alcove units in East Village
I live in a flat in East Village. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in as well as the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in East Village?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run 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 tell us about parking at the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in East Village?
Simply use our contact form. Rough measurements and a few photos help, and we will arrange a design visit.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to let us in. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We will help you choose during the design visit.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and discuss the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and afterwards we send a written quote.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Shelves in some flat-pack furniture are thin and can bow under books. We size our shelves for their span and what they’ll carry, with birch plywood where it is needed. Still, a decent off-the-shelf unit can be the sensible choice if you are renting or moving soon. Separate ready-made pieces can make an open-plan room feel unplanned, whereas fitted furniture can define each part of the room.
Access to the room makes a difference too. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, which the quote allows for. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit.
Why us?
- Designed for the room you have
- Work across the whole of London
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- We visit, measure and talk through the design before we quote
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Looking after your furniture
Looking after painted furniture is simple with a little care. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
Keep a record of the colour. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Most sagging comes from shelves carrying more than they were planned for, so mention heavy collections when we plan the unit.