Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Enfield · London
Enfield Lock Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Enfield Lock. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Units that sit well with original features
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Alcove units for your home in Enfield Lock
How we make alcove units for Enfield Lock
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Enfield Lock has a pair of alcoves, we design a unit for each one, starting with a design visit to measure. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove.
A typical 1930s semi has a bay window at the front and a chimney breast with a recess either side. Interwar, semi-detached and detached houses make up a big part of the housing around Enfield Lock, so it is a layout worth planning for. We tend to plan alcove units along the chimney breast wall so the bay keeps its light.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Where
- Enfield Lock (EN3)
- Area
- Enfield
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we are often asked
Do you cover homes near Enfield Lock station?
Yes. We cover all of Enfield and the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is Enfield Lock in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. We cover all of Enfield and the rest of London, and Enfield Lock is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
How do I get started?
Simply send us a few details through our contact form. It’s useful to send rough sizes and a few pictures, and we will arrange a design visit.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Either way, the colour is agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Each room is quoted on its own: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You will get a quote in writing once we’ve measured up.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That is your choice. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
Alcove units for homes in Enfield Lock
In the neighbourhood around Enfield Lock, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 36%) and the years since 2000 (about 20%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Enfield Lock is partly covered by a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Your council can advise if you’re unsure. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Enfield sets its own rules. If parking near you is controlled, a visitor permit or a bay suspension may be needed, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. Let us know about parking during the design visit.
If you live near Gunpowder Park, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. For families living near Prince of Wales Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Enfield Lock is within the London Borough of Enfield, about 3 miles south-west of Edmonton. Design visits and fitting in Enfield Lock can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Across Enfield, we cover Enfield Lock.
Every home in EN3 is covered for alcove units. If your home is on a street such as Bell Lane, Park Road and Albany Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. We also cover the places around Enfield Lock: Enfield Island Village (1 mile east), Brimsdown (1 mile south) and Enfield Highway (1 mile south-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Edmonton (3 miles south-west), Enfield (3 miles south-west), Palmers Green (5 miles south-west), New Southgate (6 miles south-west), Enfield Chase (3 miles west) and Bush Hill Park (3 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Enfield Lock
The streets we cover here include those near Aylands School and Oasis Academy Enfield and the streets around them. Enfield Lock has its own railway station: Enfield Lock station.
Do you need alcove units in Enfield Lock?
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. We can plan an alcove unit around exactly what you have, with shelf heights and depths to suit.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Alcoves that are wasted space
If your home is one of the older houses near Ss Peter and Paul Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- A written quote that sets out the job
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
Flats, conversions and lettings
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you.
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We cannot give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Several things affect the price:
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- The width and height of the space
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
Access to the room makes a difference too. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit.
Before the design visit
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- What the furniture needs to hold
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
To get a quote, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us a little about the room. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Neighbourhoods near Enfield Lock
Other services in Enfield Lock
What it is made from
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF in a moisture-resistant grade is stable and paints beautifully, which makes it our choice for doors and visible panels. It is a sensible choice where an alcove sits against an external wall.
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. For a wide span or heavy books, we use a thicker shelf, a lip on the front or a support.
Fitting day, step by step
You won’t need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and the room should already be cleared, as we’ll have talked about at the design visit. After that, it is over to us: the floors are covered, the sections come in and the fitting begins. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. In a 1930s house with a converted loft, the stairs to the loft room are often steeper than the main flight, so any section going up there is sized for them. The main stairs in houses of that age are usually straighter. Each section is assembled and fixed in the room.
- You contact us about the alcoves you want to fill, with a note of the room they’re in.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you. If one alcove needs a desk or a TV space, this is when we plan it.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a written quote, ready for you to check.
- We build the units in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill. Any scribing to the walls is done on the day.
Before we arrive
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Ask for a quote
You do not need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To arrange it, message us from the contact page and tell us about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.