Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Enfield · London
Alcove units in Enfield
Alcove units in Enfield: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Every piece is built in our workshop and fitted in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- Storage that suits a period room
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Need alcove units in Enfield?
About our alcove units in Enfield
We work across London, including Enfield. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. Then you receive a quote; the units are then made in our workshop and fitted in your home. If you are living with tired cupboards in the alcoves and alcoves that aren’t square, that is what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
In an area like Enfield, where interwar homes or semis make up much of the housing, many living rooms have been opened up to the dining room behind. That leaves a long room with a chimney breast on one side, which suits alcove units along that wall. Cable routes for a TV or speakers, and space for set-top boxes, are planned at the design visit, with any new sockets left to your electrician.
The quote comes in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and talk it over at home. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Where
- Enfield (EN1, EN2, N21)
- Borough
- Enfield
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Caring for painted furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after. 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
- Mention parking and access when we visit
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
Don’t 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.
Watch for damp marks on the chimney breast or the walls near the units. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade, and it’s easier to deal with before it spreads.
How it’s made
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribe strips are the edges we trim on site to follow the wall. This closes the gap between a straight unit and a bowed alcove.
Spray-painted finish
Because the units are sprayed before they come to you, there is less painting to do in your home. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Living-room storage in Enfield
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 31% of the housing in the area around Enfield, with about 24% built before 1919, 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. Enfield is partly covered by a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. About 31% of homes in the area around Enfield date from between 1919 and 1939, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Houses from the 1920s and 1930s often have a bay window and a chimney breast in the front room, which shape where alcove units go.
If your home is one of the older houses near Church of St Andrew, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. The wider area includes historic houses like Forty Hall, about 1.3 miles north-east. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live near Enfield Town Park, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Enfield is in the London Borough of Enfield, about 2 miles south-east of Edmonton. We design and make alcove units for homes in Enfield, as part of our work in every London borough. Our work takes in places right across the rest of London.
In EN1, EN2 and N21, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. If your home is on a street such as Lea Road, Farr Road and Cecil Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. The A110 runs close to Enfield, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Bush Hill Park (1 mile south-east), Bush Hill (1 mile south), Enfield Chase (1 mile west), Gordon Hill (1 mile north) and Forty Hill (1 mile north-east). Across the rest of the rest of London, our area takes in Edmonton (2 miles south-east), Palmers Green (3 miles south-west), New Southgate (4 miles south-west), Upper Edmonton (3 miles south), Oakthorpe Park (3 miles south) and Arnos Grove (3 miles south-west).
Near you in Enfield
The streets we cover here include those near St Andrew's CofE Primary School, Kings Head pub and Grange Park Preparatory School, among other places. Enfield has its own railway station: Enfield Town station. Other landmarks nearby include St Michaels Hospital (0.7 miles north) and Museum of Enfield (under half a mile south).
From workshop to your room
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. Most of the decisions were made at the design visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Interwar houses typically have a straight run of stairs and a reasonable hallway, but the route in is still measured, not just the room. Alcove units arrive in sections and are assembled in place, with floors protected throughout.
- To begin, message us from the contact page; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, go through the design and check the route from the street to the room.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are made at 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. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
How to get a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if you do not, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, use our contact form.
Related advice
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s normally a gap left over at the top or at one end. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
It is worth being honest about cost: flat-pack is normally cheaper to buy. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
FAQs: alcove units in Enfield
Can you make alcove units for a home in Enfield?
Yes, Enfield is within the area we cover, which takes in all of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Enfield?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, internal works that affect its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
We plan alcove units so any chimney vent stays clear. Even a blocked chimney needs some ventilation to help keep damp away.
How long does it take to fit alcove units?
How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. The units are made at our workshop first.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That’s your choice. Full-height units give the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We’ll go through what suits your room when we visit.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you contact us.
What else we make in Enfield
What affects the cost of alcove units
To work out the quote, we look at:
- Spray painting or hand painting
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Parking near your home
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers all add work. We will talk through what you need inside at the measuring visit, and the quote follows.
Helping us understand the room
To give us a picture of the room, it’s useful to include:
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a written quote. To arrange the visit, drop us a line using the contact form.