Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Islington · London
Farringdon Alcove Units
Thinking about alcove units in Farringdon? We start with a design visit and a written quote, before anything is made.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Shelving for books and records
Alcove units for your home in Farringdon
Alcove units in Farringdon: what you get
Few alcoves in older houses are truly square. The walls lean, the chimney breast may bow and the floor often slopes, often all at once. Each unit is made in our workshop to our measurements and scribed to the walls when we fit it, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. A plinth or adjustable feet take up any slope in the floor. If you’re living with furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and units that sit well with original features, that’s what alcove units are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Around Farringdon, most households live in purpose-built flats, so living rooms often double as dining rooms or home offices. Alcove units can bring shelving, closed storage and a screen into one run. Fixings are matched to the wall, whether it is solid or plasterboard.
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 it is what the workshop builds to.
- Place
- Farringdon (EC1V, EC1R, EC1P)
- Borough
- Islington
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about alcove units in Farringdon
Do you make alcove units for homes in Farringdon?
Yes. Farringdon is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Islington and London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Do you cover homes near Farringdon station?
Yes, homes across Islington and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can get in touch through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, by arrangement. Let us know when you get in touch if a Saturday suits you best.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Farringdon?
The first step is to fill in our short enquiry form and let us know about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
How long does it take to fit alcove units?
It depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. We’ll talk you through what fitting day involves before we start.
Nearby places to Farringdon
Other services in Farringdon
Why bespoke in Farringdon?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re usually cheaper. The trouble is usually the gaps: standard widths rarely match the recess, and uneven walls make every gap obvious. A bespoke unit is built to the alcove and scribed to follow the wall. Big standalone units don’t always fit the lift or the turn on the stairs, while fitted furniture arrives in sections sized for the route. The sections are assembled once inside.
The finish affects the cost: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
Why work with us in Farringdon
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.
Alcove units for homes in Farringdon
About 32% of the homes in the streets around Farringdon went up since 2000, and about 28% between 1945 and 1972, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. 24 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of central Farringdon. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. About 83% of households around Farringdon live in purpose-built flats, well above the figure for Islington as a whole, about 57%, according to Census 2021. So the route in, from stairs to lifts, is part of the design.
If you live in a period home close to St John Clerkenwell, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. If you live near Barbican Conservatory, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Priory Church of St John of Jerusalem, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Farringdon is about 2 miles north of Highbury, within the London Borough of Islington. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Farringdon is part of that. We cover places right across Islington.
Every address in EC1V, EC1R and EC1P is within our area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets such as Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Farringdon sits close to the A1 and A4. We also cover the places around Farringdon: Smithfield (1 mile south), Clerkenwell (1 mile north), Holborn (1 mile west), Blackfriars (1 mile south) and Temple Bar (1 mile south-west). Across the rest of Islington, our area takes in Highbury (2 miles north), Canonbury (2 miles north-east), Barnsbury (2 miles north), Holloway (3 miles north), Mildmay (2 miles north-east) and Upper Holloway (3 miles north). Farringdon is one of the larger places we cover in Islington.
Around Farringdon
The streets we cover here include those near Barts Health Archives, St Peter and St Paul RC Primary School and The Castle Public House. Farringdon has its own railway station: Farringdon station. Well-known places in the area include Montfichet's Tower (0.5 miles south) and Finsbury Health Centre (a few minutes’ walk north-west). Open spaces near Farringdon include Barnsbury Wood and Ludgate Hill.
Boards, parts and paint
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish often suits alcove units in older houses. You choose the colour, and it is easy to refresh in years to come.
What it costs
There’s no set price, because there’s no set room. The things that affect it are:
- How square the room is
- Spray painting or hand painting
- How many doors and drawers there are
- Parking near your home
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
What to send when you contact us
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. It is enough to send:
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- Approximate measurements of the space
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
Make a note of the paint colour used. Small marks on a hand-painted finish are easy to touch up, and it’s useful to keep a little of the paint.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, as strong heat can mark paint over time.
Fitting day, step by step
Once the main sections are fixed in place, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Loading near a block of flats can take some planning, so details of bays, permits or a loading area help. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- You get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- We visit to measure the alcoves top, middle and bottom, and check the floor for level.
- You get a quote in writing for the units, materials and finish.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster.
How to prepare
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Getting a quote
If you know what you want, say so; 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 that follows sets it out. To start, fill in our short enquiry form.