Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Finchley Alcove Units
Alcove units in Finchley: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and discuss the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Alcove units for your home in Finchley
Alcove units for homes in Finchley
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It is a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. Desk height and depth are agreed with you, and leave a route for cables to reach the sockets. If your home has room to work in an alcove and bowed walls and sloping floors, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand can solve it.
Around Finchley, a large share of homes date from before 1919, and in London most homes of that age are Victorian or Edwardian. Main rooms in houses like these usually have a chimney breast with an alcove on each side, which gives alcove units an obvious place to go. Because old walls bow and floors slope, the units are scribed to follow the wall and levelled at the base, then cut neatly around the skirting and any picture rail or cornice.
A written quote follows the design visit. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Finchley (N3, N2, N12, NW11)
- Area
- Barnet
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Fitting day, step by step
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Original hallway tiles and old floorboards are worth protecting, so they’re covered before anything comes in. Drilling into lath and plaster is done with care, so the plaster around stays sound. Decorating around the furniture afterwards is for your decorator.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas, 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.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- Once you are happy, the units are made in our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
Arranging a design visit
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, tell us about the room on our contact form with a few details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
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Materials and finishes
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we usually scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s the difference between a unit that sits in the alcove and one that belongs there.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish can be done on site, after the units are fitted. Small marks are easy to touch up, and it suits a period room.
Alcove units for homes in Finchley
In the neighbourhood around Finchley, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 47%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 17%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. There are 7 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Finchley. You can check whether a particular building is listed on Historic England’s list. The share of homes built before 1919 around Finchley, about 47%, is well above the figure for Barnet as a whole, about 20%, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). So older-house details are more likely to come into the design of alcove units.
The wider area includes historic houses like Heath Hall, about 1.8 miles south. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Close to Victoria Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. Near listed buildings like The Manor House, about 0.5 miles south-west of the centre of Finchley, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Finchley is in the London Borough of Barnet. We cover Finchley as part of our work across Barnet, and the process is the same everywhere we work. Finchley is one of 41 places on our list for Barnet.
We make alcove units across N3, N2, N12 and NW11 for alcove units. You will find streets here like Station Road, Chaplin Square and Market Place, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Finchley sits close to the B1462. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Close by, we also work in Church End (1 mile west), Woodside Park (1 mile north), North Finchley (1 mile north), Friern Barnet (2 miles north-east) and Oakleigh Park (2 miles north). Other parts of Barnet we cover include Barnet (3 miles north), Burnt Oak (3 miles west), Hendon (2 miles south-west), Edgware (4 miles west), Southgate (3 miles north-east) and Colindale (3 miles west). Being one of the larger places in Barnet, Finchley is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Near you in Finchley
We fit furniture in homes around The Elephant Inn, Bishop Douglass School and Woodhouse College, among other places. For rail, the closest station is New Southgate station, roughly 1.9 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Finchley Memorial Hospital (under half a mile north-east) and Grand Arcade (1 mile north). For a walk, there is Lakeside Nature Reserve.
What alcove units cannot fix
Not everything around alcove units is carpentry, like an electrician, a plumber or an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Here’s what to know:
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Decorating the rest of the room
If in doubt, you can get in touch through our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Flats, conversions and lettings
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. If there is a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Mention it when you contact us.
Mansion blocks and purpose-built blocks often have house rules about lifts, entry systems and when trades can come in. Let us know about them at the measuring visit.
Common questions about alcove units
Is parking a problem for fitting in Finchley?
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. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to New Southgate station?
Yes. We cover all of Barnet and the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That is your choice. A matching pair balances the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
What happens at the measuring visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. We’ll also ask about access and parking, and a written quote follows.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, by arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you get in touch.
Nearby places to Finchley
What affects the cost of alcove units
The price reflects the time and materials the job needs. That depends on:
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- Spray painting or hand painting
- How square the room is
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
Parking is part of the price picture in London. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. It is useful to talk about parking at the design visit, so it can be planned.
What we need to know
These details help when you contact us:
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- How you want to use the space
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- Pictures of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
If you know what you want, say so; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we have measured, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.