Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Alcove Units in Forest Gate
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Forest Gate. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Room to work in an alcove
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
Alcove units for your home in Forest Gate
Alcove units in Forest Gate: what you get
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it works best. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. The finish is spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in the colour you choose. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and tired cupboards in the alcoves.
In streets where so much of the housing went up before 1919, as it did around Forest Gate, lots of living rooms are two reception rooms knocked into one, each with its own chimney breast. That can mean one pair of alcoves for shelving and the other for low cupboards, with the screen on a chimney breast between. Older internal walls can be lath and plaster rather than brick, which changes how shelving is fixed.
The furniture is made in our workshop after you have had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Where
- Forest Gate (E7, E15, E11)
- Borough
- Newham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Honest limits
It helps to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we will tell you before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
Materials and parts
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
Places near Forest Gate
More for homes in Forest Gate
Questions from Forest Gate
Does a conservation area in or near Forest Gate affect fitted furniture?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
Is Forest Gate in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, Forest Gate is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Newham and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
We do not do electrical work. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit, 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, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Just mention it when you contact us, and we will see what we can do.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spraying gives a smooth, even surface, and hand painting is easy to touch up.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. We plan the height and depth with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Built-in living-room furniture in Forest Gate
In the neighbourhood around Forest Gate, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 68%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 11%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. 5 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Forest Gate. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Since the zone was extended to the outer boroughs in August 2023, the whole of London has been inside the ULEZ. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Forest Gate, as it does anywhere else in London. Access and parking are talked through at the design visit.
Near listed buildings like Emmanuel Church, less than half a mile south of the centre of Forest Gate, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. For families living near Woodgrange Infant School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. For a flat near Wanstead Park station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Forest Gate is within the London Borough of Newham, about 2 miles south of Plaistow. We cover Forest Gate as part of our work across Newham. Our Newham coverage includes Forest Gate and the places around it.
Design visits and fitting in E7, E15 and E11 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. You’ll find streets here such as Elm Road, Ash Road and Cary Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Main roads around Forest Gate include the A114 and A116. 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 Upton (1 mile south), Aldersbrook (1 mile north), Holloway Down (1 mile west), Plashet (1 mile south-east) and Little Ilford (1 mile east). Elsewhere in Newham, we also cover Plaistow (2 miles south), Canning Town (2 miles south), East Ham (2 miles south-east), Greengate (2 miles south), East Village (2 miles west) and Wallend (2 miles south-east). Forest Gate is among the bigger places we cover in Newham.
What’s near Forest Gate
Around Forest Gate, we cover homes near Forest Gate Community School, The Hudson Bay pub and Tyndale Academy, among other places. There is a railway station in Forest Gate itself: Wanstead Park station. Nearby you’ll also find Passmore Edwards Museum (0.9 miles south-west) and Stratford Centre (1.3 miles south-west).
Looking after your furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after with a little care. These habits help most:
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
Fill the shelves gradually and spread heavy things evenly. Books weigh more than most people expect, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Spread heavy loads and keep the heaviest things on lower shelves. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging, so mention heavy collections when we plan the unit.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be 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, and that’s best sorted before fitting day. We can’t advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
How fitting day works
On the morning of the fitting, the first job is covering the floors and protecting the way in from the front door. The sections made at our workshop come in next, one at a time. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. Dust is kept down and cleared up as we go. Hand painting, if that’s your finish, can follow the fitting.
- To begin, tell us about the room on our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, talk through the design and check the route from the street to the room. It helps to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- We then send a quote in writing for the units.
- 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.
Before fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Getting a quote
Getting a quote starts with a few details: the room, rough measurements and some photos if you have them. To send them, tell us about the room on our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a written quote.
Advice
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: there’s a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. In return, the unit is planned for your alcove alone, rather than the nearest standard size. Tall standalone furniture needs fixing back to the wall so it can’t tip, and older walls of brick or lath and plaster make that harder than it looks. Fitted furniture is designed with the wall in mind.
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Why work with us in Forest Gate
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- More than 300 projects completed