Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Alcove Units in Golders Green
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Golders Green. After a design visit and a quote in writing, it’s made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Everyday clutter left on show
Alcove units for your home in Golders Green
About our alcove units in Golders Green
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. The cupboards take the things you’d rather not see, and the shelves are for books and favourite objects. The cupboard top gives you a ledge for a lamp, a speaker or a plant. We set the heights to suit the room and what you’ll store. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and people most often get in touch about alcoves that aren’t square and units that sit well with original features.
A large share of the homes around Golders Green were built before 1919, and in London most homes of that age are Victorian or Edwardian. Main rooms in houses like these typically have a chimney breast with an alcove on each side, which gives alcove units an obvious place to go. Walls are rarely flat, so each piece is scribed to the plaster and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet, then cut neatly around the skirting and any picture rail or cornice.
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.
- Place
- Golders Green (NW11, NW2, NW3)
- Area
- Barnet
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Alcoves vary in depth, and the chimney breast decides how far a unit can come out. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. We set the depth to suit the room. Ready-made pieces are proportioned for newer homes and can look lost in an older one, whereas fitted pieces can pick up the room’s height and mouldings.
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose.
Why choose us
- Built around your room
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.
When is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there is usually a gap left over at the top or at one end. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
It is worth being honest about cost: off-the-shelf furniture typically costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
If the property is let, we’ll need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
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.
Golders Green homes and alcove units
About 52% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Golders Green went up before 1919, and about 26% between 1919 and 1939, 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. The National Heritage List has 67 entries within half a mile of the centre of Golders Green. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. Controlled parking zones are run by the boroughs, so the rules in Barnet are set locally. If your street in Golders Green is in a controlled parking zone, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension through the council may be needed. We ask about parking during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Heath House, about 1.1 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Living in a block of flats near Cricklewood station? Then the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it. If you live near Childs Hill Park, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Golders Green is about 2 miles north of Finchley, within the London Borough of Barnet. Anywhere in Golders Green, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. We list Golders Green among 41 places we cover in Barnet.
Design visits and fitting in NW11, NW2 and NW3 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If your home is on a street like Nant Road, Hoop Lane and Park Avenue, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Temple Fortune (1 mile north), Childs Hill (1 mile south), North End (1 mile south-east), Hampstead Garden Suburb (1 mile north-east) and Vale of Health (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Finchley (2 miles north), Barnet (5 miles north), Burnt Oak (4 miles north-west), East Finchley (2 miles north-east), Whetstone (4 miles north) and Edgware (4 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Golders Green
Around Golders Green, we cover homes near The Old Bull and Bush pub, The Henrietta Barnett School and The King Alfred School and the streets around them. Golders Green’s nearest station is Cricklewood station, roughly 1.2 miles south-west. Nearby you’ll also find Brent Cross Shopping Centre (1.1 miles west) and Kenwood House (1.3 miles east). Not far away are Turner's Wood.
Fitting day, step by step
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made at the design visit and set out in your quote, so fitting day is about putting it in place carefully and leaving the room tidy. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, 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. Any decorating around the new pieces is for your decorator.
- 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.
- We send the design, materials and finish in a quote in writing.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
Before fitting day
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
How to get a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Golders Green, send us a few details through our contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, plus any rough sizes. Next comes a design visit, followed by a written quote.
Advice
What affects the cost of alcove units
A few things affect what fitted furniture costs:
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- How big the furniture is
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
The inside of the furniture affects the price as well: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. We’ll talk through what you need inside at the measuring visit, and the quote follows.
Helping us understand the room
When you contact us, these help most:
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Rough sizes: width, height and depth
- A few pictures of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- Any ideas or images you have saved
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To arrange it, get in touch through our contact form with some details about the room. The written quote follows the visit.
Nearby places to Golders Green
More for homes in Golders Green
FAQs: alcove units in Golders Green
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Cricklewood station?
Yes, homes across Barnet and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can get in touch through our contact form with some details about the room.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character can require listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish. We send a quote in writing after the design visit.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. You do not need to watch us work.
Should I send pictures?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit, along with rough measurements. It helps to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.