Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Haggerston Alcove Units
Alcove units in Haggerston: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- A place for a small desk
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Alcove units designed for your room
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture normally 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.
Alcove units in Haggerston: what you get
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, chosen part by part. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in the colour you choose. If you are living with standard units leaving gaps at the sides and storage that suits a period room, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish can solve it.
Newer homes often come with a TV point and sockets on one wall but nothing built around them. Many homes around Haggerston are from those years, so we design alcove units around the existing points rather than moving them. Any new socket is a job for your electrician, and we leave space and cable routes for it.
The quote comes in writing, so there is time to read it properly and share it with anyone else involved. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Place
- Haggerston (N1, E2, E8)
- Borough
- Hackney
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Haggerston
What else we make in Haggerston
How fitting works for alcove units
At the end, we tidy up. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and explain how to look after the paint. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Newer developments sometimes have their own parking and loading rules, so tell us what applies at the design visit. The furniture comes in sections and is fixed in place. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, 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 send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- Once you are happy, the units are made in our workshop.
- Fitting day: the units go in, are scribed to the alcoves and levelled on a plinth or feet.
Before fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets in another room while we work
How to get a quote
For a quote for alcove units in Haggerston, send us a few details through our contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
Advice
Living-room carpentry in Haggerston: local notes
Homes built since 2000 make up about 35% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Haggerston, with about 31% built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Haggerston is partly covered by the Kingsland Conservation Area, according to Historic England’s records. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. Your council can advise if you are unsure. Strict stopping rules apply on red routes, which TfL runs. If your home in Haggerston is on or near a main road, tell us at the measuring visit. We can then plan where the van will stop.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Sutton House, about 1.5 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 your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like St Columba's Vicarage, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent.
Haggerston is part of the London Borough of Hackney, about 1 mile south of Shoreditch. Wherever you are in Haggerston, the process is the same: a design visit, a written quote, furniture made in our workshop and fitting in your home. Our work takes in places right across Hackney, large and small.
Design visits and fitting in N1, E2 and E8 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover homes on streets like Hyde Road, Glebe Road and Ufton Road, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Main roads around Haggerston include the A1208, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover Hoxton (1 mile west), Shoreditch (1 mile south), De Beauvoir Town (1 mile north), Kingsland (1 mile north) and Bethnal Green (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Homerton (2 miles north-east), West Hackney (2 miles north), Lower Clapton (2 miles north-east), Stoke Newington (2 miles north), Clapton (2 miles north-east) and Stamford Hill (2 miles north).
Local landmarks in Haggerston
Around Haggerston, we cover homes near The Bridge Academy, Stag's Head pub and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, among other places. There is a railway station in Haggerston itself: Hoxton station. Well-known places in the area include Hackney Walk (1.4 miles north-east) and Montfichet's Tower (1.8 miles south-west).
Why people ask for alcove units in Haggerston
A busy family living room is another reason. Toys, games, paperwork and gadgets need somewhere to go, and closed cupboards hide them away. Open shelves above are left for the things you like to see.
If any of these sound familiar, it’s worth getting in touch:
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Alcoves that are not square
- Room to work in an alcove
If you live near Haggerston Park, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Before you choose who makes it
- How parking will work on your street
- Real projects you can actually look at
- A written quote that sets out the job
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
What it’s made from
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gets an even coat into corners and onto edges and leaves no brush marks. The colour is agreed with you before we start.
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we usually scribe the sides and often the top too. It is what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
FAQs: alcove units in Haggerston
I live near Hoxton station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Hackney and the rest of London. You can use our contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Does a conservation area in or near Haggerston affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not 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 are unsure, the council can confirm.
Can I send photos ahead of the visit?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot. You can send them when you use our contact form.
How tall should alcove units be?
It is up to you. Full-height units give the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We will go through what suits your room when we visit.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It’s up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. You do not need to watch us work, but it is useful to be around at the end.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Bespoke furniture isn’t instant: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, rather than the nearest standard size. Standalone furniture fixed to plasterboard needs the right fixings, and often does not get them. Fitted furniture is planned with fixings into the studs or made for the board.
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections. Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured.
Why choose us
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- More than 300 projects completed
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.