Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Alcove units in London Fields, Hackney
In London Fields, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
Ask about alcove units in London Fields
How we make alcove units for London Fields
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In bedrooms, this often becomes a compact wardrobe or a place for bedding, while in a dining room it can keep china, glass and table linen. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, and set out the shelves and rails around it. If your home has empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and walls too uneven for standard furniture, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish can solve it.
Around London Fields, 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. Walls in flats can be brick, concrete, block or plasterboard, so fixings are chosen for each one.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we’ll tell you. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Location
- London Fields (E8, E2, E9)
- Area
- Hackney
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting works for alcove units
There isn’t much for you to do on fitting day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and it helps to have the room cleared beforehand, as we will have talked about at the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Sections come into the flat in the order they’re fitted, so the flat doesn’t fill up. Floors are covered and dust is kept down. The fixings suit each wall, whether solid or stud.
- You get in touch and tell us about the room and the alcoves, and a rough sketch helps if you have one.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls.
Preparing the room
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Ask for a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, use our contact form.
Advice
When you need someone else
We don’t treat damp or carry out building work, and there are a few other limits too:
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can fill in our short enquiry form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Bought units stop at standard heights, which usually leaves a gap above. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, whichever looks right in your room. Whether the ceilings are tall or low, standard heights rarely match them, so storage is lost at the top. Fitted furniture runs to the ceiling.
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. It’s useful to talk about parking during the design visit, so it can be planned.
Why work with us in London Fields
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
- Work across the whole of London
- Built around your room
See how bespoke compares with ready-made and what a quote should include.
Neighbourhoods near London Fields
Other services in London Fields
What prompts alcove units in London Fields
Moving into a period house often prompts it. New owners want storage that suits the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It’s easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Clutter with nowhere to go
If you live in a period home close to Church of St Michael and All Angels, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Before you choose who makes it
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Have they thought about parking near you?
Flats, conversions and lettings
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them during the design visit, and we will plan the fitting around them.
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so let us know about it during the design visit.
Built-in living-room furniture in London Fields
The biggest shares of homes in the area around London Fields were built before 1919 (about 34%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 23%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. The Broadway Market Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of London Fields. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. The council can confirm if you are not sure. All of London, Hackney included, is inside the ULEZ. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in London Fields. Access and parking are talked through at the design visit.
Close to Haggerston Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. For families living near Gayhurst Community School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
London Fields is part of the London Borough of Hackney, about 1 mile south-west of Shoreditch. Design visits and fitting in London Fields can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Across Hackney, we cover London Fields.
We cover every part of the E8, E2 and E9 postcode area. If your home is on a street such as Tudor Road, Forest Road and Duncan Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. The A1207 runs close to London Fields, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. We also cover Hackney Central (1 mile north), Cambridge Heath (1 mile south-east), Dalston (1 mile north-west), Hackney (1 mile north-east) and Kingsland (1 mile north-west). Elsewhere in Hackney, we also cover Stoke Newington (2 miles north-west), Stamford Hill (2 miles north), Upper Clapton (2 miles north), Manor House (3 miles north-west), Lea Bridge (2 miles north-east) and Hackney Marshes (2 miles north-east).
What’s near London Fields
Our area takes in the homes around Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, The Urswick School and The Urswick School - A Church of England Secondary School. There is a railway station in London Fields itself: London Fields station. Well-known places in the area include Hackney Walk (0.7 miles north-east) and German Hospital (0.6 miles north-west).
FAQs: alcove units in London Fields
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in London Fields?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
I live near London Fields station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Hackney and the rest of London. You can get in touch through our contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. We will also ask about access and parking, and a quote in writing follows.
How do I get started?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
How long will the fitting take?
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. Most of the making happens in our workshop, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That depends on how you use the room. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes, so each unit is made for its own recess. They can match in style while doing different jobs.