Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Islington · London
Mildmay Alcove Units
Thinking about alcove units in Mildmay? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Alcove units for your home in Mildmay
What we don’t do
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we do not do:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can get in touch through our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
Materials and parts
- Adjustable shelves
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
Alcove units in Mildmay: what you get
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. 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 you are living with clutter with nowhere to go and alcoves that are wasted space, that is what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Solid brick external walls are standard in Victorian and Edwardian houses, and internal walls may be brick or lath and plaster. Since a large share of the homes around Mildmay date from before 1919, we check which you have before deciding how alcove units are fixed. Lath and plaster needs a lighter touch and the right fixings, particularly behind loaded shelves.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it is made from and how it is finished, and the workshop works from it.
- Place
- Mildmay (N1, N16, E8)
- Area
- Islington
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for alcove units?
Moving into a period house often prompts it. New owners want storage that suits the house, and the alcoves are an obvious place to start. It’s easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
Requests we hear often include:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Units that sit well with original features
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Church of St Matthias, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent.
Choosing a carpenter
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
What it is made from
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, so it’s ideal for shelves and the boxes behind the doors. You can paint its layered edge or leave it on show.
Moisture-resistant MDF
With no grain to show through, MDF keeps the painted surface smooth and even. Moisture-resistant MDF is what we use for fitted work.
Fitting day, step by step
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 how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. On fitting day, edges are trimmed on site to follow the walls, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Hand painting, if that is your finish, can follow the fitting.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
Before fitting day
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Arranging a design visit
Rough sizes are fine at the start. We measure everything properly at the measuring visit, including how level the floor and ceiling are. To get started, message us from the contact page. The written quote follows the visit.
Related advice
Also near Mildmay
More for homes in Mildmay
Flats, conversions and lettings
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it, after measuring the route during the design visit.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan the fitting around them.
Alcove units in Mildmay: local notes
In the streets around Mildmay, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 48%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 22%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. 13 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Mildmay. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover 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. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Mildmay. We plan parking and access with you at the design visit.
The wider area includes historic houses like Sutton House, about 1.4 miles east. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Living in a block of flats near Dalston Kingsland station? Then alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room.
Mildmay is part of the London Borough of Islington, about 1 mile west of Highbury. Whether your home in Mildmay is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. We cover places right across Islington, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
In N1, N16 and E8, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Streets in the area include Dove Road, Essex Road and Burma Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Main roads around Mildmay include the A1199, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Newington Green (1 mile north), De Beauvoir Town (1 mile south), Canonbury (1 mile south-west), Kingsland (1 mile south-east) and Highbury (1 mile west). Across the rest of Islington, our area takes in Farringdon (2 miles south-west), Clerkenwell (2 miles south-west), Finsbury (2 miles south), St Luke's (2 miles south), Angel (2 miles south-west) and Holloway (2 miles west).
Around Mildmay
In Mildmay, that includes homes near City of London Academy Highbury Grove, Army and Navy pub and Kingsland Secondary School. There is a railway station in Mildmay itself: Dalston Kingsland station. A little further out are Hackney Walk (1.5 miles east) and Clowns Gallery-Museum (0.6 miles south-east). Not far away are Gillespie Park.
Common questions about alcove units
I live in a flat in Mildmay. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Mildmay?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by 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 measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. You will get a written quote once we’ve measured up.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. We don’t treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house does not normally need it. Listed buildings are different: check with the council’s conservation officer first.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time on site depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. The units are made at our workshop first.