Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Tower Hamlets · London
Alcove units in Old Ford, Tower Hamlets
Planning alcove units for a home in Old Ford? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Alcove units for your home in Old Ford
About our alcove units in Old Ford
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Old Ford has a pair of alcoves, we design a unit for each one after we’ve measured them at a design visit. If your home has walls too uneven for standard furniture and storage that suits a period room, that is what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Most internal walls in homes from recent decades are plasterboard on studs, and the board will not carry a heavy load on its own. Around Old Ford, where many homes were built since 2000, that shapes how alcove units are fixed: heavier pieces stand on the floor and are fixed back into the studs.
Once you’ve read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is made at our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- Old Ford (E3, E15, E9)
- Area
- Tower Hamlets
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
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.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it’s easy to buy.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re usually cheaper. The catch is the fit: standard widths rarely match the recess, and uneven walls make every gap obvious. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster. Big standalone units can dominate a compact room, while fitted furniture, painted in a colour that suits the walls, reads as part of the room.
In London, parking can affect the price. 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 at the design visit, so it can be planned.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Old Ford
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Over 300 projects completed
See how bespoke compares with ready-made and what a quote should include.
Boards, parts and paint
Moisture-resistant MDF
With no grain to show through, MDF keeps the painted surface smooth and even. We choose the moisture-resistant grade for fitted furniture.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting lets the colour be judged in the room itself. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Neighbourhoods near Old Ford
More for homes in Old Ford
What affects the cost of alcove units
The price reflects the time and materials the job needs. The main factors are:
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- How big the furniture is
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- The number of doors and drawers
Access to the room makes a difference too. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections, which the quote allows for. We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit.
What to send when you contact us
Some details help us understand the job before we visit. It is useful to include:
- Rough sizes: width, height and depth
- Your postcode and the borough
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- The type of home and how the room is reached
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. A quote in writing follows the visit, so you can take your time with it. To arrange the visit, message us from the contact page.
Fitting day, step by step
In older rooms, the furniture typically has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details, so it looks as though it was always there. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Before fixing into a stud wall, we check for pipes and cables, and heavy pieces are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor. Any new sockets or plumbing are for your electrician or plumber.
- You contact us with a few details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square. Then we go through the design together.
- We send the design, materials and finish in a quote in writing.
- In our workshop the units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a little extra left on the edges that meet the wall.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster.
Before fitting day
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Arranging a design visit
To make a start, use our contact form and let us know which room you have in mind. We then arrange a design visit to measure and discuss the design, and send you a written quote afterwards.
Advice
Alcove units in Old Ford: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Old Ford were built since 2000 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 16%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Old Ford include Church of St Mary Stratford Bow (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south-east, and Phoenix School (Grade II*), about 0.6 miles south. For a listed home, internal works that affect its character may need listed building consent from the council, for example removing or fixing into original panelling. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. More than a third of the homes in the streets around Old Ford (about 49%) were built since 2000, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Newer homes usually have plasterboard stud walls and open-plan rooms, often with no chimney breast, so alcove units are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor.
If your home is one of the older houses near St Paul Old Ford, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live near Grove Hall Park, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. The wider area includes historic houses like Sutton House, about 1.5 miles north-west. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Old Ford is part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, about 2 miles south-west of Whitechapel. We cover Old Ford as part of our work across Tower Hamlets. We cover places right across Tower Hamlets.
We work across E3, E15 and E9. You will find streets here like Bow Road, Wick Lane and Dace Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Donnybrook Quarter (1 mile west), Fish Island (1 mile north), Bow (1 mile south-west), Hackney Wick (1 mile north) and Bromley (1 mile south). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Whitechapel (2 miles south-west), Spitalfields (3 miles south-west), Tower Hill (3 miles south-west), Bethnal Green (2 miles west), Shadwell (2 miles south-west) and Stepney (2 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Old Ford
In Old Ford, that includes homes near Old Ford Primary - A Paradigm Academy and The Lea Tavern and the streets around them. The closest station to Old Ford is Hackney Wick station, about 0.6 miles north. Nearby you’ll also find Westfield Stratford City (0.9 miles north-east) and St Clement's Hospital (0.7 miles south-west). Open spaces near Old Ford include Old Ford Island.
FAQs: alcove units in Old Ford
Do you cover homes near Hackney Wick station?
Yes. We cover all of Tower Hamlets and the rest of London. To get started, you can fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Old Ford?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That is your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We will go through what suits your room when we visit.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture. If there is damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We’ll help you choose at the design visit.