Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Enfield · London
Alcove Units in Picketts Lock
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. Our work on alcove units in Picketts Lock starts with a design visit, and everything is made at our workshop.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Storage that suits a period room
Need alcove units in Picketts Lock?
How we make alcove units for Picketts Lock
Alcove units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, chosen part by part. MDF gives smooth doors and panels that take paint well, 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. Most enquiries start with toys and paperwork with no proper home and units that sit well with original features; the furniture is made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Some living rooms in London have tall ceilings and cornices, while others have low, plain ceilings. In Picketts Lock, as anywhere, we measure the height as carefully as the width, because it decides how tall alcove units can go. Each section is sized to fit the route into the room.
Everything we agree at the design visit goes into the written quote: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If something is not quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Where
- Picketts Lock (N9, E4, N18)
- Area
- Enfield
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Living-room storage in Picketts Lock
Homes built before 1919 make up about 27% of the housing in the area around Picketts Lock, with about 20% built between 1973 and 1999, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Part of Picketts Lock is in a conservation area, according to Historic England’s records. Planning controls in conservation areas are mainly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitting furniture inside a house does not normally need permission. Your council can advise if you’re unsure. About 40% of households in the streets around Picketts Lock live in purpose-built flats, based on Census 2021. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Building management rules on lifts, deliveries and working hours are worth checking early.
Close to Pymmes Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. For a flat near Ponders End station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. The wider area includes historic houses like Bruce Castle, about 2.6 miles south-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Picketts Lock is within the London Borough of Enfield, about 1 mile west of Edmonton. Whether your home in Picketts Lock is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Picketts Lock is one of 26 places on our list for Enfield.
Here we cover the N9, E4 and N18 postcode area for alcove units. You will find streets here such as Ardra Road, Goodwin Road and Hennessy Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Main roads around Picketts Lock include the A1037. Other places close to Picketts Lock include Chingford Mount (1 mile south-east), South Chingford (1 mile south), Chingford (1 mile east), Edmonton (1 mile west) and Ponders End (1 mile north-west). Across the rest of Enfield, our area takes in Enfield (3 miles north-west), Palmers Green (3 miles west), New Southgate (5 miles west), Enfield Chase (3 miles north-west), Bush Hill Park (2 miles north-west) and Upper Edmonton (2 miles south-west).
What’s near Picketts Lock
The streets we cover here include those near The King's Ford pub and Nightingale Academy, among other places. Picketts Lock’s nearest station is Ponders End station, about 1.2 miles north of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include North Middlesex University Hospital (2 miles south-west) and Edmonton Green Shopping Centre (1.1 miles west). Not far away are Ainslie Wood.
From workshop to your room
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 sits neatly against the room. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Before fitting day, we check the route in as well as the room, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- To begin, drop us a line using the contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- We then send a quote in writing for the units.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Preparing the room
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Ask for a quote
To make a start, use our contact form and tell us which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. We then arrange a design visit to measure and go through the design, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Advice
Neighbourhoods near Picketts Lock
What else we make in Picketts Lock
Could you do it yourself?
If you’re handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that aren’t square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths.
Questions we’re often asked
Can you make alcove units for a home in Picketts Lock?
Yes. Picketts Lock is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Enfield and London. To get started, you can use our contact form with a few details.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Picketts Lock?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it’s done before fitting, and we can tell you where the units will sit so the sockets end up in the right place. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
Will alcove units fit if my walls are not straight?
Yes. We measure each alcove carefully during the design visit, make the units in our workshop and trim the edges on site to meet the wall, which closes the gaps you’d see with standard furniture.
Can the two alcove units be different?
It’s up to you. A matching pair balances the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. Shared details, like the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to let us in. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Honest limits
Before you plan the job, it’s useful to know what we don’t do:
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Electrical work, such as new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can use our contact form and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
Materials and parts
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
How it is made
Plinths and scribe strips
A plinth lifts the cupboard off the floor and hides any slope. Its height can match the skirting board for a tidy finish.
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF in a moisture-resistant grade is stable and paints beautifully, so we use it for doors, panels and the faces you see. It is a good match for alcoves on an external wall.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re normally cheaper. The trouble is usually the gaps: 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. Walls and floors are seldom perfectly flat in any home, and standalone units show it with gaps and wobbles. Built-in pieces are adjusted to the room as they go in.
There is no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a quote in writing, with the materials and finish set out. To arrange a design visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Why choose us
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Built around your room
- 300+ projects completed
- We work across all London boroughs
See bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.