Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Camden · London
Alcove units in Seven Dials, Camden
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Seven Dials. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Alcove units for your home in Seven Dials
Alcove units for homes in Seven Dials
Period alcoves are rarely square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, sometimes all in one recess. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. If you are living with walls too uneven for standard furniture and storage that suits a period room, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
In streets where so much of the housing went up before 1919, as it did around Seven Dials, the living room is often two rooms knocked through, with a chimney breast in each half. One pair of alcoves might take shelves and the other cupboards, a TV or a desk. Some internal walls in houses of that age are lath and plaster, so fixings are chosen to suit what’s behind the paint, and long shelves are sized so they don’t sag under books.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Location
- Seven Dials (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Borough
- Camden
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Caring for painted furniture
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. These are worth keeping in mind:
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
- Mention parking and access when we visit
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. A full shelf of books is heavier than it looks, and an even load keeps the shelves straight.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks. Dry any spills quickly.
Materials and finishes
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood helps shelves stay straight under books over a wider alcove. Thickness is chosen to suit the span and the weight.
Your questions about alcove units in Seven Dials
Does a conservation area in or near Seven Dials affect fitted furniture?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
My home in Seven Dials is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
How is the price worked out?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how awkward the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
That’s a job for your electrician. Ideally it is done before fitting. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
Will alcove units fit if my walls are not straight?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the design visit, then the units are made at our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them, which closes the gaps you’d see with standard furniture.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. Many people use one alcove for a desk and the other for cupboards, or matching desks in both. The desk is planned around the way you work.
From workshop to your room
The last stage of the day is the finish. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is typically only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed in your quote. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so neighbours may appreciate a note before fitting day. Each section is sized for the tightest door or turn. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail.
- We send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Getting a quote
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 for you to look over. To arrange the visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
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Nearby places to Seven Dials
More for homes in Seven Dials
Could you do it yourself?
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: flat-pack is usually cheaper to buy. Bespoke earns its place where the room is tricky, space is tight or you want the furniture to look part of the house.
Alcove units for homes in Seven Dials
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Seven Dials were built before 1919 (about 49%) and since 2000 (about 21%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. 31 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Seven Dials. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Controlled parking zones cover much of inner London, and each borough runs its own. For fitting in Seven Dials, a van usually needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the design visit.
Living in a block of flats near Tottenham Court Road station? Then the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in. If your home is one of the older houses near Soho Baptist Chapel, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.4 miles south, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Seven Dials is about 1 mile north-east of St Pancras, part of the London Borough of Camden. We can visit homes in Seven Dials on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. In Camden, Seven Dials is one of the places we cover.
Every home in W1F, W1D and W1T is covered for alcove units. Whether you live on a street like Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. The A301 and A400 runs close to Seven Dials, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include St Giles (1 mile north), West End (1 mile west), Soho (1 mile west), Covent Garden (1 mile east) and Chinatown (1 mile south-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Hampstead (4 miles north-west), West Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Agar Town (2 miles north), Kentish Town (2 miles north), Greenhill (4 miles north-west) and Chalk Farm (2 miles north-west). Seven Dials is among the bigger places we cover in Camden.
Near you in Seven Dials
In Seven Dials, that includes homes near LSE Shaw Library, Two Brewers pub and Mercers' School, among other places. Seven Dials has its own railway station: Tottenham Court Road station. Other landmarks nearby include St Paul's Hospital (a few minutes’ walk north-east) and Leverian collection (within half a mile south-west). Not far away are Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Some flat-pack shelves are thin and start to sag once they’re loaded. We size our shelves for their span and what they’ll carry, with birch plywood where it is needed. Still, a decent off-the-shelf unit can be the sensible choice if you’re renting or moving soon. Recesses in older houses come in every size except the standard ones, so ready-made units rarely fill them properly. Furniture made for the space fills it.
We do not publish set prices, because each job is designed for a single room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote, with the materials and finish set out. To start, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Why work with us in Seven Dials
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Every quote follows a design visit
See how bespoke compares with ready-made or what a quote should include.