Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Alcove units in Shoreditch, Hackney
We make alcove units for homes in Shoreditch, designed around the room you have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and built in our workshop.
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Shelving for books and records
Alcove units for your home in Shoreditch
How fitting day works
Every fitting follows the same order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Fitting day starts by covering floors and setting out the sections. Each piece is levelled and fixed to suit plasterboard or block. Any hand painting can be finished on site.
- To begin, tell us about the room on our contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. Parking is worth mentioning too, since a van often needs a permit or a paid bay in London.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are built in 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
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Arranging a design visit
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. Afterwards, we send a written quote. To arrange the visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Advice
Alcove units in Shoreditch: what you get
We fit alcove units across Hackney and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. After that we send a quote in writing, and once you’re happy the units are made in our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are units that sit well with original features and somewhere to keep books and records.
A large number of homes around Shoreditch date from 2000 onwards, and in a newer home the living space is typically open-plan, without a chimney breast. That means alcove units often create the structure of the room, framing a screen or running a full wall. Many internal walls in newer homes are plasterboard on timber or metal studs, so fixings go into the studs or use fixings made for the board.
The written quote puts the design visit in writing: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If something isn’t quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Location
- Shoreditch (E1, E2, N1)
- Area
- Hackney
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths, and standard units leave gaps.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
Your questions about alcove units in Shoreditch
I live near Shoreditch High Street station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Hackney and the rest of London. To get started, you can fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is Shoreditch in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, Shoreditch is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Hackney and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. You don’t need to watch us work, but it’s useful to be around at the end.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time on site depends on the size and number of units, 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.
Do pictures help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, such as radiators or sockets.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Shoreditch?
The first step is to fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a written quote.
Where other trades come in
Not everything around alcove units is carpentry, from an electrician to a plumber or a Gas Safe registered engineer. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can fill in our short enquiry form and we will tell you before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
Built-in living-room furniture in Shoreditch
In the area around Shoreditch, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 39%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 28%), 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. There are 292 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Shoreditch. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. Fewer homes around Shoreditch date from before 1919 than across Hackney: about 16%, against about 35%, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We check what the walls are made of during the design visit, as they vary with the age of the home.
Mansion House, about 1 mile south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Close to Artillery Ground? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone. Living in a block of flats near Shoreditch High Street station? Then the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in.
Shoreditch is part of the London Borough of Hackney. We can visit homes in Shoreditch on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Shoreditch is one of 20 places on our list for Hackney.
We work across E1, E2 and N1. You will find streets here such as New Road, Moor Lane and City Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Shoreditch sits close to the A1 and A10. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. We also cover the places around Shoreditch: Haggerston (1 mile north), Hoxton (1 mile north-west), St Luke's (1 mile west), Spitalfields (1 mile south) and Finsbury (1 mile west). Across the rest of Hackney, our area takes in Homerton (2 miles north-east), West Hackney (2 miles north), Hackney (2 miles north-east), Lower Clapton (2 miles north-east), Stoke Newington (3 miles north) and Shacklewell (2 miles north). As one of the bigger places in Hackney, Shoreditch is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Local landmarks in Shoreditch
We fit furniture in homes around Hackney University Technical College, Former London Apprentice pub and The Prince's School of Traditional Arts and the streets around them. You will also find St Mary-at-Hill (1.1 miles south) and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives (0.5 miles south). Shoreditch has its own railway station: Shoreditch High Street station. A little further out are Dennis Severs' House (less than half a mile south) and Tower of London (1.2 miles south). For a walk, there’s Tower Hill.
Looking after your furniture
Looking after painted furniture is simple with a little care. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Think about what you’ll store before we meet
- Let us know about parking and access at the measuring visit
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
Keep a record of the colour. Small marks on a hand-painted finish are easy to touch up.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Dry any spills quickly.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We cannot give advice on leases.
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so each section is sized to get through without a struggle.