Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
Smithfield Alcove Units
In Smithfield, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units for your home in Smithfield
How we make alcove units for Smithfield
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. The cupboards take the things you’d rather not see, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The cupboard top gives you a ledge for a lamp, a speaker or a plant. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. If your home has shelving for books and records and toys and paperwork with no proper home, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
Purpose-built flats are home to most households around Smithfield, and in a flat the living room often has to do several jobs. Alcove units can bring shelving, closed storage and a screen into one run. Fixings are matched to the wall, whether it is solid or plasterboard.
The quote comes in writing, so there’s time to read it properly and talk it over at home. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Where
- Smithfield (EC1V, EC1P, EC1R)
- Area
- City of London
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from Smithfield
Do you make alcove units for homes in Smithfield?
Yes. Smithfield is one of the places we work, along with the rest of the City of London and London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with a few details.
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Smithfield?
At the design visit, we measure the way in along with the room itself. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it is done before fitting, and we can tell you where the units will sit so the sockets end up in the right place. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We’ll help you choose at the design visit.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time on site depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. The units are made in our workshop first, so the work in your home is about fitting and finishing.
How tall should alcove units be?
That depends on the room and what you’d like to store. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice. The height is settled at the design visit.
How fitting works for alcove units
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look 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. Many blocks have entry systems, concierge desks or rules on booking the lift, so it is worth checking with the managing agent ahead of time. Communal areas and floors are protected on the way in.
- You contact us with some details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves top, middle and bottom, and check the floor for level. Then we go through the design together.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- 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
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Arranging a design visit
Rough sizes are fine at the start. We measure everything properly at the design visit, including how level the floor and ceiling are. To arrange it, tell us about the room on our contact form. The written quote follows the visit.
Read more
Nearby places to Smithfield
What else we make in Smithfield
Caring for painted furniture
Most of what helps is simple. What we’d suggest:
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. A full shelf of books is heavier than it looks, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Now and then, check handles and hinges are still tight.
Boards, parts and paint
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.
Spray-painted finish
A sprayed coat covers edges and corners evenly. You choose the colour at the design stage.
Flats, leases and landlords
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We can’t advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Living-room carpentry in Smithfield: local notes
Homes built since 2000 make up about 32% of the housing in the streets around Smithfield, with about 28% built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Smithfield include Church of St Sepulchre (Grade I), less than half a mile south, and Church of St Bartholomew the Great (Grade I), less than half a mile east. If your own home is listed, internal works that affect its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, can need listed building consent. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. About 32% of homes in the neighbourhood around Smithfield were built since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. In homes built since 2000, living rooms are often open-plan with stud walls, so the fixings go into the studs, or heavier pieces stand on the floor.
Dr Johnson's House, about 0.3 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Close to Postman's Park? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Smithfield is part of the City of London, about 1 mile south-east of City of London. We design and make alcove units for homes in Smithfield and across the City of London, as part of our work in every London borough. We cover places right across the City of London.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: EC1V, EC1P and EC1R. Whether you live on a street such as Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Smithfield is near the A1 and A4, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. Close by, we also work in Farringdon (1 mile north), Blackfriars (1 mile south), Holborn (1 mile west), Temple Bar (1 mile south-west) and Clerkenwell (1 mile north).
Landmarks near Smithfield
In Smithfield, that includes homes near St Alban's Church of England Primary School, London Nautical School and Barts Health Archives. You’ll also find Oriole pub (under half a mile south-west) and St Mary-at-Hill (1 mile south-east). Smithfield has its own railway station: Farringdon station. A little further out are Montfichet's Tower (less than half a mile south) and Gabriel's Wharf (0.8 miles south). For a walk, there’s Ludgate Hill.
The problems alcove units solve
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with each shelf set to suit it.
People usually get in touch with us about things like these:
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Room to work in an alcove
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
For a flat near Farringdon station, it’s useful to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Real projects you can actually look at