Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Haringey · London
Alcove units in South Tottenham, Haringey
Alcove units in South Tottenham: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Every piece is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
Need alcove units in South Tottenham?
Why bespoke in South Tottenham?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove. Ready-made pieces are proportioned for newer homes and can look lost in an older one, while fitted furniture can follow the room’s own lines, with panels and details to suit the house.
Rooms that aren’t square take more work: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it, which we write after seeing the room.
Why choose us
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- We work across all London boroughs
- Saturdays by arrangement
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
Alcove units for homes in South Tottenham
We work across London, including South Tottenham. 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 at our workshop and fitted in your home. If your home has empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and somewhere to keep books and records, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish can solve it.
Victorian and Edwardian houses were built with solid brick outside walls, while the walls inside can be brick or lath and plaster. Since a large share of the homes around South Tottenham date from before 1919, we check which you have before deciding how alcove units are fixed. Lath and plaster needs a lighter touch and the right fixings.
Everything we agree at the design visit goes into the written quote: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it is easier before the furniture is made.
- Location
- South Tottenham (N15, N17, N16)
- Borough
- Haringey
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near South Tottenham
Other services in South Tottenham
Flats, leases and landlords
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 the furniture can be made in sections that fit through.
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it, once we have measured the way in.
Living-room storage in South Tottenham
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around South Tottenham were built before 1919 (about 46%) and since 2000 (about 20%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of South Tottenham include Parish Church of St Ann (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles west, and Church of St Bartholomew (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, can need listed building consent. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Haringey is inside it. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in South Tottenham, as it does anywhere else in London. Parking and access are planned during the design visit.
If you live in a flat close to Seven Sisters station, the route in is measured not just the room, and the sections are sized to fit it. For a family home near Earlsmead Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. Close to Chestnuts Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
South Tottenham is part of the London Borough of Haringey, about 1 mile north of Tottenham. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and South Tottenham is part of that. South Tottenham is one of 23 places on our list for Haringey.
In N15, N17 and N16, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. We cover homes on streets such as Ida Road, Elmar Road and Grove Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Close by, we also work in Seven Sisters (1 mile south), Tottenham Green (1 mile north), St Ann's (1 mile west), Tottenham Hale (1 mile north-east) and West Green (1 mile west). Other parts of Haringey we cover include Noel Park (2 miles north-west), Wood Green (2 miles north-west), Crouch End (2 miles west), Finsbury Park (2 miles south-west), Bowes Park (2 miles north-west) and Bounds Green (3 miles north-west).
What’s near South Tottenham
We fit furniture in homes around Ada College, Gladesmore Community School and No.8 Seven Sisters pub. There is a railway station in South Tottenham itself: Seven Sisters station. Well-known places in the area include North Middlesex University Hospital (2 miles north) and The Mall Wood Green (1.7 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Woodberry Wetlands.
What it’s made from
Shelves
How thick a shelf needs to be depends on how wide the alcove is and what it holds. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
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.
Your questions about alcove units in South Tottenham
Can you fit alcove units to the uneven walls of an older house in South Tottenham?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Do you make alcove units for homes in South Tottenham?
Yes, South Tottenham is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Haringey and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, and then we send a quote.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it, along with access and parking. The price comes in a written quote after the design visit.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. If the building is listed, works affecting its character can require listed building consent.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That depends on how you use the room. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes, so each unit is made for its own recess. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
What happens on fitting day
When we arrive on fitting day, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. Next, we carry in the sections made in our workshop. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Hallways in period houses are often narrow, and the stairs turn sharply, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route in. Floors and stair carpets are protected on the way in and out, and the sections are joined and scribed in the room.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and go through the design, including the paint finish.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that is done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
How to prepare
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Getting a quote
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough measurements and some photos if you have them. To send them, tell us about the room on our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a written quote.
Read more
What alcove units cannot fix
Before you plan the job, it’s useful to know what we do not do:
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Decorating the rest of the room
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
If in doubt, you can drop us a line using the contact form and describe the room. How it works.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish