Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Alcove Units in Southgate
Thinking about alcove units in Southgate? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Storage that suits a period room
Alcove units designed for your room
FAQs: alcove units in Southgate
Do you make alcove units for homes in Southgate?
Yes, we work across Barnet, Southgate included, and across the rest of London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Southgate?
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. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. We plan the height and depth with you, with a route left for cables.
How is the price worked out?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish. The price comes in a quote in writing after the design visit.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The fitting depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. We will explain what to expect before we arrive.
Alcove units in Southgate
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. If your home in Southgate has alcoves like these, each alcove gets a unit designed for it after we have measured them at a design visit. If you are living with toys and paperwork with no proper home and standard units leaving gaps at the sides, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
A good part of the housing around Southgate is interwar, semi-detached or detached. In a typical 1930s house, the front room has a bay at one end and a chimney breast with an alcove to either side, which decides where alcove units sit. Walls are often truer than in older houses, but they’re still measured carefully and scribed where they wander.
We write quotes in plain English. You will see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, all taken from the design visit.
- Place
- Southgate (N14, N11, N21, N13)
- Area
- Barnet
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Southgate
More for homes in Southgate
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it’s quick to buy.
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder.
What happens on fitting day
You’re welcome to ask questions while we work. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so fitting day is about putting it in place carefully and leaving the room tidy. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Interwar houses typically have a straight run of stairs and a reasonable hallway, but the route in is still measured, not just the room. The furniture comes in sections and is put together where it is going.
- To begin, send us a few details through our contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, go through the design and check the route from the street to the room. It helps to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Preparing the room
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Ask for a quote
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form with a few details about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Related advice
Practical tips
A little care keeps the finish looking good. These practical tips help:
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. Books weigh more than most people expect, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Most sagging comes from shelves carrying more than they were planned for.
What alcove units can’t fix
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
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. How it works.
What goes into it
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Alcove units in Southgate: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Southgate were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 59%) and before 1919 (about 16%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. A conservation area lies within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Southgate, according to Historic England’s records. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If you’re unsure, check with the council before work starts. Strict stopping rules apply on red routes, which TfL runs. If your home in Southgate is on or near a main road, tell us at the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
Close to Grovelands Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. If you live in a flat close to New Southgate station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Southgate is in the London Borough of Barnet, about 3 miles south-west of Finchley. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Southgate is part of that. Our work takes in places right across Barnet, large and small.
Here we cover the N14, N11, N21 and N13 postcode area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street like High Street, Station Road and Blagden's Close or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. The A111 and A1004 run close to Southgate, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. We also cover the places around Southgate: Osidge (1 mile north-west), Brunswick Park (1 mile west), Arnos Grove (1 mile south), New Southgate (1 mile south) and Oakwood (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Finchley (3 miles south-west), Barnet (3 miles north-west), Burnt Oak (6 miles west), East Finchley (3 miles south-west), Hendon (5 miles south-west) and Whetstone (2 miles west).
Near you in Southgate
We fit furniture in homes around Ashmole Academy, The New Crown pub and Salcombe School, among other places. The closest station to Southgate is New Southgate station, about 1 mile south-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Greentrees Hospital (1.9 miles south-east) and Broomfield House Museum (1 mile south-east). Green spaces nearby include Barfield Allotments Nature Park.
Do you need alcove units in Southgate?
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works, from the shelf heights to the doors.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Essex House and Arnoside House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features may need listed building consent.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- Are the boards named, like MDF or plywood?
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
- How the doors are hung and adjusted