Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Camden · London
Alcove units in St Giles, Camden
Alcove units in St Giles: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, built in our workshop and fitted by us.
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Ask about alcove units in St Giles
Alcove units in St Giles
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It’s a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you. If your home has old alcove cupboards that have seen better days and a desk that tucks into an alcove, alcove units made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
In a house from the Victorian or Edwardian years, the chimney breast tends to survive even when the fireplace itself has been blocked up. That matters around St Giles, as a large share of the homes there were built before 1919. The recesses either side take alcove units scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting, so they sit as if they came with the house.
You get the quote in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and talk it over at home. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Location
- St Giles (W1F, W1D, W1T)
- Borough
- Camden
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
When we arrive on fitting day, the first job is covering the floors and protecting the way in from the front door. Next, we carry in the sections made in our workshop. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. In houses converted into flats, the route in may include a shared hall and stairs, so neighbours may appreciate a note before fitting day. The sections are sized for the narrowest point on the route. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and go through the design, including the paint finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- A written quote follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF 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; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
How to prepare
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Keep pets in another room while we work
How to get a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a quote in writing. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To arrange a visit, get in touch through our contact form.
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How it is made
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gets an even coat into corners and onto edges. You choose the colour at the design stage.
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribing means trimming the edges on site so they follow the wall. It’s how a straight unit meets a wall that isn’t straight.
Your questions about alcove units in St Giles
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Tottenham Court Road station?
Yes. We cover all of Camden and the rest of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is St Giles in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. St Giles is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Camden and London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We will help you choose during the design visit.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
How long will the fitting take?
It depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. We will explain what to expect before we arrive.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Shelves in some flat-pack furniture are thin and can bow under books. We size our shelves for their span and what they’ll carry, using birch plywood where strength matters. Still, a decent off-the-shelf unit can be the sensible choice if you are renting or moving soon. Ready-made units stop well short of a tall period ceiling, wasting space that could hold things you rarely use. Built-in pieces can run to the cornice or the picture rail.
In London, parking can affect the price. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. It helps to talk about parking during the design visit, so it can be planned.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in St Giles
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Finished by spray or by hand
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
See bespoke vs off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Caring for painted furniture
The finish lasts best with a little care. Here are our suggestions:
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in, even when the cupboards fill up. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry.
Now and then, check handles and hinges are still tight and adjust a door before a small rub becomes a mark.
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, which we check during the design visit.
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 without a struggle.
Neighbourhoods near St Giles
Also in St Giles
Alcove units in St Giles: local notes
Homes built before 1919 make up about 49% of the housing in the neighbourhood around St Giles, with about 21% built since 2000, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Within a mile of the centre of St Giles, 31 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. On TfL’s red routes, the rules on stopping and loading are strict. If you live on or close to a main road in St Giles, let us know at the measuring visit. That way we can plan where to load and unload.
For an older house near Soho Baptist Chapel, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Near listed buildings like Church of St Giles in the Fields, under half a mile north-west of the centre of St Giles, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If your children go to St Josephs Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
St Giles is about 1 mile north-east of St Pancras, part of the London Borough of Camden. We can visit homes in St Giles on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our Camden coverage includes St Giles, along with the rest of the borough.
We work across the W1F, W1D and W1T postcode area for alcove units. If your home is on a street such as Duck Lane, Drury Lane and Bridle Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Main roads around St Giles include the A301 and A400, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Seven Dials (1 mile south), West End (1 mile south-west), Soho (1 mile south-west), Covent Garden (1 mile south-east) and Chinatown (1 mile south-west). Across the rest of Camden, our area takes in Hampstead (4 miles north-west), West Hampstead (4 miles north-west), Agar Town (2 miles north), Kentish Town (2 miles north), Greenhill (3 miles north-west) and Chalk Farm (2 miles north-west). Being one of the larger places in Camden, St Giles is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Local landmarks in St Giles
We fit furniture in homes around London Nautical School, The Crown pub and Mercers' School, among other places. St Giles has its own railway station: Tottenham Court Road station. Other landmarks nearby include Kingly Court (0.5 miles west) and Montfichet's Tower (1.1 miles east). Open spaces near St Giles include Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.