Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Stoke Newington Alcove Units
Planning alcove units for a home in Stoke Newington? We start with a design visit and a written quote, before anything is made.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- A place for a small desk
Alcove units for your home in Stoke Newington
FAQs: alcove units in Stoke Newington
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Stoke Newington?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Stoke Newington station?
Yes, homes across Hackney and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
We do not do electrical work. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
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, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Should I send photos?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, like radiators or sockets.
About our alcove units in Stoke Newington
Period alcoves are rarely square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, sometimes all in one recess. Each unit is built in our workshop to our measurements and scribed to the walls when we fit it, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. A plinth or adjustable feet take up any slope in the floor. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and a desk that tucks into an alcove.
Ceilings in homes built before 1919 are often taller than in later houses, and a large share of the homes around Stoke Newington date from then. Full-height alcove units can run up to the picture rail or the cornice, so the furniture looks as if it belongs to the house. Where a fireplace has been blocked up, the chimney still needs ventilating, and any damp is sorted before units go in.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Stoke Newington (N16, N4)
- Borough
- Hackney
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for alcove units?
A bedroom’s alcoves are often the best place for a wardrobe. A fitted alcove cupboard holds clothes without filling the floor, which matters in a smaller room.
We are often asked to help with:
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Close to Abney Park? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Whether you’ll get a quote in writing, not just a figure
How fitting works for alcove units
You are 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. Hallways in period houses are often narrow, and the stairs turn sharply, so alcove units are made in sections sized to get through. Floors and stair carpets are protected on the way in and out.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out, so you can look it over in your own time.
- We make the cupboards and shelves in our workshop, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
How to prepare
- Empty the space we will be working in
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Getting a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a quote in writing. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. To arrange a visit, use our contact form.
Advice
Caring for painted furniture
A little care keeps the finish looking good, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in. Air moving through the chimney helps keep damp away, which protects the units too.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, as strong heat can mark paint over time.
Stoke Newington homes and alcove units
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around Stoke Newington were built before 1919 (about 50%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 18%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The Clissold Park Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Stoke Newington. The controls in a conservation area are mostly about the outside of buildings, so furniture fitted inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If in doubt, the council’s planning team can confirm. Controlled parking zones cover much of inner London, and each borough runs its own. A van working in Stoke Newington will typically need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension arranged through the council, which often needs notice. We ask about parking at the measuring visit, so the van can be planned for.
Sutton House, about 1.7 miles south-east, 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. Living in a block of flats near Stoke Newington station? Then the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in.
Stoke Newington is about 3 miles south of Shoreditch, within the London Borough of Hackney. Whether your home in Stoke Newington is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. In Hackney, Stoke Newington is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 20 places on our list.
Here we cover the N16 and N4 postcode area for alcove units. You’ll find streets here such as Schonfeld Square, Stoke Newington High Street and Lordship Terrace, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Stoke Newington sits close to the A503 and B104. We also cover the places around Stoke Newington: West Hackney (1 mile east), Stamford Hill (1 mile north-east), Newington Green (1 mile south), Manor House (1 mile north-west) and Shacklewell (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Shoreditch (3 miles south), Hoxton (2 miles south), Homerton (2 miles south-east), Hackney (2 miles south-east), Hackney Central (2 miles south-east) and Lower Clapton (2 miles south-east).
Near you in Stoke Newington
Our area takes in the homes around Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form, Stoke Newington School and Sixth Form and Church of St Andrew and the streets around them. Stoke Newington’s nearest station is Stoke Newington station, about 0.5 miles east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include German Hospital (1.3 miles south-east) and Hackney Walk (1.8 miles south-east). Not far away are Woodberry Wetlands.
Neighbourhoods near Stoke Newington
More for homes in Stoke Newington
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
It is worth being honest about cost: off-the-shelf furniture typically costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is typically a gap left over at the top or at one end. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
What it costs
A few things affect what fitted furniture costs:
- Spray painting or hand painting
- The overall size of the piece
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Doors and drawers, and how many
How it is painted is part of the price: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Before the design visit
When you contact us, these help most:
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Approximate measurements of the space
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough measurements and some photos if you have them. To send them, use our contact form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.