Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Alcove units in The Hale, Barnet
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in The Hale. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Clutter with nowhere to go
Ask about alcove units in The Hale
About our alcove units in The Hale
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, whichever suits the room. The plinth height can match the skirting for a tidy line around the room. We agree these details at the design visit, before anything is made. If your home has standard units leaving gaps at the sides and somewhere to keep books and records, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Ceilings in interwar houses tend to be lower than in Victorian ones, so alcove units are proportioned to the room rather than copied from a taller one. Where your home is one of the interwar houses or semis that are a big part of the housing around The Hale, the cornice may be plain or missing, so the furniture can run straight to the ceiling. The skirting is scribed around neatly.
The written quote is your record of the job. It describes the alcove unit we have designed for the room, what it’s made from and how it is finished, and the workshop works from it.
- Where
- The Hale (HA8, NW7)
- Borough
- Barnet
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Flats, conversions and lettings
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, after measuring the route during the design visit.
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that is best sorted before fitting day. We can’t give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
The problems alcove units solve
A chimney breast without its fireplace can leave a wall that feels unfinished. A pair of alcove units frames it and gives the wall a sense of order.
Alcove units can help with:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
Close to Stoneyfields Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Choosing a carpenter
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Are the boards named, like MDF or plywood?
Why bespoke in The Hale?
Off-the-shelf units can work in an alcove, and they usually cost less to buy. The trouble is normally the gaps: standard widths rarely match the recess, and uneven walls make every gap obvious. A bespoke unit is built to the alcove and scribed to follow the wall. Off-the-shelf units come in set widths, so a run along a wall usually ends with a gap, which fitted furniture avoids. It can also go up to the ceiling rather than stopping short.
The finish affects the cost: 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.
Why work with us in The Hale
- Built around your room
- We work across all London boroughs
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.
FAQs: alcove units in The Hale
Do you make alcove units for homes in The Hale?
Yes. The Hale is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Barnet and London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
I live near Mill Hill Broadway station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Barnet and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Let us know when you first get in touch.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It’s up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. You don’t need to watch us work.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. Adjustable feet or a plinth take care of a floor that slopes.
From workshop to your room
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. Most of the decisions were made at the measuring visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. How long 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. Loft stairs in an interwar house can be tight, with a low ceiling at the top, so any section going up there is sized for them. The main stairs in houses of that age are normally straighter. The pieces are joined and fixed once in place.
- To begin, send us a few details through our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Before fitting day
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
Starting with a design visit
It’s useful to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them give us a good feel for the space. To share them, get in touch through our contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
Related advice
What affects the cost of alcove units
Several things affect the price:
- How big the furniture is
- Parking and unloading on your street
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
What to send when you contact us
There’s no need for exact sizes or plans. Just send what you can:
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Examples of the look you’re after
- Your postcode and the borough
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, once the room is measured and the design talked through. For a quote, fill in our short enquiry form.
The Hale homes and alcove units
The biggest shares of homes in the area around The Hale were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 58%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 14%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. 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 The Hale include John Keble Church (Grade II), less than half a mile south. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can require listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Red routes, run by TfL, have strict rules on stopping and loading. Where a home in The Hale is on or beside a main road, it helps to mention that during the design visit. It lets us plan the stop before fitting day.
Living in a block of flats near Mill Hill Broadway station? Then alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room. For a family home near Mathilda Marks-Kennedy Jewish Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
The Hale is about 4 miles east of Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. We can visit homes in The Hale on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. We cover places right across Barnet, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
We cover every part of the HA8 and NW7 postcode area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street such as Hale Lane, Farm Road and Dean's Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. The Hale sits close to the A5100. If your home is on one of them, tell us during the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. We also cover the places around The Hale: Edgware (1 mile west), Broadfields Estate (1 mile north-west), Burnt Oak (1 mile south), Mill Hill (1 mile east) and Edgware Bury (1 mile north-west). Elsewhere in Barnet, we also cover Finchley (4 miles east), Barnet (4 miles north-east), East Finchley (4 miles south-east), Hendon (3 miles south-east), Whetstone (4 miles east) and Friern Barnet (5 miles east).
What’s near The Hale
Our area takes in the homes around St Martin's School Brentwood, Rising Sun pub and The Northgate School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Mill Hill Broadway station, about 0.7 miles south-east. A little further out are Edgware Community Hospital (1 mile south-west) and Broadwalk Centre (0.8 miles south-west). For a walk, there is Mill Hill Old Railway Nature Reserve.