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Haringey · London
Alcove units in Tottenham, Haringey
Thinking about alcove units in Tottenham? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a written quote.
- Units that sit well with original features
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Ask about alcove units in Tottenham
Living-room carpentry in Tottenham: local notes
In the neighbourhood around Tottenham, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 39%) and the years since 2000 (about 19%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. 11 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Tottenham. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Haringey included. Vans bringing furniture to Tottenham fall under it, just as they do across the rest of London. How the van gets to your door is planned at the design visit.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Bruce Castle, about 0.3 miles west. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live near Bruce Castle Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. For families living near The Mulberry Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Tottenham is within the London Borough of Haringey. We cover Tottenham as part of our work across Haringey. Our work takes in places right across Haringey.
Here we cover the N17, N15 and N18 postcode area for alcove units. You will find streets here like New Road, High Road and Reed Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. The A10 runs close to Tottenham; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Broadwater Farm (1 mile west), Tottenham Hale (1 mile south-east), Tottenham Green (1 mile south), South Tottenham (1 mile south) and Seven Sisters (1 mile south). Elsewhere in Haringey, we also cover Wood Green (2 miles west), Crouch End (3 miles south-west), Turnpike Lane (2 miles west), Finsbury Park (3 miles south-west), Bowes Park (2 miles west) and Bounds Green (3 miles west). As one of the bigger places in Haringey, Tottenham is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Local landmarks in Tottenham
In Tottenham, that includes homes near The John Loughborough School, No.8 Tottenham pub and Northumberland Park Community School and the streets around them. There is a railway station in Tottenham itself: Bruce Grove station. A little further out are Markfield Beam Engine and Museum (1.1 miles south) and North Middlesex University Hospital (1.1 miles north).
Alcove units in Tottenham
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Tottenham has a pair of alcoves, we design a unit for each one, starting with a design visit to measure. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and people most often get in touch about old alcove cupboards that have seen better days and walls too uneven for standard furniture.
In a part of London with mixed housing, like much of the city, living rooms can be very different from one street to the next. You might have alcoves, a bay, a wide open-plan room or a compact one. Alcove units are designed for the room in Tottenham that you have, with shelves sized so they don’t sag.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Place
- Tottenham (N17, N15, N18)
- Borough
- Haringey
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips worth knowing
A little care keeps the finish looking good. These practical tips help:
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Hinges can usually be adjusted to bring a door back in line, which deals with a door that starts to catch.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging.
Pricing alcove units in Tottenham
The price for your room depends on:
- How square the room is
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- The width and height of the space
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
What we need to know
Ahead of the design visit, we will typically ask about:
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Examples of the look you’re after
- Rough measurements, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
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 book a design visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Nearby places to Tottenham
Also in Tottenham
From workshop to your room
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and explain how to look after the paint. The time 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. Whatever the age of your home, the furniture is fitted to the walls you have, scribed where walls bow and levelled where floors slope. Spray-painted pieces arrive finished; hand-painted ones can be finished on site.
- To begin, message us from the contact page; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, discuss 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.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- 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.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Preparing the room
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Tell us about parking near your home
Getting a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Tottenham, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, with sizes if you have them. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
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Flats, blocks and rented homes
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work, finished by spray or by hand.
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
Could you do it yourself?
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
If you are handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder.
FAQs: alcove units in Tottenham
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Tottenham?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, internal works that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Each room is quoted on its own: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You’ll get a written quote once we’ve measured up.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That depends on how you use the room. Alcoves are often different widths anyway, so each unit is made to its own measurements. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Where is the furniture made?
Each piece is built in our workshop for the room it is going into, then fitted in your home. It’s built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.