Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Alcove units in Underhill, Barnet
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. Our work on alcove units in Underhill starts with a design visit, and everything is made in our workshop.
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Ask about alcove units in Underhill
Alcove units in Underhill: what you get
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it works best. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. The finish is spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in the colour you choose. People normally come to us about empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and cupboards in keeping with an older house; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Homes in an area like Underhill can come from many different periods, so the walls behind alcove units could be solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. That’s why every wall is checked at the design visit before the fixings are chosen. With a chimney breast, alcove units typically fill the alcoves; without one, they can run along a whole wall.
A written quote is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It describes the alcove unit we’ve designed for the room, what it’s made from and how it is finished, and the workshop works from it.
- Place
- Underhill (EN5, N20)
- Area
- Barnet
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Underhill homes and alcove units
About 24% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Underhill went up before 1919, and about 24% between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Underhill include Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles north-west, and Odeon Cinema (Grade II), under half a mile east. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. All of London, Barnet included, is inside the ULEZ. Vans bringing furniture to Underhill fall under it, just as they do across the rest of London. We go through parking and access at the measuring visit.
If you live in a period home close to St John the Baptist Church, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. For a flat near New Barnet station, the route in is measured as well as the room, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Underhill is within the London Borough of Barnet, about 3 miles south of Finchley. Anywhere in Underhill, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a quote in writing, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. We cover places right across Barnet, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Design visits and fitting in EN5 and N20 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover homes on streets like Park Road, May's Lane and Manor Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Barnet (1 mile east), New Barnet (1 mile east), Monken Hadley (1 mile north), Hadley Wood (1 mile north-east) and Cockfosters (2 miles east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Finchley (3 miles south), Burnt Oak (4 miles south-west), East Finchley (4 miles south), Hendon (4 miles south), Whetstone (2 miles south-east) and Edgware (4 miles south-west).
Around Underhill
In Underhill, that includes homes near Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School and The Red Lion pub and the streets around them. Underhill’s nearest station is New Barnet station, roughly 1 mile east. Well-known places in the area include Barnet General Hospital (0.9 miles west) and Spires Shopping Centre (0.7 miles north-west). Open spaces near Underhill include Darland's Lake and Greenhill Gardens.
Why people ask for alcove units in Underhill
Often the alcoves are simply the biggest unused space in the room. Standard furniture seldom fits an alcove, leaving gaps at the sides and above. Built-in units use the whole recess up to the ceiling if you want.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Shelving for books and records
- Alcoves that are not square
If you live near Highlands Gardens, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- How parking will work on your street
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
Your questions about alcove units in Underhill
Is Underhill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. We cover all of Barnet and the rest of London, and Underhill is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to New Barnet station?
Yes, homes across Barnet and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Every job is priced for its room: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. The written quote follows the design visit.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the design visit, then the units are built in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them.
Can I send photos before the visit?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot. You can send them when you tell us about the room on our contact form.
Neighbourhoods near Underhill
More for homes in Underhill
When is bespoke worth it?
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Flats, conversions and lettings
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. If there’s a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Tell us about it when you contact us.
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, unloading takes some planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so it’s worth raising at the measuring visit.
Boards, parts and paint
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish can be done on site, after the units are fitted. Small marks are easy to touch up.
How fitting day works
In older rooms, the furniture usually has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. On fitting day, the sections are assembled, scribed to the walls and levelled. The fixings suit whatever the walls are made of. Saturdays can be arranged.
- 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.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you’ve picked.
- 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.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Before fitting day
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, and the written quote comes after. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To arrange a visit, fill in our short enquiry form.