Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
Upper Clapton Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Upper Clapton: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made at our workshop and fitted by us.
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
Alcove units designed for your room
How we make alcove units for Upper Clapton
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, while birch plywood is strong and holds screws well. The finish is spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in the colour you choose. People normally come to us about bowed walls and sloping floors and cupboards in keeping with an older house; the furniture is made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Some living rooms in London have tall ceilings and cornices, while others have low, plain ceilings. However your room in Upper Clapton is built, the height is measured as carefully as the width, since it sets how tall alcove units can be. Each section is sized to fit the route into the room.
Everything we agree at the measuring visit goes into the written quote: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it is easier before the furniture is made.
- Location
- Upper Clapton (N16, E5, N15)
- Borough
- Hackney
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Boards, parts and paint
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we usually scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s the difference between a unit that sits in the alcove and one that belongs there.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish often suits alcove units in older houses. The colour is agreed with you.
Is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf furniture comes in set heights, which typically leaves a gap above. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, whichever looks right in your room. Standalone furniture leaves gaps behind and above it that gather dust, while fitted pieces are scribed tight to the walls and ceiling.
Awkward rooms take more time: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. That’s reflected in the quote, written once we have measured up.
Why us?
- Saturday visits and fitting by prior arrangement
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
FAQs: alcove units in Upper Clapton
My home in Upper Clapton is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Upper Clapton?
Yes. We cover all of Hackney and the rest of London, and Upper Clapton is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
What happens when you come to measure?
It is a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings can need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, by prior arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you get in touch.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Electrical work is not something we do. 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.
What happens on fitting day
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we go, we look over the finished furniture with you and answer any questions. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. For a flat, building rules and lift booking are worth checking early; if you live in a house, let us know about steps, paths and parking. Either way, the day is planned at the measuring visit. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units, with a note of the room they’re in.
- We come to measure and talk through cupboards, shelves, heights and doors. If one alcove needs a desk or a TV space, this is when we plan it.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a quote in writing, ready for you to check.
- We build the units in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill. Any scribing to the walls is done on the day.
Before fitting day
- Tell us about parking near your home
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Ask for a quote
For a quote for alcove units in Upper Clapton, message us from the contact page. Let us know the room and the rough idea. Next comes a design visit, followed by a written quote.
Related advice
Nearby places to Upper Clapton
Also in Upper Clapton
Living-room storage in Upper Clapton
In the streets around Upper Clapton, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 44%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 17%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. The Clapton Common Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Upper Clapton. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Your council can advise if you’re unsure. About 21% of households in the streets around Upper Clapton live in flats in converted or shared houses, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. Conversions often leave rooms in unusual shapes, with partition walls, boxed-in pipes and chimney breasts in odd places, and the route in may go through a shared hall and stairs. If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before anything is fixed to the walls.
For an older house near Church of St Thomas the Apostle, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Living in a block of flats near Clapton station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. If you live near Springfield Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Upper Clapton is about 3 miles south of Shoreditch, within the London Borough of Hackney. We can visit homes in Upper Clapton on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Our work takes in places right across Hackney.
In N16, E5 and N15, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. You’ll find streets here such as Muston Road, Firsby Road and Darenth Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. We also cover the places around Upper Clapton: Stamford Hill (1 mile west), Clapton (1 mile south), Lea Bridge (1 mile south-east), West Hackney (1 mile south-west) and Seven Sisters (1 mile north-west). Other parts of Hackney we cover include Shoreditch (3 miles south), Hoxton (3 miles south-west), Hackney (2 miles south), De Beauvoir Town (2 miles south-west), Hackney Central (2 miles south) and London Fields (2 miles south).
What’s near Upper Clapton
In Upper Clapton, that includes homes near Tawhid Boys School, Church of St Andrew and Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School. Upper Clapton’s nearest station is Clapton station, about 0.6 miles south of the centre. Nearby you will also find Hackney Walk (1.6 miles south) and Markfield Beam Engine and Museum (0.8 miles north). Green spaces nearby include Woodberry Wetlands.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well.
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. How much a shelf bends depends on its span, depth and load, and long runs need a thicker shelf, a lip along the front or a support. That’s something we plan for in the design.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, and that is best sorted before fitting day. We cannot give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, and that often means a shared hallway and a tight turn on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we have measured the way in.