Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hackney · London
West Hackney Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in West Hackney: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, built in our workshop and fitted by us.
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
Alcove units in West Hackney
How we make alcove units for West Hackney
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It is a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you. If you are living with a place for a small desk and bare alcoves beside the fireplace, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
A large share of the homes around West Hackney were built before 1919, and in London most homes of that age are Victorian or Edwardian. Main rooms in houses like these normally have a chimney breast with an alcove on each side, which gives alcove units an obvious place to go. Walls are rarely flat, so each piece is scribed to the plaster and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet, then cut neatly around the skirting and any picture rail or cornice.
Once you have read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is made at our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- West Hackney (N16, E5, E8)
- Area
- Hackney
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Materials and finishes
Birch plywood
Birch plywood helps shelves stay straight under books. Thickness is chosen to suit the span and the weight.
Spray-painted finish
Spray painting is done in the workshop, for a smooth and even finish. It suits a crisp, modern look as well as a classic one.
Questions we’re often asked
Is West Hackney in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Hackney, West Hackney included, and across the rest of London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in West Hackney?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
Someone needs to let us in. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
How tall should alcove units be?
That’s your choice. Full-height units give the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We discuss the options at the measuring visit.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it’s done before fitting, and we can tell you where the units will sit so the sockets end up in the right place. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Most of the making happens in our workshop.
Neighbourhoods near West Hackney
Other services in West Hackney
How fitting works for alcove units
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth. After that, it is fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. In houses converted into flats, the route in may include a shared hall and stairs, so it is useful to let neighbours know about fitting day. The sections are sized for the narrowest point on the route. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and talk 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.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
How to prepare
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Tell us about parking near your home
How to get a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if you don’t, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Read more
Built-in living-room furniture in West Hackney
About 49% of the homes in the neighbourhood around West Hackney went up before 1919, and about 17% between 1945 and 1972, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of West Hackney include Church of St Barnabas (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south, and The Coach and Horses Public House (Grade II), less than half a mile north-west. For a listed home, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. About 25% of households in the streets around West Hackney live in flats in converted or shared houses, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. In a converted house, rooms can be odd shapes, with new partitions meeting old walls, and the way in often goes up shared stairs. If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before anything is fixed to the walls.
For an older house near St Michael and All Angels, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Sutton House, about 1.2 miles south-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If your children go to Benthal Primary School or a school nearby, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design.
West Hackney is about 2 miles south of Shoreditch, part of the London Borough of Hackney. From period terraces to newer flats in West Hackney, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Our work takes in places right across Hackney, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Design visits and fitting in N16, E5 and E8 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. We cover homes on streets like Muir Road, Burma Road and Piano Lane, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around West Hackney include the A107. If your home is on one of them, tell us during the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Close by, we also work in Shacklewell (1 mile south), Stoke Newington (1 mile west), Clapton (1 mile east), Stamford Hill (1 mile north) and Upper Clapton (1 mile north-east). Across the rest of Hackney, our area takes in Shoreditch (2 miles south), Hoxton (2 miles south), Hackney (2 miles south-east), Haggerston (2 miles south) and Hackney Marshes (2 miles east). Being one of the larger places in Hackney, West Hackney is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Local landmarks in West Hackney
We fit furniture in homes around The Petchey Academy, Church of St Andrew and Tawhid Boys School and the streets around them. West Hackney has its own railway station: Rectory Road station. Nearby you’ll also find Clowns Gallery-Museum (1.1 miles south) and Hackney Walk (1.2 miles south-east). For a walk, there is Woodberry Wetlands.
Caring for painted furniture
New paint needs time to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. After that, a few simple habits help:
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
Keep a record of the colour. Small marks on a hand-painted finish are easy to touch up, and it helps to keep a little of the paint.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade, and it’s easier to deal with before it spreads.
How we price alcove units
What you pay depends on:
- The internal fittings
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- The overall size of the piece
Tricky rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That’s reflected in the quote.
Getting in touch
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- Examples of the look you’re after
- How you want to use the space
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
We quote once we’ve seen the room. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, and the written quote comes after. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To arrange a visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf units come in the colours the maker chose. We paint ours in the colour you pick, sprayed in the workshop or painted by hand on site. You can match the walls or choose a contrast. Tall ceilings in older homes leave a band of empty wall above standard furniture, wasting space that could hold things you rarely use. Built-in pieces can run to the cornice or the picture rail.
There’s no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a quote in writing. To arrange a design visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Why choose us
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- 300+ projects completed
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
See bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what to look for in a quote.