Barnet · London
Alcove Units in Barnet
Alcove units for homes across Barnet, from the largest neighbourhoods to the smallest streets, made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
Alcove Units across Barnet
Where we work in Barnet
What it covers: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Pick your neighbourhood below to see the details for your area. To get started, use the contact form.
Larger neighbourhoods
Alcove units across Barnet: what to expect
In a tall room, a full-height alcove cupboard holds a great deal. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard, while in a dining room it can keep china, glass and table linen. At the design visit we ask what you plan to keep there, so shelves and rails go where they’re needed. Most enquiries start with worn or badly fitted alcove units and bare alcoves beside the fireplace, and the answer is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference, which keeps the lines straight. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard.
- To begin, get in touch 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.
- 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.
How our quotes work
Tricky rooms take more time: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. The quote allows for it, written once we have measured up.
Why work with us
- More than 300 projects completed
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Ask for a quote
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To arrange it, tell us about the room on our contact form and let us know about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Near you in Finchley
The streets we cover here include those near Victoria Park, Woodhouse College and The Elephant Inn, among other places. You will also find St Paul's Finchley (a few minutes’ walk north-west), Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum (1.1 miles north), Manorside Primary School (less than half a mile north-east) and Bishop Douglass School (0.5 miles south). The nearest railway station is New Southgate station, about 1.9 miles north-east of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Finchley Memorial Hospital (under half a mile north-east) and Grand Arcade (1 mile north). Open spaces near Finchley include Lakeside Nature Reserve.
Alcove units for homes across Barnet
Most people in Barnet who ask about alcove units want somewhere for books, the TV and the things that pile up. Alcove units can do all three in one design, made in our workshop and fitted on the days set out in your quote.
In Barnet, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 34%) and before 1919 (about 20%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. About 34% of homes in Barnet date from between 1919 and 1939, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Houses from the 1920s and 1930s often have a bay window and a chimney breast in the front room, and alcove units are planned around both. 6 of the 41 places in Barnet with their own pages here have their centre inside a conservation area, according to Historic England’s data. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission.
We work across all 32 London boroughs and the City of London, and Barnet is part of that. Wherever you are, the job starts with a design visit.
Finchley: If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as The Manor House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If you live in a period home close to St Paul's Finchley, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf units can work in an alcove, and they usually cost less to buy. The catch is the fit: standard widths rarely match the recess, and uneven walls make every gap obvious. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- How doors and drawers are fitted
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Let us know about parking and access at the design visit
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Dry any spills quickly.
What we don’t do
Before you plan the job, it’s useful to know what we do not do:
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
Why people ask for alcove units in Barnet
Moving into a period house often prompts it. People who have just moved in want storage that suits the age of the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It is easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
Here are some of the needs we are asked about most:
- Units that sit well with original features
- Shelving for books and records
- Room to work in an alcove
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Materials and finishes
Spray-painted finish
Because the units are sprayed before they come to you, there is less painting to do in your home, in the colour agreed with you. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Hand-painted finish
With a hand-painted finish, you see the colour in your own light before the final coat. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
FAQs: alcove units in Barnet
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
That’s a job for your electrician. It is best done before the units go in, 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.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. You’ll get a written quote once we’ve measured up.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to let us in. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It is up to you. A matching pair balances 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.
Do photos help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, such as radiators or sockets.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Barnet?
Yes. We work across all 32 London boroughs and the City of London, Barnet included.
Where is the furniture made?
It is made at our workshop. After that, we fit it in your home.