We recently had the pleasure of transforming the Utility Room in this lovely period property in Macclesfield.  The customer knew exactly what aesthetic they wanted to achieve, and we helped with design ideas to make the space really work for them.  We even restored their old piece of furniture and utilised old Ware-boards ( pottery boards) for their shelving, which look fantastic.  
The Washing machine is hidden in cupboard, the sink is 80CM wide and the worktop is 80cm deep so that there is loads of room for working. 
At first you'd think that a 800 sink is too big in a 1500 width space, but it looks and works perfectly for all those mucky jobs.
Solid Wood , Handmade, Alcove

​Check out the before

We have just finished this kitchen transformation in Leek.  The customer is undertaking a complete renovation of the property so we were lucky to get our hands on a complete blank canvas.  Just check out the before photo below!

Here at Alcove we think outside of the box.  We're different to other joinery firms that may fit some 'bespoke' furniture into your home without thinking it through.  We listen , to you. 
We suggest great ideas of how to make you home really sing.  Make it work for you.
You might give us a call because you need more storage, and whilst we are chatting you mention that you wish your room had more character, so we suggest making a false chimney breast, with a mantle, and then building the cabinetry either side.  The transformation is amazing.  The room has character, just perfect.  And it's the little details that differentiate us, like the fact that Gary has built the chimney breast to be the correct size as if it was a certain amount of bricks wide, because he spots these things, he's a builder, did a bricklaying apprenticeship when he was a lad and he absolutely LOVES his job!

We were lucky enough to be given full reign to design this utility as we thought best.  We set to work optimising on the space given and redesigning the existing layout.
We took out the old servants staircase, (later to encompass a wet room) and changed the dynamics of the room, building a fabulous space which hides away the boiler, washing machine and has a smart new sink and tap.
We also built a lovely unit to sit and take your wellies off!
all in solid wood, painted in Off Black by Farrow & Ball.
What an amazing transformation!
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Its been a busy few weeks here at alcove. We've completed a variety of different projects in customers' homes, from a bespoke butchers block for a kitchen to a full wall of library cupboards!
We built these library cupboards in the Peak District, I designed them to reflect accents already in the room, including the wood panelling  in the back of the shelves.  This was done to match the brace and ledger doors in the home which is a Period Farmhouse.  
This one really shows off the quality of our craftmanship and why bespoke is so important, the walls in the old home were not straight - as you can see in the second image, so we had to scribe it accordingly so it really is a perfect fit.

Finished off in Farrow & Ball Strong White I can't wait to see them filled!

We were asked by a customer to build some under stairs storage that could maximise on the space available and become a nice seating area too.

Bespoke double alcove cupboards built either side of the chimney breast.  The customer knew exactly what she wanted to display on her shelves so had measured and told us the exact height that she wanted the shelves to be built at ( which is the beauty of having bespoke built - we work with what YOU want every step of the way).  Her TV fits perfectly on here too and her Sky box is hidden away in the cupboard below.

We quickly built on site a bespoke cupboard to cover up an unsightly electric metre.  We left this one unpainted as the customer will be painting it themselves as part of a total re-decoration of the property.​

Going forward, we're looking forward to starting on a kitchen and a boot room amongst others, we can't wait to see the transformation!

We've just finished these bespoke double alcove cupboards in Lichfield.
We always take into account the original architrave, panels and beadings of a room before we start building the cabinets, and with this in mind we gave the alcove cupboards a nod to the original architrave and based the height of the base units on the original servants bells in the room.  We also took our lead from the depth of the fireplace to dictate the depth of the cupbords.
We are really pleased with the cupboards and to quote the customer:-
'Genuinely made with love and top notch craftmanship.  Befitting and sympathetic in design albeit also made with razor sharp precision, aesthetically very pleasing and uses great materials to ensure finer details and also reinforce why he is at the top of his game.' !
Thanks Tom!

Your bedroom is one place that you really need to get your storage sorted.  
Its a room where you go to unwind and relax, and if everything is put away tidily you can chill out without being reminded of all the things that you need to do and clothes that need to be put away, but without a place for everything its not always that easy!

We've just built this bespoke wardrobe in our bedroom at home.  I've been waiting a LONG time for an Alcove Wardrobe of my own, Gary is always working at someone else's house, not ours! Anyway, last bank holiday weekend he came home and started unloading some Bespoke Pine doors that he'd made and informed me that he was building a wardrobe here !  Dare I dream that it was going to happen?!

Over the next few days he built a  bespoke wardrobe to fit exactly into the alcove in our bedroom.  its a very tall space but not hugely wide, and there used to be a freestanding wardrobe on either side of the Chimney breast before.  Perfectly nice, we had a wardrobe each and they looked ok.​

As the room has such high ceilings, Gary could encorporate two long hanging rails into the wardrobe, one above the other ( one for me and ....half of Gary's rail for me too!) and room on the bottom of the wardrobe and two large shelves above for storage.  You could probably place neatly folded linens or towels on those shelves which would look lovely, but ours are full of storage bags, luggage and handbags!

We decided to decorate the room at the same time, but we didn't want to change the wall colour too much so went for 'Shaded White' by Farrow and Ball which is a lovely muted pale tone that changes in different lights like all their paints.
We chose 'Mole's Breath' for the Alcove Cupboard itself.  We've never used this colour before but we're chuffed to bits with it.

​I absolutely love having this wardrobe.  There is just so much storage room in there that its taken all of the clothes that we needed two wardrobes to accomodate before.  This means that we've now got a spare Alcove on the other side of the chimney breast which makes the room look lighter and brighter.  We have been able to store the luggage and clutter that was previously under the bed in the top of the wardrobe too which is just fab.

Now that we've had a few weeks to get used to our new fitted wardrobe we started to re-design the furniture in the room a little.  I had always wanted a little dressing table, I knew exactly what I wanted and most importantly DIDN'T want ( nothing too girly and naff) but I'd never seen one that was exactly what I was after, not even on Pinterest (!!) and believe me I have been looking.
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Gary had told me that if I could get him an image of exactly what table I wanted then he would make me a bespoke one ​to fit into the space that we had in the corner of the bedroom.  I just couldnt find an image anywhere so I described that I wanted an old, worn oak or pine top, not too deep, and painted, distressed legs in 'Arsenic' by Farrow & Ball.
I'm super chuffed with what he's made me.
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I've placed an old hanging mirror above and I'm trying to keep the top as uncluttered as possible!
So it's been a funny few weeks really.  I've wanted an Alcove Wardrobe and table of my own for years and then two come along at once.  Good things come to those who wait!

Debs x

We've been busy building lots of Alcove Cupboards this summer. Mainly across Staffordshire and Cheshire and the surrounding areas and we thought that we'd showcase a few of them here.

As each Alcove cupboard that we build is bespoke, each one is different.
At first glance you may not notice the main differences, the little personalisations that make each one perfect for their owner, but we spend a lot of time and attention on those little differences, and that's why they look so good!

For example on this living room above.  The customer needed their TV to fit onto one of the alcove cupboards so we made the bottom shelf taller to facilitate that.  Gary also looked carefully at the room's existing architrave and made sure that the alcove cupboards' architrave matched that perfectly.  It's that attention to detail that makes our alcove cupboards look so perfect in a room, like they've always been there.

It's hard to believe that it was an empty chimney breast recess before we worked our magic, this cupboard above looks like it has always been there it is so in keeping.

We built this alcove cupboard in this Victorian Villa just before we turned the window into French patio doors and the room looks even better now!

We built this more compact alcove cupboard for a customer and incorporated drawers at their request.  They were going to keep their television in front of it but they love the cupboard so much that they have moved the TV completely!

Thanks for looking!

This Saturday is the Totally Locally Leek Easter Egg Trail!
This ever popular event is a bit of Easter Fun for the kids (and adults too if you wish ! ) and was a real hit with our kids last year .

It's free to participate , simply pick up a free map from one of the shops, then you need to spot the hidden Easter Egg poster in 3 or four shops in each area of the town, for which you will receive a stamp on your map and an Easter treat in each shop too!
When you've completed the map, hand it in to one of the drop off points around the town and collect your free goodie bag !

As well as being a free, fun activity for the kids, I've found that it lets you get your shopping done and have a mooch in the fab Independent shops whilst your little darlings are kept busy, which is surely a win- win situation ?!

​See you on Saturday X

We don't just make bespoke Alcove Cupboards you know!
Gary has just fitted some new windows to a customer's workshop (you can see them in the picture ) and whilst he was there he whipped up this log storage for them. The beauty of having a bespoke unit made is that you can utilise every inch of that tricky space for storage, it just fits perfectly.
We also make bespoke shelves, larder cupboards, bedside cabinets, tables, doors and much much more !