One of the beauties of bespoke carpentry is that it suits your needs perfectly. 
We had a little nook next to the stairs to the attic that was just used as a junk under-stairs cupboard and didn't look that great.  We also had a lot of books spilling over the alcove cupboards downstairs, so Gary built a bookcase in this little space in our hallway. 
I couldn't picture how it would look, but Gary always knew what he had in mind and tailored it exactly to suit what we need ( and we still have the huge stashing cupboard behind this bookcase - winner!)

Bespoke carpentry isn't necessarily as expensive as you might think.  Perhaps we could build the cupboard and you can paint it yourself? ( I painted this one but I'll leave it to Gary in the future, I don't think Painting is my strong point...!)

Or we can design, build and paint it for you, leaving a beautiful cupboard/bookcase that becomes part of your house that you'll treasure.  Call or email us for a free quote x

New, period style lighting has arrived at Alcove!

We've always had selected vintage lights for sale at Alcove, but we have also just had delivery of some new beautiful lights from Garden Trading.

These lights look great in both period and new homes.  They're excellent quality and great value.

Styles vary from cut glass shades to the chalky tones of the metal pendants.  Pendant lights hang from beautiful 'iron cord' style vintage looking cords which are all 1.5m long and can be shortened to suit the height of your home.  They are all designed to be used with modern, energy saving light bulbs.
The range also includes outside lighting in the same vintage look, they're gorgeous!

Take a look at our lighting range on our website!  We can also order the lights in other colourways if requested.

We love these lights and we hope you will too!

We seem to be amassing a wall of wooden chests & boxes here at Alcove!

We've got a small pine deeds/ballot box ( which happens to be the perfect size for storing Country Living Magazines!), a selection of pine boxes ranging from medium to huge, and a beautiful very old Elm box.

We love the look of these antique pieces, whether they're in their authentic, slightly shabby chic condition, or stripped, waxed and restored to glory. 
But they don't only look beautiful, they're so handy for using as a coffee table, storage at the end of your bed or even as a television stand. 

Stock items are changing daily as they're so popular for the reasons stated, so come and take a look!

I'm excited to announce that we will shortly be stocking Hoooked Zpagetti Yarn!

This wonderfully versatile yarn is made from offcuts from the textile industry, is really wide, comes on a huge roll and uses a huge crochet hook.

The brand is famous for the handbag kits that they sell.  You buy the yarn
and the handles and crochet yourself a handbag in a few hours! These are gorgeous but I have to admit I get most excited about the home accessories that can be made. 
I really love the bowls, jars, rugs and poufs.  I think they're bang on trend and also fit our eco-friendly ethos of re-using something and making it beautiful again.

I have admired these poufs for a while and I really chuffed that we will be having them in Alcove.  Unless I am mistaken there are no other local stockists of this yarn ( I have certainly struggled to get it since the lovely Yarn Gathering in Stone closed) so hopefully this will prove popular.

If you don't crochet but love crochet items, we will sell the pouf and rugs ready made to purchase, but you can also buy the yarn and crochet one for yourself.  It's hard to believe but they only use one basic crochet stitch and are relatively simple to hook up.

I'm going to have fun ordering the colours and hooking up some samples for display ( and purchase) in the shop! Yipee!

I can genuinely say that my very favourite items are little things that I have discovered and made part of our life.  The best example of this is my tiny glass ink bottles that I discovered nestled in the bottom of a wicker basket at an antiques market.  My heart did a little skip when I saw them, knowing that they are just perfect as vases for my summer sweet peas, I also knew exactly where they were going to go, on the shelf in our bathroom, to spread their sweet scent and sweet pea happiness every time you wash your hands!

For me, the delight or finding a treasure is one of the best things in life.  It's not about spending a lot of money, it's about loving and treasuring something and giving it a new life, possibly even saving it from landfill in the process.
I am not an organised, meticulous person, but I do  have a little mental list of items that I am after, so when I am mooching around antiques fairs or even charity shops I know what I am roughly after and can keep my radar on for spotting them!

Finding the perfect little item or piece of furniture for a spot in the house can be a time consuming business, fun when you have the time, but you do need to put the hours in mooching around old haunts to find it.  When the children were babies and I was on maternity leave, time was something I had plenty of ( sleep however I did not....!) so I could stumble on things more easily.  When you are working or simply don't have the time, stumbling on the item becomes a little harder, but still a simple pleasure when you get the chance.

At Alcove we try to curate a collection of lovely reclaimed, restored and found items that give our customers real pleasure to mooch around and find the perfect something for their home.
We love nothing more that the look on a customer's face when they measure one of our antique pine boxes and realise it is exactly what they were after to fit the nook in their living room!   Or they see a little chest of drawers and imagine their collection inside!
Another of our favourites was an antique wooden box which when opened up had a velvet writing slope, drawers and a secret compartment.  A customer bought it for his wife to store her silver jewellery making pieces and the velvet slope is perfect for pinning the jewellery to whilst it is being made! How fantastic that such an old item can find a wonderful contemporary use!
That makes us very happy!

We had a stall at the Hartshill Green Fayre last Saturday.
We took a selection of the items for sale at Alcove, focussing on the Handmade and reclaimed items as they fitted right in with the Green message of the fayre.
We took some of our lovely Handmade Cushions , dolls and bunnies made by Tasmyn Stonehewer, literally just around the corner.  Stripped Sash Windows, Reclaimed furniture, beautiful vintage Terracotta plant pots and vintage china amongst many others!
It was a beautiful sunny day and the local residents were out in force enjoying the stalls and the children's entertainment and it was a really lovely atmosphere.
It was great to meet everyone and to be made so welcome, we also had a lovely mooch around and bought some local jam, plants and lavender! Bliss!

We've been stripping lots of pine doors lately at Alcove and we think they look gorgeous!
Frequently customers are bringing their doors in to be stripped as they want to return them to their original state and we are happy to oblige!

Gary can remove, strip and reinstall the doors for you, making the process hassle free.

We have a lovely range of period Fireplaces at Alcove, but did you know that we can also fit them for you?

Gary has extensive experience in restoring period properties and bringing them back to their glory.  If you'd like your fireplace restored or a period fireplace installing in your sitting room or bedroom then give us a call or pop in for a chat!