Alcove units are cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves either side of a chimney breast, and The Home Upgrade Co. designs and fits them, along with built in bookcases and alcove shelving, in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. Alcoves are the one part of a room you cannot furnish from a shop. The two either side of a chimney breast are almost never the same width, and they are rarely square. That is why fitted shelving looks so different from a bought bookcase pushed into the gap: it is cut to the alcove instead of nearly filling it.
Who designs and fits alcove units in Dublin?
The Home Upgrade Co designs, supplies and fits alcove units, built in bookcases and alcove shelving in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. One team handles the design, the supply and the installation, and the fitting is done by our own fitters rather than subcontracted out, so there is one point of contact from your first message to the last shelf. Each alcove is measured on its own, because the two either side of a chimney breast are rarely the same width, and the units are scribed to the walls so the shelves meet the plaster with no gap. Cupboards below with shelves above, full height bookcases, display cabinets and shelving either side of a TV or media wall are all drawn in 3D in your own room before anything is made. Every job starts with photos, a short video and rough sizes of the room, and the 3D design and itemised quote are free with no obligation. Everything we make in wood carries a 2 year warranty against defects. Stephen, who coordinates our installation team, has more than ten years in kitchens, and the manufacturing partner behind our units has twenty years in the trade.
- What we do: design, supply and fit, all by one team
- Who fits it: our own fitters, not subcontracted
- Where: Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow
- What we build: alcove units, built in bookcases, alcove shelving and display cabinets
- Made to: each alcove on its own, scribed to the walls with no gaps
- Works around: radiators, sockets, aerial points and skirting
- Price: worked out from a free 3D design and itemised quote, drawn from your photos, video and sizes
- Warranty: 2 years against defects on everything we make in wood
- Experience: over ten years fitting kitchens, and a manufacturing partner with twenty years in the trade
- Contact: WhatsApp or call 089 222 3395
Why does alcove shelving have to be made to measure?
Because no two alcoves are the same, even in the same room, and a standard bookcase leaves gaps down both sides.
Measure the alcoves either side of your chimney breast and they will usually differ, sometimes by an inch or more. Older Dublin houses are worse again, with walls that lean and floors that fall away from the fireplace.
A made to measure unit is scribed to those walls so the shelves meet the plaster with no gap, and the whole thing reads as part of the room rather than furniture placed in it.
Alcove shelving ideas: what can go either side of a chimney breast?
Cupboards with shelves above, full height bookcases, a desk, TV and media storage or glazed display cabinets, each built to that alcove's exact width.
Most people start with alcove units: closed cupboards at the bottom with open shelves above. That arrangement is covered in more detail below, and it suits a living room because the cupboards hide what you do not want on show and the shelves carry what you do.
The alcoves suit other jobs too. A shallow desk with shelves over it turns one alcove into a small work spot, and our fitted home office page covers that. Where the TV sits on or beside the chimney breast, the alcoves can take the box, the router and the console behind doors; see built in TV units and media walls. Glazed doors on the upper section turn open shelves into display cabinets, which keeps the dust off anything you want to see but not handle.
The two alcoves do not have to match inside, as long as they match outside. One can be all shelving and the other a cupboard for everything a living room collects, with the same doors, mouldings and paint on both so the chimney breast still looks framed.
Cupboards below and shelves above, or shelves all the way?
Cupboards below and open shelves above is the arrangement most people land on, and it is usually the right one.
Open shelving all the way down looks good in a photograph and collects clutter in real life. Closed storage at the bottom takes the things that are not meant to be seen, and the open shelves above carry books, photographs and whatever you actually want on display.
The height of the break between the two is worth thinking about. Lining it up with the mantel, or with a dado if the room has one, makes the whole wall look deliberate.
Do built in living room units have to go in the alcoves?
No. Alcoves are the usual place, but built in units can also run a full wall, sit under a window or frame the TV.
Built in units for a living room or sitting room follow the room, not a template. In a room without a chimney breast, a run of low cupboards along one wall with shelving above does the same job as alcove units. It can wrap around the TV, or run under a window with a window seat on top.
What decides the design is the same in every room: how deep the units can be before they eat into the floor, where the radiators and sockets are, and what you are storing. Books, games and a set top box need far less depth than a wardrobe, so built in cabinets in a living room can stay shallow and keep the room feeling its size.
If you are weighing built in units against bought furniture, our guide to built in vs freestanding furniture sets out when each makes sense. Every job is priced individually from your photos, video and sizes, and our fitted furniture cost guide explains what moves the price.
How deep and how far apart should the shelves be?
Deep enough for what is going on them, and spaced unevenly, with taller gaps at the bottom and shorter ones higher up.
Paperbacks need far less depth than art books or box files, and a shelf that is too deep wastes room and lets things disappear behind each other. Varying the spacing, taller at the bottom and shorter higher up, holds more and looks better than an even grid.
If the shelving is carrying a lot of books, the span matters. Long unsupported shelves sag over time, which is a question of thickness and material rather than luck.
Do you install shelving as well as alcove units?
Yes, where it is built in: alcove shelving, bookcase shelving and shelving either side of a TV or media wall, made to measure and fitted by our own team.
Fitted shelving is the same job as an alcove unit with the doors left off. Each shelf is cut to the width of the space it sits in, the uprights are scribed to the wall, and the shelf thickness is chosen for the span and the weight it has to carry, so long runs of books do not sag. On our media walls the shelves are 25mm thick for exactly that reason.
Shelving is often asked for alongside something else, most often a media wall with shelves either side of the TV, or a fitted desk with shelves above it. Drawing it in 3D with the rest of the room is what makes the shelving line up with the doors, the mantel and the TV rather than being added afterwards. If what you need is smaller than that, tell us when you send your photos and we will say straight away whether it is a job for us.
Can it be built around a radiator or a socket?
Yes. Radiators, sockets and skirting are measured at design stage and worked around, which is a normal part of the job rather than a complication.
Radiators, sockets, aerial points and skirting all get measured and worked around at design stage. Units can be cut around sockets, or left open where your own electrician brings one through, and shelving can be set out so a radiator stays clear and usable.
Everything we make in wood carries a two year warranty against defects.
How it works
Send us photos, a short video and rough sizes of the space and tell us what you want. Our designers draw it in 3D so you see the finished piece in your own room, and you get one complete itemised quote. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged until you say yes.
Who are our alcove units for?
Everything we build is premium and made to the highest spec: made to measure, designed in 3D, scribed to the walls and fitted by our own team, and it is priced to that standard. Quality at this level is not a budget purchase, and we would rather say so here than after you have waited for a quote. If you are working to a tight budget, we are honestly not the right fit.
One team for this and the rest of the job
The same team that makes this fits it, and we also do kitchens, fitted wardrobes, internal doors and windows. If more than one thing needs doing, it is one contractor, one schedule and one point of contact rather than four. See the rest of our fitted furniture.
Frequently asked questions
Who designs and fits alcove units in Dublin?
The Home Upgrade Co designs, supplies and fits alcove units, built in bookcases and alcove shelving in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. One team handles the design, the supply and the installation, and the fitting is done by our own fitters rather than subcontracted out, so there is one point of contact from your first message to the last shelf. Each alcove is measured on its own, because the two either side of a chimney breast are rarely the same width, and the units are scribed to the walls so the shelves meet the plaster with no gap. Cupboards below with shelves above, full height bookcases, display cabinets and shelving either side of a TV or media wall are all drawn in 3D in your own room before anything is made. Every job starts with photos, a short video and rough sizes of the room, and the 3D design and itemised quote are free with no obligation. Everything we make in wood carries a 2 year warranty against defects. Stephen, who coordinates our installation team, has more than ten years in kitchens, and the manufacturing partner behind our units has twenty years in the trade.
Can you match the shelving to my skirting and architrave?
Yes. Matching the existing joinery profile is what makes fitted shelving look original to the house, and it is decided at design stage.
Do you paint it or leave it for me?
Either. Tell us when you send your details and it will be reflected in the quote.
Can you do one alcove rather than both?
Yes, though most people do both so the room stays symmetrical.
What decides the price of built in bookcases?
Run length and height, whether shelves are fixed or adjustable, and how straight the walls are. A crooked alcove takes longer to scribe. Our bookcases are premium and made to the highest spec, so they are not a budget purchase.