Alcove shelving cost: what you will pay in the UK

Alcove shelving costs anything from under £100 including VAT for three cut-to-size shelves you fit yourself to several thousand pounds for a pair of fitted units from a joiner. Made-to-measure units you fit yourself are another route: our one-bay open shelving layout is £782.53 for one alcove, including VAT and delivery to mainland UK addresses.

This guide sets out what each route costs, what the price includes, and how to compare them fairly.

How much does alcove shelving cost in the UK?

What you pay depends mostly on who makes and fits the shelving, and on whether you want cupboards as well as shelves. The table gives one published 2026 price for each of the three common routes, in the order the sections below take them. The prices are not like for like: the first is per shelf before VAT, the second is for a pair of alcoves with VAT not stated, and the third is per alcove including VAT.

Cut-to-size floating shelves

One low-cost way to shelve an alcove is a set of shelves cut to its width and fixed straight to the walls. Shelfbar, for example, sells MDF alcove shelves cut to size, from £27.42 plus VAT a shelf as of October 2026, with free UK mainland delivery (excluding the Highlands) on orders over £65 before VAT. They are 22 mm thick as standard, with a 30 mm option at extra cost, come in depths from 145 mm to 350 mm, and arrive ready to paint.

You fit and paint them yourself, and the shelf height is fixed once they are up. The price is per shelf: ten shelves at the £27.42 starting price, five in each of two alcoves, would be £274.20 before VAT, and the size you choose changes the price. Check what your walls are made of and match the fixings to them; if you are unsure what the wall will hold, get professional advice.

A joiner: fitted alcove units

A joiner builds the units for your alcove. Joiners usually quote after a visit and drawings, so prices are hard to find in advance. Live Joinery, a London joiner, publishes its 2026 ranges for a pair of alcoves:

• Two low cupboards with basic painted MDF doors: £900 to £1,400.
• Low cupboards with three to four open painted shelves above each, scribed to the existing skirting and architrave: £1,200 to £1,900.
• A pair of full-height units with closed storage: £1,800 to £2,800.
• Full-height with glazed display tops: £2,400 to £3,400.
• Full-height units with a media wall in the chimney breast: £3,400 to £6,500.

These are one firm’s ranges for London projects, and the firm says smaller workshops may quote lower and larger ones higher. They include a standard paint colour. Live Joinery’s guide does not say whether VAT or fitting is included, so ask about both when you get a quote.

Made-to-measure units you fit yourself

The third route is shelving made to your measurements in a workshop and sent to you to fit. You see the price before you order, and you are not paying for a fitter’s time.

We make shelving this way. Most alcoves take one bay of birch plywood shelving, and you can set the bay anywhere from 500 mm to 800 mm wide, in 1 mm steps, with the price shown as you go. The rails add a little to the width: a 600 mm bay is 632 mm wide overall. An alcove too wide for one bay takes two or more, side by side. In October 2026, two of our one-bay layouts cost:

• Open shelving, £782.53: one 600 mm bay, 632 mm wide overall and 1800 mm high, with six bookended shelves 220 mm deep, in the Natural finish.
• Shelves above a cupboard, £1,156.69: one 600 mm bay, 632 mm wide overall and 1806 mm high, with four shelves 220 mm deep above a two-door cupboard 360 mm deep, in the Natural finish.

Both prices include VAT and delivery to mainland UK addresses. You fit the shelving yourself. We check your wall type with you before we send the fixings, and the fixings, an alignment spacer, and the drill bit come in the box; you supply the drill. Check for hidden pipes and cables before you drill. If we cannot confirm a fixing for your wall, our shelving is not right for it. Beside a working fire or stove, check how far it must be from combustible materials such as plywood, and keep the shelving outside that distance.

For two alcoves you need two bays, one in each. If you have not measured yet, our guide on how to measure an alcove comes first; the configurator then shows the total for your sizes as you design.

How to compare alcove shelving quotes fairly

Prices only compare when the contents match. Before you set one quote against another, check these:

• Count the shelves, cupboards, and drawers in each alcove, and make sure both quotes have the same.
• Check whether fitting is included. Cut-to-size shelves and made-to-measure units you fit yourself do not include it; ask a joiner whether theirs does.
• Check whether painting or finishing is included. Our shelving arrives oiled, MDF shelves need painting, and Live Joinery’s prices include a standard paint colour.
• Check VAT and delivery. Our prices include both. Shelfbar’s shelf price is before VAT, with free mainland delivery over £65 before VAT. Ask a joiner about both.
• Check whether the shelves can move later. Fixed shelves stay at one height; ours hang on rails and lift off to move up or down in 100 mm steps.

Is a joiner or made-to-measure cheaper?

It depends on what goes in the alcove, and on VAT. Live Joinery’s pair of low cupboards with open shelves above is £1,200 to £1,900. Two of our one-bay cupboard layouts are £1,156.69 each, £2,313.38 for the two including VAT and delivery, and a little less bought together because delivery has a cap. If Live Joinery’s prices include VAT, the joiner is cheaper. If they are before VAT, the top of their range is £2,280 with VAT, close to ours.

The contents differ too. Their cupboards stand on the floor, about 900 mm high, with three to four painted shelves above. Ours is one full-height birch plywood bay per alcove, hung on rails, with four shelves above a cupboard. Their list has no open-shelving-only option to set against our £782.53 bay.

A joiner is the better choice when the alcove itself is the hard part: walls that are far out of true, cupboards scribed tight to the plaster, matching period details, or units built right into the room. Our bays are straight and square and are not scribed to the walls, so you should expect small gaps at the sides.

Made-to-measure units suit a reasonably straight alcove when you want to see the price before anyone visits. Ours are birch plywood with an oiled finish, made in Norfolk, with a ten-year warranty and a 60-day Home Trial. Shelves and cabinets lift off the rails, so you can move a shelf or change what is in the alcove later. Our page comparing Mestra with a joiner sets out when each one fits.

Next step

Start from our one-bay open shelving layout and set it to your alcove’s width.

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to get a joiner or buy alcove shelving?

It depends on what goes in the alcove. Cut-to-size shelves start at £27.42 plus VAT each, and our open bay is £782.53 an alcove. For cupboards with shelves above, one London joiner’s pair (£1,200 to £1,900) can cost less than two of our cupboard bays, depending on whether its prices include VAT.

Sources

• Mestra, open shelving, one bay, shelves above a cupboard, one bay, alcove shelving, and Mestra shelving. Prices read 14 October 2026.
• Live Joinery, Cost of Fitted Alcove Units in London (2026), published 26 May 2026. Read 14 October 2026.
• Shelfbar, alcove shelves. Read 14 October 2026.