Are plug sockets in a living room alcove a good or bad idea?

[NewspaperTaxis]

We are renovating a 1930s house and seem to have boobed slightly for the living room - we've been raising plug sockets to allow for 6in skirting boards to be installed. But in doing this, we now have two double plug sockets on the stretch of wall underneath the window, it doesn't look right, sitting so high. Previously it didn't matter, as furniture was in front of it anyway, with a TV et al.

Would it be the acceptable and done thing to move those sockets into the alcove instead? Or would that mess things up for future buyers who may want to use that alcove for a bookcase, etc?

Always had sockets in alcoves in houses we’ve lived in including Victorian, 90s newbuild and current 70s house.
Can’t imagine them under a window.

I’d never turn down having additional sockets, even if in an inconvenient location.
I live in a 1903 build and sockets are annoyingly scarce.

I think it’d be better to have extra sockets available even if future buyers don’t use them or end up blocking them with furniture than to not have them at all.

The more the better. In a living room, I suggest a double near each corner, one on each side of a chimneybreast or fireplace, and one half way along each wall (or at 2 metre intervals for larger rooms).

If you are planning to get old, or to have a bad back, or bad knees, or get pregnant or overweight, the standard height of 450mm above floor level is better than down by the carpet. It is now the normal height, and other heights will look weird.

Agree with @PigletJohn . Best practice is 450mm above floor level. This is mandatory in new builds, only recommended in renovations, but there are good reasons for it.
Our house has higher sockets. First time I've had them and I was sceptical at first but actually really prefer them now. I'm not even disabled/old (yet)!

In terms of your actual question, I think it's fine to put them in the alcove if you want to, but you should still have at least one other conveniently placed double socket along that wall. Depends how long you intend to be in the house of course.

Alcoves are very useful places for them. I have two reception room, each with 4 double sockets in the alcoves plus others.

By alcove do you mean the bit either side of the chimney breast, if so definitely, that is where our TV is

In the dining room alcoves are a computer desk in one and the printer and charging tower thing in the other. Only one of our alcoves has a bookcase

Alcove lights, computer, broadband, TV, smart thermostat, Alexa, charging phones, toys, printer.

Yes put sockets in alcoves!

Thanks for all your replies! Well, here is the alcove in question. You can see what a mess we've made of the plug sockets, they seem half way up the wall! The electrician only following our instructions. At the time we assumed we'd have a TV on a stand in front of it so we wouldn't see them, but now we prefer the TV where it is.

All this is prep before putting in skirting boards and a much-needed plastering and paint job, natch.

We wouldn't have the sockets even higher (450mm) as some of you have recommended - not saying that's a bad idea ordinarily - but we are thinking of moving one or both sockets into the small bit of the wall near where the curtain might hang down by. I suppose both could be high up if we did that but we are reluctant to put both there for fear of leaning over at the end of the day to turn off the switch and knocking over the TV - only has to happen once.
To have it on the long bit of the alcove would make it hard to reach, surely, if and when we have a better living room TV stand or cabinet.

There isn't room for sockets alongside the fireplace, unfortunately.

I am now overthinking as if to compensate for past underthinking.

"they seem half way up the wall"

But they aren't.

Your expectations have been formed by houses of the 1920's.

You will soon get used to practices of the last 20 years or so.

My dad was an electrician & always put sockets in alcoves when he rewired houses for lamps, TV's etc.

I don’t think your sockets look odd. Mine are the same height so I’m used to it. You’re comparing those to the older positioning that you are used to.

The sockets look fine, there's no need to move them.

I'm an electrician OP, your sockets look fine, the more the better these days.

I tend to mount additional sockets for customers at the same level as the others in the house / room, unless asked to do otherwise.

MK still make the traditional slim skirting board sockets which are popular round here as there are a lot of very old houses and people want the sockets on the skirting board - they only work on deep skirtings though.

As a rule I'd mount a socket 100 to 150 above a skirting out of choice. Of course on a new build (which I don't do) you have to mount them up near the ceiling 😂

No, no, I am bereft!

I've nothing against high plug sockets on principle. In fact, in some parts of the room I now see it would have been a benefit to have them even higher - where they are placed behind an armchair and obscured by a coffee table for instance.

My objection is purely aesthetic - it just messes up the eyeline if there's no bit of furniture in front of it, and then of course you have plugs, often black with black wires if from a TV, dangling out of them. I know we are meant to think our forefathers got it all wrong but I can see the merit of having a plug socket out of view. Especially when you consider some people have some sort of special long tube to contain leads to stop them becoming an eyesore, so I don't think I'm being too off beam here.

@Nat6999 and everyone else, if you moved a socket into an alcove, would it be okay to have it on the small inward part of the alcove - where, sadly, if you look closely, the wall is badly in need of replastering?

(My reply was unwittingly posted seconds after @DeftWasp so is not a response to them!)

Here's a bit of bed time reading, a good article from the IET, who set the rules we electricians play by - as you will see, in your case, you can have them where you like!

https://electrical.theiet.org/media/1495/accessory_mounting_heights.pdf

Though putting them in skirting boards is possibly the worst. In the old days there was constant demand for replacing sockets that had been cracked by bashing hoovers into them.