Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project

Bespoke Carpentry · across London

Alcove units in London

Low cupboards with shelves above, full-height units or a desk in the alcove, made for the alcoves either side of your chimney breast.

Making use of the two alcoves beside a chimney breast
Storage that hides toys, papers and clutter
Shelves for books and display above low cupboards

Arrange a design visit

Thinking about alcove units? Arrange a design visit.

Arrange a design visit

About our alcove units

Most Victorian and Edwardian houses in London have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Those alcoves are rarely the same width, and their walls are seldom straight or square, which is why off-the-shelf units leave gaps. We make alcove units for the space you actually have: low cupboards with shelves above, full-height cupboards, open shelving, or a desk built into one side. At the design visit we measure both alcoves, look at the skirting, picture rail and any cornice, and talk through how you want to use the room. The units are made in our workshop in moisture-resistant MDF or birch plywood, then fitted, scribed to the walls and painted in the colour you choose.

Why made for your room

Alcoves are where standard furniture struggles most. The two sides of a chimney breast are rarely the same, skirting boards and picture rails get in the way, and the walls bow and lean. Units made for each alcove fill the space properly, line up with the chimney breast and look like part of the room rather than something pushed into it.

What we make

Making use of the two alcoves beside a chimney breast
Storage that hides toys, papers and clutter
Shelves for books and display above low cupboards
A small desk tucked into an alcove
Furniture that follows uneven period walls

Illustration of painted alcove cupboards with shelves above, beside a chimney breast.

Materials and finishes

Moisture-resistant MDF
Birch plywood
Spray-painted finish
Hand-painted finish
Scribed side panels
Adjustable shelves
Panelled or flat doors

We work in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF is stable and takes paint well; birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, so it suits long shelves, carcasses and drawer boxes. Finishes are spray painted in our workshop for a smooth, even surface, or hand painted, which is easy to touch up later. The colour is agreed with you.

How it works

You get in touch and tell us about the room and the alcoves.
At the design visit we measure both alcoves, check the walls and talk through cupboards, shelves and doors.
We send you a written quote setting out the design, materials and finish.
The units are made in our workshop, sized to each alcove.
We fit them in your home, scribe them to the walls and finish the job.

Before the design visit

Before the design visit, think about what the room needs to hold: books, games, a record collection, a TV box, papers. Note where the sockets and any radiator are, and whether you want the units to reach the ceiling or stop lower. Photos of rooms you like are useful to share too.

Things to know

Two alcoves, two sizes

Alcoves beside the same chimney breast are often different widths and depths, and one may hold a radiator or sockets. We measure each one separately and make each unit to suit, so the pair still looks balanced across the room.

Chimney breasts and damp

A blocked or capped chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp. If there are damp patches on the chimney breast or the alcove walls, get the cause sorted before furniture goes in front of them; we’ll mention anything we notice at the design visit.

Meeting the period details

Units can sit on a plinth that meets the skirting, stop below a picture rail, or run up to a cornice. Deciding this early shapes the proportions of the whole design.

Bespoke or off-the-shelf alcove units?

Off-the-shelf furniture suits some rooms well. Where the room has awkward sizes, uneven walls or a lot to store, furniture made for the space usually works better. Here’s how the two compare.

	Made for your room	Off-the-shelf
Size	Made for your room, to the ceiling and wall to wall	Set widths and heights, with gaps or fillers
Uneven walls	Scribed to follow the wall and set level	Gaps where the wall bows or the floor slopes
Awkward spaces	Alcoves, slopes, bays and stairs used fully	Standard boxes that leave space unused
Inside layout	Planned around what you store	A set choice of rails and shelves
Finish	Spray or hand painted in a colour agreed with you	The colours in the range
Getting it in	Made in sections sized for your stairs and doors	Flat-pack boxes you or a fitter assemble

What affects your quote

Every job is quoted for your room after the design visit, so we don’t publish prices. These are the things that shape the quote:

The size of the piece and how much of the wall or room it fills
How many doors and drawers there are, and what goes inside
The materials: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both
The finish: spray painted in our workshop or hand painted
The room itself: uneven walls, sloping ceilings, cornices, skirting and picture rails
Access: stairs, lifts, parking and getting the sections into the room

Read how it works for the whole process.

What your quote includes

After the design visit we send a written quote. It sets out:

What we’ll make, with the layout and sizes agreed at the design visit
The materials and the finish, including the paint colour
What goes inside: shelves, hanging, drawers and any special fittings
Fitting in your home
What isn’t included, such as electrics, plumbing, gas or decorating, which are for other trades
How and when the work will be done, and the payment terms

See what a fitted furniture quote should include.

Looking after your alcove units

Paint needs time to cure fully after it’s applied, so treat new paintwork gently at first: avoid knocks, wipe spills promptly and don’t stand heavy or damp things on new surfaces. Clean with a soft, damp cloth and a mild cleaner rather than anything abrasive. Hand-painted finishes are easy to touch up if they get marked, and hinged doors can be adjusted at the hinge if they drift out of line as a house moves with the seasons.

Read looking after painted fitted furniture.

300+ projectsCompleted in London homes

Design visit firstWe measure, then quote

Workshop-madeThen fitted in your home

MDF and birch plywoodMoisture-resistant MDF

Painted finishesSpray or hand-painted

All of London32 boroughs and the City

Alcove units: common questions

Can you fit alcove units if the two alcoves are different sizes?

Yes. That’s usual in period houses. Each unit is made for its own alcove, and the design keeps the two sides looking like a matched pair.

Can the alcove units go round a radiator or sockets?

Often they can. Shelves and cupboards can be planned around sockets, and a radiator can stay with an open section or a grille so the heat keeps moving. Any new or moved sockets are for your electrician.

Should the units go up to the ceiling?

It depends on the room. Full-height units give the most storage; low cupboards with open shelves above feel lighter. We’ll talk through both at the design visit.

Do you paint the alcove units?

Yes. They can be spray painted in our workshop for a smooth, even finish, or hand painted, which is easy to touch up later. The colour is agreed with you.

My walls aren’t straight. Is that a problem?

No. Period walls are rarely flat or square. We scribe the units to follow the wall and set them level, so the gaps you’d get with standard units don’t appear.

Can one alcove have a desk?

Yes. A desk in one alcove with shelving above is a common way to make a small work area in a living room or bedroom.

Which parts of London do you cover?

We work across all 32 London boroughs and the City of London. See areas we cover.

Do you work on Saturdays?

Saturdays are available by arrangement. Let us know at the design visit if a Saturday suits you better.

Advice

Other things we make

We fit alcove units across London

We work in homes in all 32 London boroughs and the City of London. Choose your borough:

All areas we cover

Page updated 27 October 2026