Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Ealing · London
Alcove units in Acton, Ealing
Alcove units in Acton: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Ask about alcove units in Acton
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Bespoke furniture isn’t instant: there’s a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, rather than the nearest standard size. Standard widths and heights seldom suit an actual room, so it leaves gaps at the ends and empty space above. Fitted furniture is made to the room.
Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size comes first. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Why work with us in Acton
- Saturday work by arrangement
- A design visit, then a written quote
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made or how to compare quotes.
How we make alcove units for Acton
Few alcoves in older houses are truly square. The walls lean, the chimney breast may bow and the floor often slopes, sometimes all in one recess. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. Typical reasons to get in touch are worn or badly fitted alcove units and units that sit well with original features; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Across London, neighbouring streets can be decades apart in age, and a wall might be brick, lath and plaster, blockwork or plasterboard. That is why every wall is checked at the measuring visit before the fixings are chosen. If your room has a chimney breast, the alcoves are an obvious place for alcove units; if not, a full wall works well.
After the design visit, we send you a written quote. It sets out the design we have talked through, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Place
- Acton (W3, W4, NW10, W12)
- Area
- Ealing
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
In older rooms, the furniture usually has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site, so it sits neatly against the room. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Clearing the room and the way in beforehand makes the day easier, including anything on the walls near the work. We cover floors and doorways first. Sections are then carried in and assembled.
- You contact us about the alcoves you want to fill.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you. If one alcove needs a desk or a TV space, this is when we plan it.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a quote in writing, ready for you to check.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that’s what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill. Any scribing to the walls is done on the day.
Before we arrive
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Empty the space we will be working in
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a written quote. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To book a design visit, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
Materials and finishes
Shelves
We set shelf spacing around what you own so tall books and records have room. Upper shelves can be shallower for a lighter look.
Birch plywood
For alcove shelves that carry books, birch plywood helps keep them straight across a broad recess. We size the shelf for the span and the load.
Honest limits
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we don’t do:
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we will tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
More for homes in Acton
Acton homes and alcove units
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Acton were built before 1919 (about 43%) and since 2000 (about 28%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. The National Heritage List records 13 entries within half a mile of the centre of Acton. You can check whether a particular building is listed on Historic England’s list. A quarter or more of the homes in the streets around Acton (about 28%) were built since 2000, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Newer homes normally have plasterboard stud walls and open-plan rooms, often with no chimney breast, so alcove units are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor.
Near listed buildings like Gala Bingo Club, less than half a mile south of the centre of Acton, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. Gunnersbury Park, about 1.4 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live near Ealing Common, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Acton is within the London Borough of Ealing, about 2 miles west of Ealing. We can visit homes in Acton on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our Ealing coverage includes Acton and the places around it.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: W3, W4, NW10 and W12. Whether you live on a street such as High Street, Church Road and Woodhurst Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Main roads around Acton include the B490 and A4000. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. We also cover Acton Vale (1 mile east), Acton Green (1 mile south), Bedford Park (1 mile south), Hanger Hill (1 mile north-west) and South Acton (1 mile south-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Ealing (2 miles west), Southall (5 miles west), Greenford (4 miles north-west), Northolt (5 miles north-west), Northfields (2 miles west) and South Ealing (2 miles west). Acton is among the bigger places we cover in Ealing.
Around Acton
Around Acton, we cover homes near Library for Iranian Studies, Leap Service - the National Autistics Society and The Windmill pub and the streets around them. Acton has its own railway station: Acton Central station. Well-known places in the area include Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital (1.3 miles east) and Westfield London (2 miles east). Open spaces near Acton include Hanger Hill Wood.
FAQs: alcove units in Acton
Do you make alcove units for homes in Acton?
Yes. Acton is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Ealing and London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with a few details.
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Acton?
We measure the route in as well as the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. The units are made at our workshop first, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not typically. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house does not normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a route left for cables.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
We don’t do electrical work. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. The things that affect it are:
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- How big the furniture is
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- How many doors and drawers there are
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Size, the number of doors and drawers and the internal fittings make the biggest difference to the price.
What we need to know
Here’s what helps us most when you get in touch:
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space. To send them over, get in touch through our contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.