Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Kensington and Chelsea · London
Alcove Units in Chelsea
Alcove units for your home in Chelsea: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and talk through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Units that sit well with original features
- A place for a small desk
Need alcove units in Chelsea?
Alcove units for homes in Chelsea
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Alcove units turn that space into cupboards and shelves that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Chelsea has a pair of alcoves, each alcove gets a unit designed for it. If you are living with tired cupboards in the alcoves and alcoves that are wasted space, alcove units made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
Picture rails, deep skirting boards and plaster cornices are part of the character of older houses, and they set the lines that alcove units have to meet. A large share of the housing around Chelsea went up before 1919, so mouldings are something we expect to talk about at the measuring visit. The top of the furniture can stop at the picture rail or carry on to the cornice, whichever suits the room.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and the workshop works from it.
- Place
- Chelsea (SW3, SW10, SW1X, SW1W)
- Borough
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
From workshop to your room
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details, so it looks as though it was always there. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so we ask for a clear space to work near the room. Dust is kept down and cleared up as we go. Where the finish is hand-painted, it can be done after the pieces are in.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units, and we find a time for the design visit.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish set out, ready for you to check.
- We build the units in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
Ask for a quote
Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it. For a quote, fill in our short enquiry form.
Related advice
How it is made
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gets an even coat into corners and onto edges and leaves no brush marks. The colour is agreed with you before we start.
Shelves
Alcove shelves can be fixed or adjustable. Fixed shelves add stiffness to the unit, while adjustable ones give you room to change things.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that’s best sorted before fitting day. We can’t give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Neighbourhoods near Chelsea
Also in Chelsea
Common questions about alcove units
Can you fit alcove units to the uneven walls of an older house in Chelsea?
Yes, that’s normal in older houses: each piece is scribed to the wall and levelled at the base. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Chelsea?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to tell us about parking at the measuring visit.
How do I get a quote?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a quote in writing.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps. If there is damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It is entirely your choice. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes, so each unit is made for its own recess. They can share a style while doing different things.
Caring for painted furniture
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
Paint is dry to the touch well before it has fully cured. At first, go gently with the new paintwork: lift things onto the shelves rather than sliding them, and don’t scrub the surfaces.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks to stop rings and water marks on the paint. Dry any spills quickly.
What prompts alcove units in Chelsea
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- A place for a small desk
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Alcoves that are wasted space
If you live near Burton’s Court, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
Alcove units for homes in Chelsea
In the streets around Chelsea, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 68%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 13%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Near the centre of Chelsea, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Luke (Grade I), less than half a mile west, and Church of Holy Trinity (Grade I), under half a mile north-east. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features like panelling can require listed building consent. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. TfL’s red routes have strict stopping rules. If you live on or close to a main road in Chelsea, let us know at the measuring visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
If your children go to Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. Living in a block of flats near London Victoria station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Chelsea is about 2 miles north-west of Kensington, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We can visit homes in Chelsea on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. We list Chelsea among 13 places we cover in Kensington and Chelsea.
In SW3, SW10, SW1X and SW1W, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street such as Markham Square, Wellington Square and Tedworth Square or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Chelsea is near the B302 and B304; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. We also cover the places around Chelsea: Brompton (1 mile north), South Kensington (1 mile west), Little Chelsea (1 mile south-west), Belgravia (1 mile north-east) and World's End (1 mile south-west). Across the rest of Kensington and Chelsea, our area takes in Kensington (2 miles north-west), Notting Hill (2 miles north-west), Notting Dale (3 miles north-west), Holland Park (2 miles north-west), Bayswater (2 miles north-west) and Kensal Town (3 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Chelsea
We fit furniture in homes around Hellenic College of London, Markham Arms Public House and Natural History Museum Library and Archives, among other places. The nearest railway station is London Victoria station, about 1 mile north-east. A little further out are Harrods (0.7 miles north) and Berkshire & Westminster Dragoons Museum (under half a mile east). For a walk, there is Battersea Park Lake.