Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
Alcove units in Dollis Hill, Brent
For homes in Dollis Hill, we make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Clutter with nowhere to go
Alcove units designed for your room
How fitting works for alcove units
Getting everything level comes first. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth. After that, it is fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that’s solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Interwar houses usually have a straight run of stairs and a reasonable hallway, though we still measure the route in not just the room. Alcove units arrive in sections and are assembled in place.
- You send us a few details about the alcoves and what you’d like in them.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out, for you to read through at your own pace.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
How to prepare
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
Arranging a design visit
The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we’ve measured up and talked through the design. For a quote, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Related advice
Alcove units for homes in Dollis Hill
A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help keep damp out of the breast. Units are planned so any vent stays clear. Any damp in the alcoves should be dealt with by the right trade before the units go in. If your home has old alcove cupboards that have seen better days and storage that suits a period room, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Around Dollis Hill, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the living room may be a good size but with fewer recesses than a Victorian house. Alcove units can fill the alcoves, run the length of a wall or frame the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it’s made from and how it’s finished, and it’s what the workshop builds to.
- Location
- Dollis Hill (NW2, NW10, NW9)
- Area
- Brent
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it is quick to buy.
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
Do you need alcove units in Dollis Hill?
A chimney breast without its fireplace can leave a wall that feels unfinished. A pair of alcove units frames it and gives the wall a sense of order, whether or not the fireplace is used.
Most of the enquiries we get are about needs like these:
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Somewhere to keep books and records
If you live near Gladstone Park, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
What to check before you book
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
Alcove units in Dollis Hill: local notes
About 47% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Dollis Hill went up between 1919 and 1939, and about 20% between 1973 and 1999, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Near the centre of Dollis Hill, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Michael (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-east. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can need listed building consent from the council. It is worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. All of London, Brent included, is inside the ULEZ. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Dollis Hill. We plan parking and access with you at the measuring visit.
Heath House, about 2.3 miles east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. For a family home near Our Lady of Grace Catholic Junior School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Dollis Hill is in the London Borough of Brent, about 2 miles south-east of Kilburn. We design and make alcove units for homes in Dollis Hill and across Brent, as part of our work in every London borough. Dollis Hill is one of the places in Brent where we make alcove units.
Every home in NW2, NW10 and NW9 is within our area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street like Brook Road, Lane Close and Crest Road or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Staples Corner (1 mile north-east), Neasden (1 mile south-west), Cricklewood (1 mile south-east), Willesden (1 mile south) and Brent Cross (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Brent we cover include Kilburn (2 miles south-east), Harlesden (2 miles south), Wembley (3 miles west), Queen's Park (2 miles south-east), Kenton (3 miles north-west) and Kensal Rise (2 miles south).
Around Dollis Hill
Around Dollis Hill, we cover homes near Woodfield School, The Crown Public House and Menorah High School for Girls, among other places. There is a railway station in Dollis Hill itself: Brent Cross West station. Nearby you’ll also find Brent Cross Shopping Centre (1 mile north-east) and St Andrew's Hospital (close by, under half a mile south). Green spaces nearby include Westbere Copse.
How we price alcove units
Prices vary from room to room, for these reasons:
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- The width and height of the space
- Where a van can park, such as a permit bay or a bay suspension
Every room is priced on its own, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
Getting in touch
What helps most when you first contact us:
- Rough measurements, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- Your postcode and the borough
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
For a quote for alcove units in Dollis Hill, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, with sizes if you have them. Next comes a design visit, followed by a written quote.
Places near Dollis Hill
Also in Dollis Hill
Questions from Dollis Hill
I live near Brent Cross West station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Brent and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room.
Is Dollis Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Dollis Hill is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Brent and London. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
An outside wall can be colder and damper than an inside one, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps. If there’s damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. 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 can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That is your choice. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not usually. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
With a hand-painted finish, you see the colour in your own light as it goes on. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Plinths and scribe strips
Most alcoves need scribing on both sides and sometimes at the top. It is what makes a fitted unit look fitted.