Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Eel Pie Island Alcove Units
We make alcove units in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Eel Pie Island. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Room to work in an alcove
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units in Eel Pie Island
About our alcove units in Eel Pie Island
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. Units can be cut around them, stop just below them or run neatly up to them, depending on the look you want. A plinth can be set to line up with the skirting. These details are settled when we visit. If your home has tired cupboards in the alcoves and a desk that tucks into an alcove, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Wherever your home in Eel Pie Island sits in London’s mix of housing, the furniture is designed around your room rather than a standard size. Period rooms bring sloping floors and mouldings; newer rooms bring stud walls and service boxing. Each is measured, and the pieces are made to fit it.
Our quotes are written in plain words. They say what will be made, what it is made from and how it will be finished, all taken from the design visit.
- Location
- Eel Pie Island (TW1, TW10, TW2)
- Borough
- Richmond upon Thames
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Caring for painted furniture
Getting the most from alcove units starts with the planning and carries on after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Let us know about parking and access during the design visit
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Most hinges can be adjusted to line the doors up again, so a small gap or rub is easy to correct.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks. Wipe up spills right away.
Common questions about alcove units
Do you make alcove units for homes in Eel Pie Island?
Yes. We cover all of Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London, and Eel Pie Island is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
Do you cover homes near Twickenham station?
Yes. We cover all of Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
It depends on the room and the look you want. Units can stop just under the picture rail or run up to the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. We agree the height during the design visit.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to let us in at the start of the day. It’s good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
Living-room carpentry in Eel Pie Island: local notes
Homes built before 1919 make up about 32% of the housing in the area around Eel Pie Island, with about 27% built between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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 Eel Pie Island, Historic England’s list includes Ham House (Grade I), about 0.5 miles east, and Marble Hill House (Grade I), about 0.6 miles north-east. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can require listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Richmond upon Thames is inside it. So any van that delivers or fits furniture in Eel Pie Island is covered by it. We plan parking and access with you at the measuring visit.
If your home is one of the older houses near St Mary's Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Close to Marble Hill Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. For a family home near St Mary's Church of England Primary School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Eel Pie Island is about 1 mile west of Twickenham, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. We can visit homes in Eel Pie Island on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Eel Pie Island is one of the places in Richmond upon Thames where we make alcove units.
We make alcove units across the TW1, TW10 and TW2 postcode area for alcove units. If your home is on a street like Oak Lane, Sion Road and Bell Lane, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. The A305 and A310 run close to Eel Pie Island; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. We also cover the places around Eel Pie Island: Twickenham (1 mile west), Strawberry Hill (1 mile south-west), Ham (1 mile south-east), Petersham (1 mile east) and St Margarets (1 mile north). Elsewhere in Richmond upon Thames, we also cover Richmond upon Thames (2 miles north-east), Hampton (3 miles south-west), Barnes (4 miles north-east), Kew (3 miles north-east), Hanworth (3 miles west) and Mortlake (3 miles north-east).
What’s near Eel Pie Island
Our area takes in the homes around The Barmy Arms, St Catherine's School and Orleans Park School. There’s a railway station in Eel Pie Island itself: Twickenham station. A little further out are Eel Pie Island Museum (under half a mile north) and South Middlesex Hospital (1 mile north-west). For a walk, there’s Richmond Hill and Ham Lands.
Nearby places to Eel Pie Island
What else we make in Eel Pie Island
Flats, conversions and lettings
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. If there’s a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Mention it when you get in touch.
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of, after checking the walls at the measuring visit.
How fitting day works
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and explain how to look after the paint. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, 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. Then the sections come in and are joined in place.
- To begin, get in touch through our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. It’s useful to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Before fitting day
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Arranging a design visit
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them give us a good feel for the space, along with rough sizes. To share them, message us from the contact page, and we will arrange a design visit.
Related advice
How we price alcove units
What it costs comes down to the materials and the time involved. The main factors are:
- How many doors and drawers there are
- The overall size of the piece
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections, which the quote allows for. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose.
What we need to know
You do not need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Any ideas or images you have saved
To get a quote for alcove units in Eel Pie Island, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, plus any rough measurements. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a quote in writing.
When is bespoke worth it?
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that aren’t square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths.
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture cannot typically do that in an older room.