Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hounslow · London
Gillette Corner Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Gillette Corner: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made at our workshop and fitted by us.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Units that sit well with original features
- Space for a growing book collection
Alcove units designed for your room
Alcove units in Gillette Corner: what you get
We work across London, including Gillette Corner. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. Then you receive a quote, and once you are happy the units are built in our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about somewhere to keep books and records and empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast.
With interwar houses or semis a big part of the picture around Gillette Corner, many homes have had the front and back rooms knocked together. The result is often a long room with a chimney breast, a good spot for alcove units. Cable routes for a TV or speakers, and space for set-top boxes, are planned at the design visit, with any new sockets left to your electrician.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. The finish is stated too, whether that is spray painting or hand painting.
- Where
- Gillette Corner (TW7, TW8)
- Area
- Hounslow
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Flats, blocks and rented homes
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so tell us about it at the design visit.
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf.
How fitting day works
In older rooms, the furniture normally has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. If you have a driveway, it can make unloading simpler, so let us know at the design visit. Otherwise, a visitor permit or a nearby bay helps. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls. Then we go through the doors and shelves with you.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Starting with a design visit
You do not need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To arrange it, drop us a line using the contact form and tell us about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Advice
FAQs: alcove units in Gillette Corner
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Gillette Corner?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Gillette Corner?
Yes, Gillette Corner is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Hounslow and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
How is the price worked out?
Each room is quoted on its own: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You will get a quote in writing once we’ve measured up.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Most period alcoves are out of square in some way, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. Adjustable feet or a plinth take care of a floor that slopes.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. We plan the height and depth with you, with a route left for cables.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and talk through the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and a written quote follows.
Neighbourhoods near Gillette Corner
Other services in Gillette Corner
Living-room storage in Gillette Corner
In the streets around Gillette Corner, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 51%) and the years since 2000 (about 20%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The National Heritage List has 21 entries within half a mile of the centre of Gillette Corner. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Hounslow sets its own rules. If your street in Gillette Corner is in a controlled parking zone, a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay through the council may be needed. It helps to tell us about parking at the measuring visit.
For families living near Marlborough Primary School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. If you live near Boston Manor Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. For a flat near Syon Lane station, the route in is measured as well as the room, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Gillette Corner is within the London Borough of Hounslow, about 2 miles south-west of Hounslow. We can visit homes in Gillette Corner on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. In Hounslow, Gillette Corner is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 25 places on our list.
We cover every part of the TW7 and TW8 postcode area for alcove units. If your home is on a street like Wood Lane, Syon Lane and Darcy Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Brentford End (1 mile east), Spring Grove (1 mile west), Isleworth (1 mile south), Osterley (1 mile west) and Brentford (1 mile east). Across the rest of Hounslow, our area takes in Hounslow (2 miles south-west), Feltham (5 miles south-west), Chiswick (3 miles east), Strand-on-the-Green (2 miles east), Lampton (2 miles south-west) and Gunnersbury (2 miles east).
Around Gillette Corner
Around Gillette Corner, we cover homes near Coach and Horses pub and The Green School and the streets around them. There is a railway station in Gillette Corner itself: Syon Lane station. A little further out are Treaty Centre (1.9 miles south-west) and Musical Museum (1.5 miles east). Not far away are Long Wood and Garden Lake.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Off-the-shelf furniture comes in set heights, so there is often wasted space overhead. A bespoke unit can run up to the ceiling or finish just under the picture rail, depending on the room. Off-the-shelf furniture comes in a few set depths, so they can stick out too far or waste space behind. Fitted furniture is made to the depth the space can take.
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size comes first. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Why choose us
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- 300+ projects completed
- Designed for the room you have
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
Practical tips
Looking after painted furniture is simple. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Mention parking and access when we visit
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Check whether there’s a vent in the chimney breast
Don’t let stored things block the chimney breast vent. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry, which protects the units too.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, as strong heat can mark paint over time.
What we don’t do
Not everything around alcove units is carpentry, like an electrician, a plumber or an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Here’s what to know:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish