Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Harrow · London
Alcove units in Hatch End, Harrow
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Hatch End. Every piece is made in our workshop and fitted in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Shelving for books and records
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
Alcove units for your home in Hatch End
Could you do it yourself?
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that are not square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths.
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. That’s something we plan for in the design.
Alcove units in Hatch End
We fit alcove units across Harrow and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and go through the design. After that we send a written quote, and once you’re happy the units are built in our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are room to work in an alcove and bare alcoves beside the fireplace.
A typical 1930s semi has a bay window at the front and a chimney breast with a recess either side. Around Hatch End, interwar houses, semis and detached homes make up a big part of the housing, so that layout is worth knowing well. We tend to plan alcove units along the chimney breast wall so the bay keeps its light.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Where
- Hatch End (HA5, HA2, HA3)
- Area
- Harrow
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Looking after your furniture
Looking after painted furniture is simple. These habits help most:
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Hinges can typically be adjusted to bring a door back in line.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks. Wipe up spills straight away.
FAQs: alcove units in Hatch End
Is parking a problem for fitting in Hatch End?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Hatch End?
Normally not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
An outside wall can be colder and damper than an inside one, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
Do you cover areas outside London?
No. We cover London only: every London borough and the City of London.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
We don’t do electrical work. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
How fitting works for alcove units
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so the day itself is about careful fitting. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. If you have a driveway, it can make unloading simpler, so it’s worth mentioning at the design visit. Otherwise, a visitor permit or a nearby bay helps. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square. Then we go through the design together.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- In our workshop the units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a little extra left on the edges that meet the wall.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall.
Before we arrive
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
How to get a quote
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Related advice
Where other trades come in
It’s useful to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
If in doubt, you can drop us a line using the contact form and describe the room. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Panelled or flat doors
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
Pricing alcove units in Hatch End
The price for your room depends on:
- The overall size of the piece
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Spray painting or hand painting
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. Tell us about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan for it.
Before the design visit
A little information at the start saves time later. If you can, send:
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- A few pictures of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
The design visit is where every quote starts. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a written quote. To book one, get in touch through our contact form.
Nearby places to Hatch End
What else we make in Hatch End
Living-room storage in Hatch End
In the neighbourhood around Hatch End, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 38%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 28%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Hatch End include East End Farm Cottage (Grade II*), under half a mile south, and Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south-west. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, such as fixing into original panelling. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. TfL’s red routes have strict stopping rules. If your home is on or just off a main road, it helps to mention it. We can then plan where the van will stop.
If your home is one of the older houses near Pinner Baptist Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If your children go to Pinner Park Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. Close to Headstone Manor Recreation Ground? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Hatch End is in the London Borough of Harrow, about 2 miles south-east of Harrow. Design visits and fitting in Hatch End can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Across Harrow, we cover Hatch End and the places around it.
Every address in HA5, HA2 and HA3 is within our area for alcove units. Streets in the area include Love Lane, Moss Lane and Tudor Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. We also cover Headstone (1 mile east), Harrow Weald (2 miles east) and Belmont (2 miles east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Harrow (2 miles south-east), Stanmore (3 miles east), Wealdstone (2 miles east), Little Stanmore (4 miles east), Greenhill (2 miles south-east) and South Harrow (3 miles south). Hatch End is among the bigger places we cover in Harrow.
Landmarks near Hatch End
Around Hatch End, we cover homes near Nower Hill High School and The Moon & Sixpence pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Hatch End is Hatch End station, roughly 0.6 miles north. A little further out are St. George's Shopping Centre (2 miles south-east) and Heath Robinson Museum (0.8 miles south-west).