Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hillingdon · London
Alcove Units in Hillingdon
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Hillingdon. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Need alcove units in Hillingdon?
Alcove units in Hillingdon: what you get
Period alcoves are rarely square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, sometimes all in one recess. Each unit is made in our workshop to our measurements and scribed to the walls when we fit it, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. People usually come to us about space for a growing book collection and walls too uneven for standard furniture, and the answer is made in our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Many houses from between the wars, and many semis, have been extended or opened up inside, which matters around Hillingdon, where homes like these are a big part of the housing. In a long knocked-through room, alcove units can run the full length of one wall, or mark out the sitting end from the dining end. An extension’s plasterboard walls need different fixings from the original brick or block.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- Where
- Hillingdon (UB10, UB8, UB9, HA4)
- Borough
- Hillingdon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What prompts alcove units in Hillingdon
Where a fireplace has been blocked up or removed, the chimney breast can look bare. Units on both sides frame the chimney breast and balance the room, whether or not the fireplace is used.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
If you live in a period home close to Church of St John, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
Your questions about alcove units in Hillingdon
Do you make alcove units for homes in Hillingdon?
Yes. We cover the whole of London, all 32 boroughs and the City of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, followed by a quote.
Do you cover homes near West Drayton station?
Yes, homes across London are within the area we cover. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. Listed buildings are different: check with the council’s conservation officer first.
How tall should alcove units be?
That is your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We’ll go through what suits your room when we visit.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room.
What happens at the design visit?
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, then send a written quote.
What else we make in Hillingdon
Practical tips
New paint needs time to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. Beyond that, these tips help:
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Let us know about parking and access during the design visit
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
Painted finishes feel dry quickly but take longer to cure fully. At first, go gently with the new paintwork, lifting things rather than sliding them and avoiding any scrubbing.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. The cause is a job for the right trade, not something paint will hide.
Hillingdon homes and alcove units
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 50% of the housing in the area around Hillingdon, with about 25% built between 1945 and 1972, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Hillingdon include Cedars House (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles west, and Church of St John (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles west. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. About 25% of homes in the streets around Hillingdon were built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Rooms from that era are often squarer, with fewer alcoves and sometimes no chimney breast, so alcove units often run along a full wall, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block.
If you live near Norman Leddy Memorial Gardens, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. The wider area includes historic houses such as Ickenham Hall, about 1.8 miles north. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Hillingdon is about 3 miles north-east of Ruislip, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Hillingdon is part of that. We cover places right across the rest of London.
Here we cover the UB10, UB8, UB9 and HA4 postcode area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets such as The Larches, Brampton Road and Clifton Gardens, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around Hillingdon include the B465 and B467. Close by, we also work in Ickenham (1 mile north), Cowley (2 miles south-west), Yiewsley (2 miles south-west) and Hayes (2 miles south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Ruislip (3 miles north-east), Yeading (2 miles east), Yiewsley (2 miles east), West Drayton (2 miles south), Ruislip Manor (3 miles north-east) and South Ruislip (3 miles north-east).
What’s near Hillingdon
Our area takes in the homes around Oak Wood School, Highfield Primary School and Red Lion pub and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is West Drayton station, roughly 2.2 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include The Chimes (1.3 miles north-west) and Hillingdon Hospital (1 mile south-west). Open spaces near Hillingdon include Gutteridge Wood and Meadows.
Flats, conversions and lettings
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, and that’s best sorted before fitting day. We cannot give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. Lifts sometimes need to be booked, and the lift size helps decide how big each section can be. Let us know about it when you get in touch.
Fitting day, step by step
You will not need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and the room should already be cleared, as agreed during the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the 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. It helps to clear the room and the route before we arrive. Fitting day starts with protecting the floors and setting out the pieces. The pieces are levelled, fitted to the walls and fixed back.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you’ve picked.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Preparing the room
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a written quote. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Related advice
Flat-pack or bespoke?
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. How much a shelf bends depends on its span, depth and load, and long runs need a thicker shelf, a lip along the front or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.