Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
Kensal Rise Alcove Units
Alcove units in Kensal Rise: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
Need alcove units in Kensal Rise?
How fitting works for alcove units
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. 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 your hall still has its original tiles or boards, they’re covered before any carrying starts. Drilling into lath and plaster is done with care, so the plaster around stays sound. Decorating around the furniture afterwards is for your decorator.
- You get in touch and tell us about the room and the alcoves.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you.
- You receive a written quote setting out the units, materials and finish, for you to read through at your own pace.
- We make the cupboards and shelves in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls.
Before we arrive
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
How to get a quote
To make a start, tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us a little about the room. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a written quote follows.
Advice
How we make alcove units for Kensal Rise
Even a chimney that’s been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting, as cupboards fitted over damp walls can suffer. If your home has bowed walls and sloping floors and tired cupboards in the alcoves, that’s what alcove units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
A large share of the homes around Kensal Rise were built before 1919, and in London most homes of that age are Victorian or Edwardian. Houses of that age normally have a chimney breast in the front and back reception rooms, with an alcove either side, and those alcoves are the natural home for alcove units. Walls are rarely flat, so each piece is scribed to the plaster and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet, then cut neatly around the skirting and any picture rail or cornice.
Everything we agree at the design visit goes into the written quote: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it’s easier before the furniture is made.
- Location
- Kensal Rise (W10, NW10, NW6)
- Area
- Brent
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Off-the-shelf units come in the colours the maker chose. We paint ours in the colour you pick, either spray painted in the workshop or hand painted. They can match the walls, the woodwork or neither. Chimney breasts in older houses stand out by different amounts, so the recesses either side are rarely the same, and standard units bought as a pair rarely suit both. Fitted furniture is made to each one separately.
Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size is the starting point. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Why us?
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- More than 300 projects completed
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or how to compare quotes.
Flat-pack or bespoke?
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it’s quick to buy.
Neighbourhoods near Kensal Rise
More for homes in Kensal Rise
Your questions about alcove units in Kensal Rise
Does a conservation area in or near Kensal Rise affect fitted furniture?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Do you cover homes near Kensal Rise station?
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, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
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 written quote once we’ve measured up.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We talk through both at the design visit.
How tall should alcove units be?
It is up to you. Full-height units give the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We will go through what suits your room when we visit.
How long does it take to fit alcove units?
The fitting depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. We’ll explain what to expect before we arrive.
Alcove units for homes in Kensal Rise
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Kensal Rise were built before 1919 (about 53%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 13%), 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. There are 129 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Kensal Rise. Original fireplaces, shutters and panelling are worth keeping where they survive, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. About 42% of households in the area around Kensal Rise live in purpose-built flats, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. In a block, each section is sized to get up the stairs or into the lift and through the door. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like The Anglican Chapel, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features may need listed building consent. If your children go to Ark Franklin Primary Academy or a school nearby, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. If you live in a flat close to Kensal Rise station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Kensal Rise is about 1 mile north-east of Kilburn, part of the London Borough of Brent. We can visit homes in Kensal Rise on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our Brent coverage includes Kensal Rise and the places around it.
Here we cover the W10, NW10 and NW6 postcode area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street like Hazel Road, Hiley Road and Kempe Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. If you are just outside Kensal Rise, we also cover Kensal Green (1 mile west), Kilburn (1 mile north-east), Queen's Park (1 mile east), North Kensington (1 mile south) and Kensal Town (1 mile south-east). Other parts of Brent we cover include Neasden (2 miles north-west), Wembley (4 miles north-west), Kenton (5 miles north-west), Church End (2 miles north-west), Stonebridge (2 miles west) and Cricklewood (2 miles north).
What’s near Kensal Rise
Around Kensal Rise, we cover homes near Queens Park Community School, Brondesbury College and Paradise by Way of Kensal Green pub and the streets around them. There is a railway station in Kensal Rise itself: Kensal Rise station. Other landmarks nearby include Brent Museum and Archives (1.1 miles north-west) and Princess Louise Hospital (0.9 miles south). Open spaces near Kensal Rise include Greville Place nature reserve.
What it’s made from
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribe strips are the edges we trim on site to follow the wall. This closes the gap between a straight unit and a bowed alcove.
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF doesn’t have a grain to show through the paint, so a painted finish looks even and calm. Moisture-resistant MDF is what we use for fitted work.
When you need someone else
We’re carpenters, so some jobs belong to other trades. It helps to know these before you plan the job:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels