Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Kensington and Chelsea · London
Alcove Units in Kensington
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Kensington. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s made at our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Alcoves that aren’t square
Alcove units designed for your room
What affects the price in Kensington
Several things affect the price:
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- The overall size of the piece
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. 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.
Getting in touch
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- Examples of the look you are after
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Where you live, with the postcode
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a written quote, so you can take your time with it. To book one, message us from the contact page.
Alcove units for homes in Kensington
Even a chimney that’s been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear, with nothing covering it. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting so the new furniture starts on a dry wall. We make alcove units from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and the usual reasons to get in touch are a desk that tucks into an alcove and worn or badly fitted alcove units.
In a house from the Victorian or Edwardian years, the front room typically keeps its chimney breast even where the fireplace has gone. That matters around Kensington, as a large share of the homes there were built before 1919. Alcove units built into the recesses either side are scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting.
Everything we agree at the measuring visit goes into the written quote: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If something is not quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Location
- Kensington (W11, W8, W14, SW7)
- Area
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Why people ask for alcove units in Kensington
In bedrooms, the alcoves may be the only place for hanging space. A fitted alcove cupboard holds clothes without filling the floor, which matters in a smaller room.
We are often asked to help with:
- Storage that suits a period room
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Alcoves that are not square
Close to Holland Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
Alcove units in Kensington: local notes
In the area around Kensington, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 69%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 10%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Kensington is partly covered by the Holland Park Conservation Area, according to Historic England’s records. Conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. The council can confirm if you are not sure. All of London, Kensington and Chelsea included, is inside the ULEZ. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Kensington, as it does anywhere else in London. We plan parking and access with you during the design visit.
Near listed buildings like The Tower House, less than half a mile south-west of the centre of Kensington, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent. For an older house near Church of St Barnabas, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Kensington is part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. We design and make alcove units for homes in Kensington, as part of our work in every London borough. We list Kensington among 13 places we cover in Kensington and Chelsea.
Every home in W11, W8, W14 and SW7 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street like Kensington High Street, Edwardes Square and Somerset Square, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Kensington is near the A402 and B316, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Holland Park (1 mile north), Notting Hill (1 mile north), Shepherd's Bush (1 mile west), Notting Dale (1 mile north) and White City (1 mile north-west). Across the rest of Kensington and Chelsea, our area takes in Brompton (2 miles east), Chelsea (2 miles south-east), World's End (2 miles south-east) and North Kensington (2 miles north-west).
Around Kensington
Our area takes in the homes around Kensington School, Holland Park School and Abdus Salam Library. There’s a railway station in Kensington itself: Kensington Olympia station. Nearby you will also find Kensington Arcade (less than half a mile east) and St Mary Abbot's Hospital (0.5 miles east). Green spaces nearby include The Long Water and Campden Hill.
Questions from Kensington
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Kensington Olympia station?
Yes, homes across Kensington and Chelsea and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit.
Does a conservation area in or near Kensington 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. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
That is your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We’ll go through what suits your room when we visit.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Ventilation helps keep a capped chimney dry. If there’s damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.
From workshop to your room
Once the main sections are fixed in place, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly, and then we check it all again. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Where the finish is hand-painted, it can be done after the pieces are in.
- To begin, tell us about the room on 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 helps 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.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Before we arrive
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Ask for a quote
We quote once we have seen the room. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and go through the design with you, then send a written quote. We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. To book a design visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Advice
How it’s made
Moisture-resistant MDF
In an alcove unit, MDF gives smooth doors and tidy edges, ready for a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. Its moisture-resistant grade is a sensible choice beside a chimney breast.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish suits alcove units in a period room. The colour is agreed with you, and it’s easy to refresh in years to come.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Alcoves vary in depth, and the chimney breast decides how far a unit can come out. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. Bespoke units are made to the depth you want, flush with the chimney breast or set back from it. Tall ceilings in older homes leave a band of empty wall above standard furniture, and that space collects dust instead of storage. Built-in pieces can run to the cornice or the picture rail.
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers all add work. We’ll talk through what you need inside during the design visit, and the quote follows.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Kensington
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Saturday visits and fitting by prior arrangement
- Work across the whole of London
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and how to compare quotes.