Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
Kingsbury Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Kingsbury: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made in our workshop and fitted by us.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Everyday clutter left on show
Alcove units for your home in Kingsbury
How we make alcove units for Kingsbury
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It’s a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you, and leave a route for cables to reach the sockets. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about alcoves that aren’t square and toys and paperwork with no proper home.
Plenty of semis and interwar houses have been extended at the back or had the back rooms knocked through, which matters around Kingsbury, where homes like these are a big part of the housing. A long through room gives alcove units a whole wall to work with. An extension’s plasterboard walls need different fixings from the original brick or block.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it’s made from and how it is finished, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Location
- Kingsbury (NW9, HA3, HA9)
- Borough
- Brent
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the price in Kingsbury
To work out the quote, we look at:
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- How big the furniture is
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, which the quote allows for. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space.
Before the design visit
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. Just send what you can:
- How you want to use the space
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- Any ideas or images you have saved
- Where you live, with the postcode
Getting a quote starts with a few details: which room it is, rough measurements and a couple of photos if you can take them. To send them, use our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a quote in writing.
Living-room carpentry in Kingsbury: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Kingsbury were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 77%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 16%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Part of Kingsbury is in a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. All of London, Brent included, is inside the ULEZ. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Kingsbury. We go through parking and access at the design visit.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like Kingsbury Manor, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If you live in a flat close to Hendon station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Kingsbury is in the London Borough of Brent, about 4 miles south-east of Kilburn. Whether your home in Kingsbury is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Our Brent coverage includes Kingsbury.
Design visits and fitting in NW9, HA3 and HA9 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Streets in the area include Bacon Lane, Slough Lane and Minterne Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Main roads around Kingsbury include the A4006. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Queensbury (1 mile north-west), West Hendon (1 mile east), The Hyde (1 mile east), Preston (1 mile south-west) and Colindale (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Brent we cover include Kilburn (4 miles south-east), Neasden (2 miles south-east), Harlesden (3 miles south), Wembley (2 miles south-west), Queen's Park (5 miles south-east) and Church End (3 miles south).
Near you in Kingsbury
Our area takes in the homes around JFS, J.J. Moon's pub and Woodfield School. The nearest railway station is Hendon station, about 1.5 miles east. Nearby you’ll also find Edgware Community Hospital (1.6 miles north) and London Designer Outlet (1.9 miles south). Green spaces nearby include Masons Field.
How fitting day works
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Interwar houses typically have a straight run of stairs and a reasonable hallway, though we still measure the route in not just the room. Alcove units arrive in sections and are assembled in place, with floors protected throughout.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- Once you are happy, the units are made at our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Starting with a design visit
The design visit is where every quote starts. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and go through the design with you. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing for you to look over. To book one, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
When you need someone else
Some parts of a job need another trade, like an electrician, a plumber or an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
If in doubt, you can use our contact form and describe the room. How it works.
What goes into it
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
Places near Kingsbury
Also in Kingsbury
Do you need alcove units in Kingsbury?
For some, it is about books, records or a TV. We can plan an alcove unit around exactly what you have, with each shelf set to suit it.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Space for a growing book collection
If you live near Roe Green Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Before you hire any carpenter
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
Boards, parts and paint
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, which makes it a good choice for shelves and carcasses. Its layered edge can be painted or left to show.
Spray-painted finish
Spray painting is done in the workshop, giving a smooth, even, factory-like surface. It suits a crisp, modern look as well as a classic one.
Common questions about alcove units
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Hendon station?
Yes. We cover all of Brent and the rest of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with a few details about the room.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Kingsbury?
Yes. We cover all of Brent and the rest of London, and Kingsbury is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, followed by a quote.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to let us in at the start of the day. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, then send a quote in writing.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not usually. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
How long will the fitting take?
How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Most of the making happens in our workshop, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.