Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
Alcove Units in Mapesbury
For homes in Mapesbury, we make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Shelving for books and records
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
Ask about alcove units in Mapesbury
What happens on fitting day
Getting everything level comes first. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Newer homes often have finished floors, painted walls and new doors that mark easily, so we protect the route before carrying anything in. Corners and door frames are covered as well. Once inside, the pieces are joined in place.
- To begin, use our contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Preparing the room
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
How to get a quote
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. A quote in writing follows the visit. To arrange the visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Read more
About our alcove units in Mapesbury
In a tall room, a full-height alcove cupboard holds a great deal. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard, while in a dining room it can keep china, glass and table linen. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, so shelves and rails go where they’re needed. If you’re living with units that sit well with original features and tired cupboards in the alcoves, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Many homes around Mapesbury were built since 2000, and newer homes seldom have fitted storage in the living room. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with routes for cables designed in. Plasterboard on studs takes fitted furniture well, as long as the fixings suit it.
Where other trades are needed, for example an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Where
- Mapesbury (HA9, HA0, NW10)
- Area
- Brent
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after fitting day
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
Keep a record of the colour so any touch-ups match. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. TfL runs the red routes, and the stopping rules are strict, so it’s worth raising at the design visit.
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it.
Living-room carpentry in Mapesbury: local notes
In the streets around Mapesbury, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 58%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 30%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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 Mapesbury is in a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Planning controls in conservation areas are mainly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitting furniture inside a house does not normally need permission. The council can confirm if you are not sure. More than half of the homes in the area around Mapesbury (about 58%) were built since 2000, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Newer homes typically have plasterboard stud walls and open-plan rooms, often with no chimney breast, so the fixings go into the studs, or heavier pieces stand on the floor.
Near listed buildings like Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph, under half a mile west of the centre of Mapesbury, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If your home is one of the older houses near St Michael the Archangel, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Close to St. Raphael's Edible Garden? Alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Mapesbury is in the London Borough of Brent, about 3 miles east of Kilburn. Whether your home in Mapesbury is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Mapesbury is one of the places in Brent where we make alcove units.
We make alcove units across HA9, HA0 and NW10. Our area takes in homes on streets such as London Road, Harrow Road and Cecil Avenue, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. We also cover Tokyngton (1 mile south-east), Stonebridge Park (1 mile south-east), Wembley Park (1 mile north), Wembley (1 mile north-west) and Brent Park (1 mile east). Elsewhere in Brent, we also cover Kilburn (3 miles east), Harlesden (2 miles south-east), Queen's Park (4 miles east), Kenton (3 miles north-west), Willesden (2 miles east) and Kensal Rise (3 miles south-east).
What’s near Mapesbury
The streets we cover here include those near Hilton London Wembley pub, The Swaminarayan School and Ark Elvin Academy and the streets around them. Mapesbury has its own railway station: Wembley Stadium station. Other landmarks nearby include London Designer Outlet (less than half a mile north-west) and Neasden Hospital (0.9 miles east).
Questions we’re often asked
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Mapesbury?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Mapesbury?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. Alcove units are built in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It’s up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
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; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
That is your choice. Full-height units give 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.
Will alcove units fit if my walls aren’t straight?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. Adjustable feet or a plinth take care of a floor that slopes.
What it is made from
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF doesn’t have a grain to show through the paint, so a painted finish looks even and calm. We choose the moisture-resistant grade for fitted furniture.
Plinths and scribe strips
Most alcoves need scribing on both sides and sometimes at the top. It is what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Honest limits
We design, make and fit the furniture. That means:
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
If in doubt, you can send us a few details through our contact form and describe the room. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it’s made from
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood