Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
Millbank Alcove Units
We make alcove units for homes in Millbank, designed around the room you have. We design your alcove unit at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Space for a growing book collection
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Ask about alcove units in Millbank
When is bespoke worth it?
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.
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly 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.
How we make alcove units for Millbank
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Alcove units turn that space into cupboards and shelves that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Millbank has a pair of alcoves, we design a unit for each one. Most enquiries start with everyday clutter left on show and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
In a house from the Victorian or Edwardian years, the front room normally keeps its chimney breast even where the fireplace has gone. That matters around Millbank, as a large share of the homes there were built before 1919. The recesses either side take alcove units scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting, so they sit as if they came with the house.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Place
- Millbank (SW1P, W1J, SW1V)
- Area
- Westminster
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and that happens on fitting day. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so we ask for a clear space to work near the room. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Hand painting, if that is your finish, can follow the fitting.
- You contact us with some details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- In our workshop the units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a little extra left on the edges that meet the wall.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
How to prepare
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
Getting a quote
For a quote for alcove units in Millbank, get in touch through our contact form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, with sizes if you have them. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
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Caring for painted furniture
Looking after painted furniture is simple with a little care. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Let us know about parking and access at the design visit
Once the cupboards are filled and in daily use, a door may settle slightly. Hinges can typically be adjusted to bring a door back in line.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water. Wipe up spills right away.
Questions we are often asked
My home in Millbank is a period house with walls that are not straight. Is that a problem?
Yes, that is normal in older houses: each piece is scribed to the wall and levelled at the base. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Millbank?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Millbank?
Yes. We cover Millbank and the rest of Westminster, as part of our work across all London boroughs. To get a quote, get in touch through our contact form.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
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. Most of the making happens in our workshop, so the work in your home is about fitting and finishing.
Do both alcove units have to match?
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. Shared details, such as the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Just mention it when you contact us, and we’ll see what we can do.
Living-room storage in Millbank
About 47% of the homes in the streets around Millbank went up before 1919, and about 25% since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. There are 412 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Millbank. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. Near central London, streets tend to be narrow and busy, so carrying the sections from the van to the door takes planning, particularly for larger pieces.
For an older house near Christ Church, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Living in a block of flats near London Victoria station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. Near listed buildings like London Underground Headquarters, less than half a mile west of the centre of Millbank, 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.
Millbank is in the City of Westminster, about 1 mile north-west of City of Westminster. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Millbank is part of that. We cover places right across Westminster.
Here we cover the SW1P, W1J and SW1V postcode area for alcove units. You’ll find streets here such as Eaton Lane, Wilton Road and Castle Lane, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Millbank is near the A4 and A202, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. We also cover the places around Millbank: Westminster (1 mile north), Victoria (1 mile south-west), Pimlico (1 mile south), Vauxhall (1 mile south-east) and Lambeth (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Paddington Green (2 miles north-west), Paddington (2 miles north-west), Connaught Village (2 miles north-west), Lisson Grove (2 miles north-west), Westbourne (3 miles north-west) and Little Venice (3 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Millbank
The streets we cover here include those near London Library, Grafton Arms and St Matthew's School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is London Victoria station, roughly 0.6 miles south-west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Westminster Hospital (close by, under half a mile east) and Kingly Court (0.9 miles north). Open spaces near Millbank include St. James's Park Lake.
How we price alcove units
There’s no set price, because there’s no set room. What affects it comes down to:
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- How square the room is
- The overall size of the piece
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
Access to the room makes a difference too. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections. Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured.
What to send when you get in touch
Ahead of the design visit, we’ll normally ask about:
- Rough measurements: width, height and depth
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- What the furniture needs to hold
- The type of home and how the room is reached
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough sizes and some photos if you have them. To send them, drop us a line using the contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a written quote.
Places near Millbank
What else we make in Millbank
Flats, conversions and lettings
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of, which we check at the design visit.
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 can’t give advice on leases.