Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Mortlake Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Mortlake: 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.
- Units that sit well with original features
- Room to work in an alcove
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Need alcove units in Mortlake?
Alcove units for homes in Mortlake
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Mortlake were built before 1919 (about 58%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 15%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Mortlake include Parish Church of St Mary (Grade II*), under half a mile north-east, and Hare and Hounds Public House (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can require listed building consent from the council, for example removing or fixing into original panelling. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. Red routes are run by TfL, with tight limits on where and when vehicles can stop. If your home in Mortlake is on or near a main road, tell us at the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
Living in a block of flats near Mortlake station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. Chiswick House, about 1.3 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Mortlake is about 3 miles west of Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Design visits and fitting in Mortlake can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Our Richmond upon Thames coverage includes Mortlake.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: SW14, SW13 and SW15. We cover homes on streets like Elm Road, Well Lane and Coval Road, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Mortlake sits close to the A3003, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Nearby, we also make alcove units in East Sheen (1 mile south-west), North Sheen (1 mile north-west), Barnes (1 mile north-east), Grove Park (1 mile north) and Roehampton (1 mile south-east). Other parts of Richmond upon Thames we cover include Twickenham (3 miles west), Richmond (2 miles south-west), Teddington (4 miles south-west), Hampton (6 miles south-west), Hanworth (6 miles south-west) and St Margarets (2 miles west).
Local landmarks in Mortlake
Our area takes in the homes around Richmond Park Academy, Ibstock Place School and Hare and Hounds pub, among other places. Mortlake has its own railway station: Mortlake station. A little further out are Barnes Hospital (less than half a mile east) and Ubuntu Museum: African Museum of Humanity (1.1 miles south-east). Open spaces near Mortlake include Duke's Hollow.
Alcove units for homes in Mortlake
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It is a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you. If your home has everyday clutter left on show and storage that suits a period room, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Rooms in houses from before 1919 tend to have generous ceiling heights, and a large share of the homes around Mortlake date from then. That gives full-height alcove units room to reach the picture rail or the cornice, with the top line set to match the room’s own mouldings. Where a fireplace has been blocked up, the chimney still needs ventilating, and any damp is sorted before units go in.
The quote comes in writing, so there’s time to read it properly and share it with anyone else involved. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Where
- Mortlake (SW14, SW13, SW15)
- Area
- Richmond upon Thames
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth, and that keeps the doors and shelves true. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so it helps to let neighbours know about fitting day. The sections are sized for the narrowest point on the route. Saturdays can be arranged.
- To begin, message us from the contact page; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty, 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.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Starting with a design visit
To get a quote, get in touch through our contact form and tell us a little about the room and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a written quote follows.
Advice
Neighbourhoods near Mortlake
More for homes in Mortlake
Questions we are often asked
Is parking a problem for fitting in Mortlake?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan the day around it.
I live near Mortlake station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Richmond upon Thames 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, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
It is up to you. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We go through the options at the measuring visit.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Either way, the colour is agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
What happens at the design visit?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. You don’t need to watch us work, but it helps to be around at the end.
Is bespoke worth it?
The depth of an alcove is set by the chimney breast. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. We set the depth to suit the room, whether that is flush with the breast or a little shallower. Recesses in older houses come in every size except the standard ones, so off-the-shelf pieces either don’t fit or leave a gap either side. Furniture made for the space fills it.
How it’s painted is part of the price: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
What you get with us
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Work across the whole of London
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Built around your room
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or how to compare quotes.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Prices vary from room to room, and it comes down to:
- The overall size of the piece
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
Awkward rooms take more time: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. The quote allows for it, written once we’ve measured up.
Getting in touch
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. It is useful to include:
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Where you live, with the postcode
If you know what you want, say so; if you do not, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Is it time for alcove units?
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with each shelf set to suit it.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
For families living near Thomson House School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Choosing a carpenter
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
Looking after your furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after. These habits help most:
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Most hinges can be adjusted to line the doors up again, which deals with a door that starts to catch.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks. Dry any spills quickly.