Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
Alcove units in Neasden, Brent
Alcove units in Neasden: 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.
- Room to work in an alcove
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Alcove units in Neasden
Fitting day, step by step
At the end, we tidy up and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and explain how to look after the paint. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Clearing the room and the way in beforehand helps the day run well. On the day, we cover the floors first, then bring the sections in. The pieces are levelled, fitted to the walls and fixed back.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units, with a note of the room they’re in.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a written quote, ready for you to check.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- We bring them to your home and fit them in place.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Arranging a design visit
It’s useful to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line give us a good feel for the space. To share them, drop us a line using the contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
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Alcove units for homes in Neasden
Even a chimney that is been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help keep damp out of the breast. We keep any vent clear when we design alcove units, rather than boxing it in. Any damp in the alcoves should be dealt with by the right trade before the units go in. If your home has shelving for books and records and alcoves that are wasted space, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
A good part of the housing around Neasden is interwar, semi-detached or detached. In a typical 1930s house, the front room has a bay at one end and a chimney breast with an alcove to either side, and that layout shapes where alcove units work best. Walls are often truer than in older houses, but they’re still measured carefully and scribed where they wander.
You get the quote in writing, so there is time to read it properly and share it with anyone else involved. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Place
- Neasden (NW10, NW2, NW9)
- Area
- Brent
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Alcoves vary in depth, and the chimney breast decides how far a unit can come out. Standard cabinets can stand proud of the breast or sit too far back. Bespoke units are made to the depth you want. Bays, box rooms and stair bulkheads are where off-the-shelf furniture struggles most, and those are common in interwar houses. Fitted furniture is made around them.
How it is 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.
Why work with us in Neasden
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Over 300 projects completed
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
See how bespoke compares with ready-made or what to look for in a quote.
What we don’t do
Before you plan the job, it’s useful to know what we do not do:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can get in touch through our contact form and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
Flats, leases and landlords
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations. We can’t advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan the fitting around them.
Questions from Neasden
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Neasden?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character may need listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Neasden?
Yes. We cover all of Brent and the rest of London, and Neasden is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
Can I send pictures before the visit?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, such as radiators or sockets.
How do I get a quote?
Just get in touch through our contact form. Rough measurements and a few photos help, and then we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spraying gives a smooth, even surface, and hand painting is easy to touch up.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and go through the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and a quote in writing follows.
Before and after fitting day
Fresh paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. After that, a few simple habits help:
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
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, which deals with a door that starts to catch.
Now and then, check handles and hinges are still tight, and adjust any door that starts to catch.
Neighbourhoods near Neasden
What else we make in Neasden
Alcove units for homes in Neasden
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 40% of the housing in the area around Neasden, with about 33% built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. Near the centre of Neasden, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Mary (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south, and Church of St Francis (Grade II), about 0.5 miles east. If your own home is listed, works inside that affect its character, like fixing into or removing original joinery, can require listed building consent. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. More than a third of the homes in the streets around Neasden (about 40%) date from between 1919 and 1939, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Houses from the 1920s and 1930s often have a bay window and a chimney breast in the front room, and alcove units are planned around both.
The wider area includes historic houses like Fenton House, about 2.9 miles east. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. For a flat near Brent Cross West station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. For a family home near Northview Junior and Infant School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Neasden is in the London Borough of Brent, about 2 miles south-east of Kilburn. We cover Neasden as part of our work across Brent, and the process is the same everywhere we work. Our work takes in places right across Brent.
Every home in NW10, NW2 and NW9 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. You will find streets here such as Dog Lane, High Road and Ilex Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Other places close to Neasden include Brent Park (1 mile west), Church End (1 mile south), Willesden (1 mile south-east), Dollis Hill (1 mile north-east) and Willesden Green (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Kilburn (2 miles south-east), Wembley (2 miles west), Queen's Park (2 miles south-east), Kenton (3 miles north-west), Kensal Rise (2 miles south-east) and Brondesbury (2 miles east). As one of the bigger places in Brent, Neasden is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Near you in Neasden
In Neasden, that includes homes near The Swaminarayan School and Crest Boys' Academy and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Brent Cross West station, roughly 1.3 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Neasden Hospital (0.7 miles south-west) and London Designer Outlet (1.7 miles west).