Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Alcove Units in North Sheen
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in North Sheen. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Storage that suits a period room
- Shelving for books and records
Need alcove units in North Sheen?
About our alcove units in North Sheen
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. The plinth height can match the skirting for a tidy line around the room. We agree these details at the measuring visit, before anything is made. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and people most often get in touch about shelving for books and records and alcoves that aren’t square.
A large share of the homes around North Sheen were built before 1919, which in London mostly means Victorian and Edwardian houses. Houses of that age typically have a chimney breast in the front and back reception rooms, with an alcove either side, and those alcoves are the natural home for alcove units. Because old walls bow and floors slope, the units are scribed to follow the wall and levelled at the base.
A written quote follows the design visit. It sets out the design we have talked through, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Location
- North Sheen (TW9, SW14, W4)
- Area
- Richmond upon Thames
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from North Sheen
I live near Kew Gardens station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can use our contact form to arrange a design visit.
My house in North Sheen is Victorian. Can you deal with uneven walls?
Yes, that’s 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.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It’s good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
How long will the fitting take?
The time on site depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Most of the making happens in our workshop.
Do pictures help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit, along with rough sizes. It helps to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
How do I get a quote?
Simply drop us a line using the contact form. It helps to send rough sizes and a few pictures, and then we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design.
Alcove units in North Sheen: local notes
In the neighbourhood around North Sheen, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 46%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 16%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. The National Heritage List records 17 entries within half a mile of the centre of North Sheen. You can check whether a particular building is listed on Historic England’s list. About 46% of homes in the neighbourhood around North Sheen were built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Houses of that age usually have a chimney breast with an alcove each side, and alcove units are built to those exact widths, scribed to walls that are rarely straight.
For a family home near Kew Riverside Primary School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. The wider area includes historic houses such as Kew Palace, about 1 mile north-west. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
North Sheen is about 3 miles south-west of Twickenham, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. We design and make alcove units for homes in North Sheen and across Richmond upon Thames, as part of our work in every London borough. North Sheen is one of 19 places on our list for Richmond upon Thames.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: TW9, SW14 and W4. If your home is on a street like Kent Road, Ibis Lane and The Avenue, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Other places close to North Sheen include Kew (1 mile north), Grove Park (1 mile north-east), Strand-on-the-Green (1 mile north), East Sheen (1 mile south-east) and Mortlake (1 mile south-east). Elsewhere in Richmond upon Thames, we also cover Twickenham (3 miles south-west), Richmond (2 miles south-west), Teddington (4 miles south-west), Hampton (5 miles south-west), Hanworth (5 miles south-west) and St Margarets (2 miles south-west).
Around North Sheen
We fit furniture in homes around Tap on the Line, Kew College Prep and Chiswick School. North Sheen has its own railway station: Kew Gardens station. Nearby you’ll also find Museum No. 2. Monocotyledons and Cryptogams (0.9 miles north-west) and Barnes Hospital (1.1 miles south-east). Not far away are Kew Gardens Lake and Duke's Hollow.
Fitting day, step by step
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we go, we look over the finished furniture with you and answer any questions. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Parking on terraced streets can be tight, particularly in a controlled parking zone, so it’s useful to tell us during the design visit what’s outside. Unloading is kept short, with sections taken straight inside. Saturdays are possible by arrangement.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that is done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
How to get a quote
It is 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, particularly with rough measurements. To share them, tell us about the room on our contact form, and we will arrange a design visit.
Read more
Looking after your furniture
Fresh paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. After that, a few simple habits help:
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in, even when the cupboards fill up. Air moving through the chimney helps keep damp away.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water to stop rings and water marks on the paint. Wipe up spills straight away.
Is it time for alcove units?
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. Built-in units use the whole recess from wall to wall.
Requests we hear often include:
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like West Farm West Lodge, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- Will the quote be in writing?
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
Where other trades come in
It’s worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Electrical work, such as new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
In a flat, the route in matters as much as the room. We measure the stairs, landings, lift and doorways as well as the room, so each section is sized to get through without a struggle.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Tell us about them during the design visit.