Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Ealing · London
Park Royal Alcove Units
For homes in Park Royal, 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.
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Storage that suits a period room
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
Need alcove units in Park Royal?
Alcove units in Park Royal: what you get
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, with nothing covering it. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting, as cupboards fitted over damp walls can suffer. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are bowed walls and sloping floors and everyday clutter left on show.
Newer homes often come with a TV point and sockets on one wall but nothing built around them. Many homes around Park Royal are from those years, so alcove units are normally designed around what’s already there. If you want an extra socket, that’s for your electrician, and we leave space and cable routes for it.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both, depending on the design. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Place
- Park Royal (NW10, W3, W5)
- Area
- Ealing
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
When is bespoke worth it?
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture can’t usually do that in an older room.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s typically a gap left over at the top or at one end. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can use the full height and width.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. The things that affect it are:
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- Spray painting or hand painting
- The width and height of the space
- Access to the room, such as stairs, lifts and narrow halls
There’s no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote, naming the materials and finish. To arrange a design visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Helping us understand the room
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- Your postcode and the borough
- Pictures of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Examples of the look you’re after
To get a quote for alcove units in Park Royal, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, with sizes if you have them. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
Common questions about alcove units
I live in a flat in Park Royal. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It’s useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Park Royal?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run 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 measuring visit.
How is the price worked out?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it. We send a written quote after the design visit.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Either way, the colour is agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Places near Park Royal
More for homes in Park Royal
From workshop to your room
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it’s 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 your quote sets out the fitting days. Stud walls can carry pipes and cables, so we check before drilling, with heavier pieces tied into the studs. Other trades handle any new sockets or plumbing.
- To begin, tell us about the room on our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, go through the design and check the route from the street to the room.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are made 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.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Tell us about parking near your home
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Ask for a quote
The design visit is where every quote starts. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and discuss the design with you. Afterwards, we send a written quote, so you can take your time with it. To arrange the visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Advice
Living-room carpentry in Park Royal: local notes
Homes built since 2000 make up about 57% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Park Royal, with about 19% built between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. 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. 4 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Park Royal. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Newer homes are more common around Park Royal than across Ealing: about 57% date from 2000 onwards, against about 18%, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. That makes plasterboard stud walls and compact rooms more likely, which shapes the fixings and sizes.
The wider area includes historic houses like Pitzhanger Manor, about 2 miles south-west. 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. If you live near St. Raphael's Edible Garden, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. If you live in a flat close to Harlesden station, the route in is measured as well as the room, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Park Royal is about 2 miles south-west of Ealing, in the London Borough of Ealing. We design and make alcove units for homes in Park Royal and across Ealing. Across Ealing, we cover Park Royal.
Every home in NW10, W3 and W5 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Whether you live on a street such as Dukes Road, Abbey Road and Grieg Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. We also cover West Twyford (1 mile north-west), Hanger Hill (1 mile south-west), Stonebridge (1 mile north), Stonebridge Park (1 mile north) and Old Oak Common (1 mile east). Elsewhere in Ealing, we also cover Ealing (2 miles south-west), Southall (5 miles west), Greenford (3 miles west), Northolt (4 miles west), Acton Green (2 miles south) and Bedford Park (2 miles south).
What’s near Park Royal
We fit furniture in homes around The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Library for Iranian Studies and Grand Junction Arms. For rail, the closest station is Harlesden station, about 0.8 miles north-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find London Transport Museum Depot (1.7 miles south) and Central Middlesex Hospital (less than half a mile north-east). Green spaces nearby include Hanger Hill Wood.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf units can work in an alcove, and they usually cost less to buy. The trouble is normally the gaps: standard widths rarely match the recess, and uneven walls make every gap obvious. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster. Large off-the-shelf pieces can make a small room feel smaller, whereas fitted pieces painted to suit the walls sit back into the space.
Every room is priced on its own, because the size, the layout and the finish all vary. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. You’ll see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
Why work with us in Park Royal
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- 300+ projects completed
- Work across the whole of London
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made or what to look for in a quote.
When you need someone else
We design, make and fit the furniture. That means:
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can use our contact form and we will tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Scribed side panels