Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
Pimlico Alcove Units
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Pimlico, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- A place for a small desk
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Alcove units for your home in Pimlico
FAQs: alcove units in Pimlico
Does a conservation area in or near Pimlico affect fitted furniture?
Normally 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 can require listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to London Victoria station?
Yes. We cover all of Westminster and the rest of London. To get started, you can use our contact form with a few details about the room.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Air moving through a capped chimney helps stop damp, which protects the units as well as the wall. If there is damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it’s done before fitting, and we can tell you where the units will sit so the sockets end up in the right place. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
What happens at the measuring visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a written quote.
How tall should alcove units be?
It’s 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 design visit.
About our alcove units in Pimlico
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard, while in a dining room it can keep china, glass and table linen. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, and set out the shelves and rails around it. Typical reasons to get in touch are everyday clutter left on show and bare alcoves beside the fireplace, and the answer is made in our workshop from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Most internal walls in homes from recent decades are plasterboard on studs, and the board won’t carry a heavy load on its own. That matters around Pimlico, as many homes there date from 2000 onwards: tall units stand on the floor and are tied into the studs, and shelves use fixings made for the board where there’s no stud.
You get the quote in writing, so there’s time to read it properly. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Where
- Pimlico (SW1P, SW1V, SW1W)
- Borough
- Westminster
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. How much a shelf bends depends on its span, depth and load, and long runs need a thicker shelf, a lip along the front or a support. That’s something we plan for in the design.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Caring for painted furniture
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They’re worth knowing before and after fitting:
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry, which protects the units too.
Spread heavy loads and keep the heaviest things on lower shelves. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging.
Also in Pimlico
What happens on fitting day
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. 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. Newer developments sometimes have their own parking and loading rules, so tell us what applies during the design visit. The furniture comes in sections and is fixed in place. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- 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. Then we go through the design together.
- We send the design, materials and finish in a quote in writing.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
Arranging a design visit
We quote once we’ve seen the room. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a written quote. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To arrange a visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Advice
How it is made
Spray-painted finish
Because the units are sprayed before they come to you, there is less painting to do in your home, in the colour agreed with you. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later, and it suits a period room.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Bespoke furniture is not instant: there is a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. In return, the unit is planned for your alcove alone, not the nearest catalogue size. In a newer flat, big flat-pack units can be hard to get into the lift or through the door, while fitted furniture comes in sections sized for the route. The sections are joined and fixed once inside.
Tricky rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it, which we write after seeing the room.
Why choose us
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- We work across all London boroughs
- Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Built around your room
See how bespoke compares with ready-made or how to compare quotes.
Living-room carpentry in Pimlico: local notes
In the streets around Pimlico, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 42%) and before 1919 (about 29%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Pimlico include Church of St James The Less (Grade I), less than half a mile north-east, and St James The Less Parish Rooms and Schools (Grade I), under half a mile north-east. For a listed home, internal works that affect its character can need listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Westminster is inside it. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Pimlico, as it does anywhere else in London. How the van gets to your door is planned during the design visit.
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. If your home is one of the older houses near St Gabriel's, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Buckingham Palace, about 0.9 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Pimlico is part of the City of Westminster, about 2 miles north of City of Westminster. We design and make alcove units for homes in Pimlico, as part of our work in every London borough. Pimlico is one of 29 places on our list for Westminster.
Every address in SW1P, SW1V and SW1W is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Whether you live on a street such as Ponton Road, Wilton Road and Ebury Square or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. The A202 and A3212 run close to Pimlico, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Victoria (1 mile north-west), Nine Elms (1 mile south-west), Westminster (1 mile north), Millbank (1 mile north) and Vauxhall (1 mile east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as City of Westminster (2 miles north), Marylebone (2 miles north), Soho (2 miles north), Chinatown (2 miles north), Covent Garden (2 miles north-east) and Mayfair (2 miles north).
Near you in Pimlico
Around Pimlico, we cover homes near Pimlico Academy, Lambeth Palace Library and Denbigh Arms and the streets around them. Pimlico’s nearest station is London Victoria station, about 0.5 miles north-west. Well-known places in the area include The Gordon Hospital (a few minutes’ walk north-east) and Health Exhibition Centre (0.5 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Battersea Park Lake.