Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Harrow · London
Alcove Units in Pinner
Planning alcove units for a home in Pinner? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Alcoves that are not square
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
Need alcove units in Pinner?
Alcove units for homes in Pinner
A classic layout is a low cupboard with open shelves above. Closed cupboards hide everyday clutter, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The top of the cupboard makes a useful surface at a comfortable height. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. If you are living with shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess and everyday clutter left on show, alcove units made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed can solve it.
Around Pinner, interwar houses or semi-detached and detached homes make up a good part of the housing. In a typical 1930s house, the front room has a bay at one end and a chimney breast with an alcove to either side, which decides where alcove units sit. Walls are often truer than in older houses, but they’re still measured carefully and scribed where they wander.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out, so it can be arranged before fitting day. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Pinner (HA5)
- Borough
- Harrow
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for alcove units?
A bedroom’s alcoves are often the best place for a wardrobe. A fitted alcove cupboard holds clothes without filling the floor, which helps in a small bedroom.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Shelving for books and records
- Storage that suits a period room
- Alcoves that are not square
If you live near Eastcote House Gardens, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Before you choose who makes it
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- Are the boards named, such as MDF or plywood?
- Will the quote be in writing?
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
What affects the price in Pinner
When we put a quote together, we consider:
- Where a van can park, such as a permit bay or a bay suspension
- The number of doors and drawers
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Spray painting or hand painting
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers all add work. At the design visit, we work out what you need inside, and the quote follows.
Getting in touch
What helps most when you first contact us:
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Approximate measurements of the space
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
You do not need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: flat-pack is normally cheaper to buy. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is awkward, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder.
How fitting works for alcove units
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Fitting day means carrying in the sections, joining them and fitting them to the walls. Hand-painted furniture can be finished on site; spray-painted pieces arrive finished from the workshop. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You contact us with some details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves top, middle and bottom, and check the floor for level, then talk through the design with you.
- You get a quote in writing for the units, materials and finish.
- In our workshop the units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a little extra left on the edges that meet the wall.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall.
Before fitting day
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
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 talk through the design with you. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing. To book one, drop us a line using the contact form.
Advice
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: there’s 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. Ready-made furniture rarely suits a bay, a box room or a bulkhead over the stairs, and those are common in interwar houses. Built-in pieces are designed to fit them.
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. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
Why work with us in Pinner
- Saturday visits and fitting by prior arrangement
- Over 300 projects completed
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Common questions about alcove units
Is parking a problem for fitting in Pinner?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Pinner?
Yes. We cover all of Harrow and the rest of London, and Pinner is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. If the building is listed, works affecting its character may need listed building consent.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it is done before fitting so the sockets line up with the design. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
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. We’ll also ask about access and parking.
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. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Also near Pinner
More for homes in Pinner
Living-room carpentry in Pinner: local notes
About 43% of the homes in the area around Pinner went up between 1919 and 1939, and about 28% between 1945 and 1972, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 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 Pinner, Historic England’s list includes Sweetmans Hall (Grade II*), less than half a mile north-east, and Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles east. For a listed home, internal works that affect its character can require listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. TfL’s Ultra Low Emission Zone covers every part of London, Harrow included. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Pinner. Access and parking are talked through during the design visit.
For families living near West Lodge Primary School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. If your home is one of the older houses near Christian Science Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Pinner is part of the London Borough of Harrow, about 2 miles south-east of Harrow. Pinner is part of the area we cover, and the process is the same everywhere we work. Our work takes in places right across Harrow, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: HA5. You will find streets here such as Love Lane, Tudor Road and Marsh Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. We also cover the places around Pinner: Pinner Green (1 mile north-west), Eastcote (1 mile south), North Harrow (1 mile south-east), Roxbourne (1 mile south) and Rayners Lane (2 miles south-east). Across the rest of Harrow, our area takes in Stanmore (4 miles east), Harrow Weald (2 miles east), Wealdstone (2 miles east), Little Stanmore (5 miles east), Greenhill (2 miles east) and South Harrow (3 miles south-east).
Around Pinner
In Pinner, that includes homes near The Oddfellows Arms, Pinner High School and Heathfield School. The closest station to Pinner is Hatch End station, about 1.4 miles north-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Northwood and Pinner Cottage Hospital (1.3 miles north-west) and Heath Robinson Museum (under half a mile south-east).