Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Ealing · London
Alcove Units in Pitshanger
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Pitshanger, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Space for a growing book collection
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
Need alcove units in Pitshanger?
Why people ask for alcove units in Pitshanger
A chimney breast without its fireplace can leave a wall that feels unfinished. A pair of alcove units frames it and gives the wall a sense of order.
Here’s what alcove units can help with:
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- Units that sit well with original features
- A place for a small desk
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
The wider area includes historic houses such as Pitzhanger Manor, about 1.1 miles south. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Before you choose who makes it
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
Alcove units for homes in Pitshanger
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, and in a dining room a home for china and glass. At the design visit we ask what you plan to keep there, and set out the shelves and rails around it. People usually come to us about room to work in an alcove and worn or badly fitted alcove units, and the answer is made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Across London, neighbouring streets can be decades apart in age, and a wall might be brick, lath and plaster, blockwork or plasterboard. We check what the walls are made of during the design visit, then choose the fixings. With a chimney breast, alcove units normally fill the alcoves; without one, they can run along a whole wall.
The quote names the materials: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- Pitshanger (W5, W13, UB6)
- Area
- Ealing
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Pitshanger
Also in Pitshanger
Your questions about alcove units in Pitshanger
I live near Castle Bar Park station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Ealing and the rest of London. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is Pitshanger in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, Pitshanger is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Ealing and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, followed by a quote.
How do I get started?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
How is the price worked out?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it. The price comes in a quote in writing after the design visit.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, by prior arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you contact us.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
Any vent in the chimney breast is kept clear when we design the units. Even a blocked chimney needs some ventilation to help keep damp away and we design around it.
How fitting works for alcove units
The last stage of the day is the finish. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is normally only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed in your quote. Whatever the age of your home, the furniture is fitted to the walls you have, scribed where walls bow and levelled where floors slope. Hand painting can happen on site, while spray-painted pieces come ready from the workshop.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out.
- The units are built in our workshop.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Preparing the room
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
- Tell us about parking near your home
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Starting with a design visit
To get a quote for alcove units in Pitshanger, get in touch through our contact form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, plus any rough sizes. We will arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
Advice
Living-room carpentry in Pitshanger: local notes
About 43% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Pitshanger went up before 1919, and about 18% between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Within a mile of the centre of Pitshanger, 9 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Ealing is inside it. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Pitshanger. We plan parking and access with you during the design visit.
If you live near Castle Bar Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. If your children go to North Ealing Primary School or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Pitshanger is about 1 mile south of Ealing, within the London Borough of Ealing. We can visit homes in Pitshanger on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Pitshanger is one of the places in Ealing where we make alcove units.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: W5, W13 and UB6. Whether you live on a street like Selby Road, Argyle Road and Kent Avenue or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Brentham Garden Suburb (1 mile east), Perivale (1 mile north), Ealing (1 mile south), Hanwell (2 miles south-west) and West Ealing (2 miles south-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Acton (2 miles south-east), Southall (3 miles south-west), Northolt (3 miles north-west), Acton Green (3 miles south-east), Bedford Park (3 miles south-east) and Northfields (2 miles south).
Local landmarks in Pitshanger
We fit furniture in homes around St Benedict's School, Brentham Clubhouse pub and Ealing Independent College, among other places. The closest station to Pitshanger is Castle Bar Park station, roughly 0.8 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include London Transport Museum Depot (2 miles south-east) and Ealing Hospital (1.9 miles south-west). For a walk, there is Fox Wood and Castlebar Hill.
Where other trades come in
Not everything around alcove units is carpentry, like an electrician, a plumber or a Gas Safe registered engineer. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we will give you a straight answer. Our process from visit to fitting.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
Why bespoke in Pitshanger?
The depth of an alcove is set by the chimney breast. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. We set the depth to suit the room, flush with the chimney breast or set back from it. Off-the-shelf furniture is designed for no room in particular, whereas fitted pieces are designed for one room: yours. It can be painted in a colour chosen for that room.
There’s no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. Instead, we measure, talk through the design and then quote in writing, with the materials and finish set out. To start, message us from the contact page.
Why us?
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made or what a quote should include.
Materials and finishes
Spray-painted finish
A spray-painted finish is applied in our workshop, for a smooth and even finish. It suits a crisp, modern look as well as a classic one.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish can be done on site, after the units are fitted. It is easy to touch up later, and it gives a softer, traditional look.