Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Camden · London
Primrose Hill Alcove Units
Alcove units in Primrose Hill: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Storage that suits a period room
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
Alcove units in Primrose Hill
Alcove units in Primrose Hill: what you get
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. If your home in Primrose Hill has alcoves like these, we design a unit for each one after we have measured them at a design visit. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand, and people most often get in touch about space for a growing book collection and bare alcoves beside the fireplace.
Getting long pieces into a flat often takes the most planning. With purpose-built flats home to most households around Primrose Hill, alcove units are designed in sections from the start, with the route in measured along with the room itself. Joins are positioned so they’re hidden once everything is in place.
We write quotes in plain English. They say what will be made, what it’s made from and how it will be finished.
- Location
- Primrose Hill (NW3, NW1, NW8)
- Borough
- Camden
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
You’re 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 your quote sets out the fitting days. Parking near blocks of flats can be limited, and loading may need planning, so tell us about bays, permits or any loading area during the design visit. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s 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.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
How to prepare
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Ask for a quote
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough sizes and some pictures if you have them. When you’re ready, drop us a line using the contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a written quote.
Related advice
Neighbourhoods near Primrose Hill
Also in Primrose Hill
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later.
Moisture-resistant MDF
Moisture-resistant MDF is stable and takes paint well, so we use it for doors, panels and the faces you see. It is a good match for alcoves on an external wall.
Caring for painted furniture
The finish lasts best with a little care. These practical tips help:
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
Make a note of the paint colour used. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place, and it helps to keep a little of the paint.
Spread heavy loads and keep the heaviest things on lower shelves. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging.
Common questions about alcove units
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Primrose Hill?
We measure the route in not just the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Is Primrose Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Camden, Primrose Hill included, and across the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
It is a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, then send a written quote.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We’ll plan the desk around how you work.
How do I get a quote?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us about the room. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a written quote.
Do photos help?
Yes, they help. Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling, give us a good idea of the space. To send them, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Alcove units in Primrose Hill: local notes
Homes built before 1919 make up about 41% of the housing in the area around Primrose Hill, with about 27% built between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Within a mile of the centre of Primrose Hill, 15 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. 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. More than a third of the homes in the neighbourhood around Primrose Hill (about 41%) were built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Houses of that age typically have a chimney breast with an alcove each side, and alcove units are built to those exact widths.
For a family home near St Paul's Church of England Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Chimps Breeding Colony the Gorilla House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. Living in a block of flats near Kentish Town West station? Then the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in.
Primrose Hill is about 2 miles south-east of St Pancras, part of the London Borough of Camden. Homes in Primrose Hill are part of the area we cover for alcove units, as part of our work in every London borough. Our work takes in places right across Camden, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Design visits and fitting in NW3, NW1 and NW8 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If your home is on a street such as Eton Road, Oval Road and Regal Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Primrose Hill sits close to the A5205, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover the places around Primrose Hill: Haverstock (1 mile north), Belsize Park (1 mile north), Chalk Farm (1 mile north-east), South Hampstead (1 mile west) and Swiss Cottage (1 mile west). Elsewhere in Camden, we also cover St Pancras (2 miles south-east), West End (2 miles south-east), St Giles (2 miles south-east), Seven Dials (2 miles south-east), West Hampstead (2 miles north-west) and Holborn (2 miles south-east).
What’s near Primrose Hill
In Primrose Hill, that includes homes near St. Mary's Town and Country School, Princess of Wales pub and Haverstock School. Primrose Hill’s nearest station is Kentish Town West station, roughly 0.7 miles north-east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Isokon Gallery (0.8 miles north) and O2 Centre (1.1 miles north-west). Open spaces near Primrose Hill include Adelaide Nature Reserve and Parliament Hill.
What alcove units can’t fix
We do not treat damp or carry out building work, and there are a few other limits too:
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can message us from the contact page and we will tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
What it costs
There is no set price, because there’s no set room. What affects it comes down to:
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- Parking and unloading on your street
- The number of doors and drawers
In London, parking can affect the price. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. It is useful to talk about parking at the design visit.
What to send when you get in touch
These details help when you contact us:
- How you want to use the space
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Your postcode and the borough
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. To arrange a visit, use our contact form.