Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Harrow · London
Alcove Units in Roxbourne
Alcove units in Roxbourne: 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.
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Storage that suits a period room
Alcove units in Roxbourne
What affects the cost of alcove units
Prices vary from room to room, and it comes down to:
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. The price depends mainly on the size of the piece, how many doors and drawers it has and what goes inside.
Getting in touch
A few details help us understand the job before we visit. It’s useful to include:
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Examples of the look you’re after
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we’ve measured up and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
How we make alcove units for Roxbourne
Even a chimney that is been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. We keep any vent clear when we design alcove units, rather than boxing it in. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting so the new furniture starts on a dry wall. Most enquiries start with bare alcoves beside the fireplace and alcoves that aren’t square; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
If you live in one of the interwar houses or semis around Roxbourne, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so it’s clear what’s included.
- Place
- Roxbourne (HA5, HA2, HA4)
- Area
- Harrow
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made during the design visit and set out in your quote, so fitting day is about putting it in place carefully. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. In a 1930s house with a converted loft, the stairs to the loft room are often steeper than the main flight, so any section going up there is sized for them. Elsewhere in the house, the route is usually more generous. Each section is assembled and fixed in the room.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and go through the design, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- We send a quote in writing for the units.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
Before we arrive
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Getting a quote
For a quote for alcove units in Roxbourne, tell us about the room on our contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, with sizes if you have them. We will arrange a design visit, then send a quote in writing.
Advice
FAQs: alcove units in Roxbourne
Does a conservation area in or near Roxbourne affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Roxbourne?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It helps to tell us about parking during the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Do you cover Roxbourne?
Yes. We cover Roxbourne and the rest of Harrow, as part of our work across all London boroughs. To arrange a design visit, use our contact form.
What materials do you use?
Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, depending on the part and the design. The materials are named in your written quote.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and discuss the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It’s entirely your choice. Alcoves are often different widths anyway, so each unit is made to its own measurements. They can share a style while doing different things.
Places near Roxbourne
What else we make in Roxbourne
Looking after your furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after with a little care. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
To clean painted units, a soft cloth that’s barely damp is enough. Skip scouring pads and harsh cleaners, as they can mark the finish. Dry the surface afterwards.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water. Wipe up spills straight away.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
In a flat, the route in matters as much as the room. We measure the stairs, landings, lift and doorways as well as the room, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through.
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too, as it makes good use of an awkward room. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
Alcove units in Roxbourne: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around Roxbourne were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 76%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 12%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Roxbourne is partly covered by a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. About 76% of homes in the area around Roxbourne date from between 1919 and 1939, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Houses from the 1920s and 1930s often have a bay window and a chimney breast in the front room, which shape where alcove units go.
If you live near Eastcote House Gardens, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. For an older house near St. Andrew’s Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. The wider area includes historic houses such as Headstone Manor, about 1.8 miles north-east. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Roxbourne is part of the London Borough of Harrow, about 1 mile east of Harrow. From period terraces to newer flats in Roxbourne, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Our work takes in places right across Harrow, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
We cover every part of the HA5, HA2 and HA4 postcode area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets like Kings Road, The Avenue and Torbay Road, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Other places close to Roxbourne include Rayners Lane (1 mile east), Eastcote (1 mile north-west), North Harrow (1 mile north-east), South Ruislip (1 mile south) and Pinner (1 mile north). Across the rest of Harrow, our area takes in Stanmore (4 miles north-east), Hatch End (2 miles north), Harrow Weald (3 miles north-east), Wealdstone (2 miles north-east), Little Stanmore (5 miles north-east) and Greenhill (2 miles east).
Near you in Roxbourne
In Roxbourne, that includes homes near Venue 5 pub, Heathfield School and Pinner High School and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is South Ruislip station, roughly 1.4 miles south-west. Well-known places in the area include St. George's Shopping Centre (1.9 miles east) and Heath Robinson Museum (1.2 miles north).
When is bespoke worth it?
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that aren’t square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
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 cannot usually do that in an older room.