Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Brent · London
South Kenton 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 South Kenton, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Room to work in an alcove
Ask about alcove units in South Kenton
Alcove units in South Kenton: what you get
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. The cupboards take the things you’d rather not see, and the shelves are for books and favourite objects. 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 your home has bare alcoves beside the fireplace and somewhere to keep books and records, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
Around South Kenton, 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 in houses of that age are usually straighter than in Victorian ones, though they’re still checked and scribed where needed.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it’s made from and how it is finished.
- Location
- South Kenton (HA9, HA0, HA3)
- Borough
- Brent
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Fitting day, step by step
Every fitting follows the same order: we protect the floors, bring the sections in, set them level, scribe them to the walls, fix them and finish them. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. 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. Fitting day means carrying in the sections, joining them and fitting them to the walls. Spray-painted pieces come finished from the workshop, while hand painting can happen on site. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- Once you’re happy, the units are made at our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Before fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
Starting with a design visit
It helps to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line give us a good feel for the space, especially with rough sizes. To send them over, message us from the contact page, and we will arrange a design visit.
Advice
Common questions about alcove units
Does a conservation area in or near South Kenton affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to South Kenton station?
Yes. We cover all of Brent and the rest of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the design visit, then the units are made in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them, so there are no tricky gaps.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
Any vent in the chimney breast is kept clear when we design the units. A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp, so we never box a vent in.
How do I get a quote?
Simply fill in our short enquiry form. Rough sizes and a few pictures help, and we will arrange a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We talk through both during the design visit.
Why people ask for alcove units in South Kenton
Some homes already have alcove cupboards, but they’ve seen better days. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works.
People usually get in touch with us about things like these:
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Units that sit well with original features
- Space for a growing book collection
For an older house near Church of the Annunciation, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
What to check before you book
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
Also near South Kenton
More for homes in South Kenton
When is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well, and it is easy to buy.
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. That is something we plan for in the design.
Living-room storage in South Kenton
The biggest shares of homes in the area around South Kenton were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 67%) and since 2000 (about 13%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Part of South Kenton is in a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Your council can advise if you’re unsure. About 65% of households in the neighbourhood around South Kenton live in detached or semi-detached houses, based on Census 2021. In a semi or detached house, a driveway, where there is one, can make unloading easier.
The wider area includes historic houses like Headstone Manor, about 2.6 miles north-west. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. For a family home near Byron Court Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
South Kenton is about 5 miles south-east of Kilburn, part of the London Borough of Brent. Anywhere in South Kenton, the process is the same: a design visit, a written quote, furniture made in our workshop and fitting in your home. Our Brent coverage includes South Kenton, along with the rest of the borough.
In HA9, HA0 and HA3, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street such as Peel Road, Holt Road and Byron Road or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Other places close to South Kenton include Northwick Park (1 mile west), Kenton (1 mile north), North Wembley (1 mile south), Brondesbury Park (1 mile south) and Harrow on the Hill (1 mile west). Other parts of Brent we cover include Kilburn (5 miles south-east), Neasden (3 miles east), Harlesden (4 miles south-east), Queen's Park (5 miles south-east), Church End (3 miles south-east) and Willesden (4 miles south-east).
Near you in South Kenton
In South Kenton, that includes homes near Wembley High Technology College and Windermere pub and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in South Kenton itself: South Kenton station. Well-known places in the area include St. Mark's Hospital (0.6 miles north-west) and St. Anns (1.4 miles north-west).
Flats, leases and landlords
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we have measured the way in.
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. If there is a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Tell us about it when you get in touch.
What affects the price in South Kenton
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. These are the things that affect it:
- Parking and unloading on your street
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- The number of doors and drawers
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Before the design visit
Getting some details early makes the visit more useful. If you can, send:
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- A few pictures of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Where you live, with the postcode
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, including how level the floor and ceiling are. To arrange it, get in touch through our contact form. The written quote follows the visit.