Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
St Margarets Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in St Margarets. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- A place for a small desk
- Storage that suits a period room
Ask about alcove units in St Margarets
Your questions about alcove units in St Margarets
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in St Margarets?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, so we can plan the day around it.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we will see what we can do.
Do you work in St Margarets?
Yes, we do. We work in St Margarets and across Richmond upon Thames, and the process is the same everywhere we go.
Do you make the furniture yourselves?
We make it in our workshop. After that, we fit it in your home.
How we make alcove units for St Margarets
We work across London, including St Margarets. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. After that we send a quote in writing; the units are then made at our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about clutter with nowhere to go and storage that suits a period room.
Every room has its fixed points: the window, the door, the radiator and the sockets. In any home in St Margarets, those set the layout for alcove units before anything else. Then the cupboards, shelves and any space for a screen are arranged for how you use the room.
We write quotes in plain English. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Location
- St Margarets (TW1, TW7, TW9)
- Area
- Richmond upon Thames
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near St Margarets
Other services in St Margarets
How we price alcove units
To work out the quote, we look at:
- How square the room is
- Parking and unloading on your street
- How many doors and drawers there are
- The internal fittings
We don’t publish set prices, because each job is designed for a single room. Instead, we measure, go through the design and then quote in writing, with the materials and finish set out. To start, drop us a line using the contact form.
Before the design visit
A little information at the start saves time later. Where you can, include:
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- What the furniture needs to hold
For a quote for alcove units in St Margarets, drop us a line using the 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 written quote.
Built-in living-room furniture in St Margarets
Homes built before 1919 make up about 43% of the housing in the streets around St Margarets, with about 24% built between 1973 and 1999, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. St Margarets is partly covered by the St Margaret's Estate Conservation Area, one of the conservation areas recorded by Historic England. Conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Your council can advise if you are unsure. Controlled parking zones are common across London, and Richmond upon Thames sets its own rules. If your street in St Margarets is in a controlled parking zone, a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay through the council may be needed. Parking near your home is worth mentioning at the design visit.
The wider area includes historic houses like Richmond House, about 1 mile south. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Near listed buildings like Asgill House, less than half a mile east of the centre of St Margarets, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. Close to Richmond Green? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
St Margarets is about 1 mile south-west of Twickenham, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. We cover St Margarets as part of our work across Richmond upon Thames. Our work takes in places right across Richmond upon Thames, large and small.
Every home in TW1, TW7 and TW9 is within our area for alcove units. If your home is on a street like Eve Road, Park Road and Crown Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Main roads around St Margarets include the A316 and A3004, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. If you are just outside St Margarets, we also cover Isleworth (1 mile north-west), Richmond (1 mile east), Ivybridge (1 mile west), Eel Pie Island (1 mile south) and Twickenham (1 mile south-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Teddington (2 miles south), Hampton (3 miles south-west), Barnes (3 miles east), Kew (2 miles north-east), Hanworth (3 miles south-west) and Mortlake (2 miles east).
What’s near St Margarets
The streets we cover here include those near Kneller Hall Junior School, Orleans Park School and The Turks Head pub. There’s a railway station in St Margarets itself: St Margarets (London) station. A little further out are Eel Pie Island Museum (0.8 miles south) and South Middlesex Hospital (0.8 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens Lake.
What happens on fitting day
At the end, we tidy up and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Fitting day means joining the sections, fitting them to the walls and setting them level. The fixings suit whatever the walls are made of. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind, and a rough sketch helps if you have one.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish, for you to read through at your own pace.
- We make the cupboards and shelves in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
How to prepare
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
Getting a quote
Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, once the room is measured and the design talked through. To arrange a visit, message us from the contact page.
Read more
Could you do it yourself?
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well.
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, because scribing and the right fixings start to matter.
Tips worth knowing
Getting the most from alcove units starts with the planning and carries on after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
To clean painted units, a soft cloth that is barely damp is enough. Avoid abrasive pads and strong cleaning sprays, which can dull or mark the paint. Wipe it dry when you’ve finished.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Overloaded shelves are the main cause of sagging.
What we do not do
Before you plan the job, it is useful to know what we don’t do:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can get in touch through our contact form and we will tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What it is made from
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF