Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Twickenham Alcove Units
For homes in Twickenham, we make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Room to work in an alcove
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Ask about alcove units in Twickenham
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re usually cheaper. The trouble is normally the gaps: standard sizes seldom match the alcove, and walls that are not straight show up every gap. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster. Walls and floors are seldom perfectly flat in any home, and standalone units show it with gaps and wobbles. Fitted furniture is scribed and levelled on site.
In London, parking can affect the price. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. It’s useful to talk about parking during the design visit, so it can be planned.
Why us?
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Designed for the room you have
- We visit, measure and discuss the design before we quote
Take a look at bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.
How we make alcove units for Twickenham
We fit alcove units across Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. Then you receive a quote; the units are then built in our workshop and fitted in your home. If you’re living with bare alcoves beside the fireplace and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
London homes run from Victorian terraces and interwar semis to mansion blocks and recent flats, and a home in Twickenham could be any of these. Because walls and floors change with the age of a house, the design of alcove units starts at the design visit. Bowed walls call for scribing, and plasterboard for the right fixings.
A written quote follows the design visit. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish.
- Where
- Twickenham (TW1, TW2, TW4, TW3)
- Borough
- Richmond upon Thames
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Alcove units for homes in Twickenham
In the neighbourhood around Twickenham, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 39%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 29%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. 14 conservation areas have at least part of their area less than a mile from the middle of Twickenham. 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. Controlled parking zones are run by the boroughs, so the rules in Richmond upon Thames are set locally. If your street in Twickenham 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 measuring visit.
For families living near St Richard Reynolds Catholic Primary School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. If you live in a flat close to Twickenham station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. Near listed buildings like Church of All Hallows, about 0.5 miles north-east of the centre of Twickenham, 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.
Twickenham is part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Twickenham is part of the area we cover. In Richmond upon Thames, Twickenham is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 19 places on our list.
We make alcove units across the TW1, TW2, TW4 and TW3 postcode area. Our area takes in homes on streets like Station Road, London Road and Talbot Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Twickenham sits close to the A305 and A310. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Close by, we also work in Whitton (1 mile west), Eel Pie Island (1 mile east), Strawberry Hill (1 mile south), Ivybridge (1 mile north) and Fulwell (1 mile south). Across the rest of Richmond upon Thames, our area takes in Richmond (2 miles east), Richmond upon Thames (2 miles north-east), Hampton (2 miles south-west), Barnes (4 miles north-east), Kew (4 miles north-east) and Hanworth (2 miles south-west). Being one of the larger places in Richmond upon Thames, Twickenham is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Local landmarks in Twickenham
Our area takes in the homes around St Richard Reynolds Catholic High School, The Cabbage Patch pub and Richmond upon Thames School and the streets around them. Twickenham’s nearest station is Twickenham station, about 0.5 miles north-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find South Middlesex Hospital (0.6 miles north) and Treaty Centre (1.8 miles north-west). For a walk, there’s Ham Lands.
How it is made
Plinths and scribe strips
Most alcoves need scribing on both sides and sometimes at the top. It is the difference between a unit that sits in the alcove and one that belongs there.
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Questions we’re often asked
Do you cover homes near Twickenham station?
Yes. We cover all of Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with a few details about the room.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Twickenham?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It’s useful to let us know about parking during the design visit.
How long will the fitting take?
How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. The units are built in our workshop first, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Let us know when you first get in touch.
What happens to the chimney vent when alcove units go in?
We plan alcove units so any chimney vent stays clear. Even a blocked chimney needs some ventilation to help keep damp away and we design around it.
What alcove units can’t fix
It is useful to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Scribed side panels
Caring for painted furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after with a little care. A few things help it stay looking good:
- Mention parking and access when we visit
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
To clean painted units, a soft cloth that’s barely damp is enough. Skip scouring pads and harsh cleaners, which can dull or mark the paint. Dry the surface afterwards.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, because constant heat isn’t kind to a painted finish.
How fitting works for alcove units
When we arrive on fitting day, the first job is covering the floors and protecting the way in from the front door. The sections made at our workshop come in next, a piece at a time. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out 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 get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- We visit to measure the alcoves top, middle and bottom, and check the floor for level. Then we go through the design together.
- You get a quote in writing for the units, materials and finish.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
Before fitting day
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit. To arrange a visit, get in touch through our contact form.