Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hillingdon · London
Alcove units in West Drayton, Hillingdon
Alcove units for your home in West Drayton: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and talk through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Space for a growing book collection
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
Need alcove units in West Drayton?
Questions from West Drayton
Does a conservation area in or near West Drayton affect fitted furniture?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t 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.
Is West Drayton in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, West Drayton is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Hillingdon and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
How is the price worked out?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish, along with access and parking. The price comes in a quote in writing after the design visit.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
That depends on the room and what you’d like to store. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. We agree the height during the design visit.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
Can I send pictures before the visit?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, such as radiators or sockets.
About our alcove units in West Drayton
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. If your home in West Drayton has alcoves like these, we design a unit for each one, starting with a design visit to measure. People normally come to us about bowed walls and sloping floors and tired cupboards in the alcoves; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Many homes around West Drayton date from the post-war decades. Post-war rooms tend to be squarer, with fewer alcoves and often no chimney breast. That makes a full wall of alcove units a strong option, or a recess built out with cupboards either side. Walls may be concrete, block or brick, so fixings are chosen for the wall.
The written quote puts the design visit in writing: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If something isn’t quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Location
- West Drayton (UB7)
- Borough
- Hillingdon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Places near West Drayton
What else we make in West Drayton
From workshop to your room
With the carcasses fixed and level, we hang any doors and fit any drawers or lids. We adjust each one so the gaps line up and it closes cleanly. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Drilling into concrete is noisier than into brick or plaster, so if neighbours are close, a note before fitting day can help. We work within any rules your building has on noise and hours. Dust is kept down and cleared as we go.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- Once you are happy, the units are made in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- Fitting day: the units go in, are scribed to the alcoves and levelled on a plinth or feet. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
How to prepare
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Getting a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a written quote for you to look over. To book one, drop us a line using the contact form.
Related advice
Flats, conversions and lettings
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. Lifts sometimes need to be booked, and the lift size helps decide how big each section can be. Mention it when you contact us.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the design visit.
The problems alcove units solve
A bedroom’s alcoves are often the best place for a wardrobe. Built into the alcove, a cupboard holds clothes without taking over the room, which matters in a smaller room.
If you recognise any of these, it’s worth talking to us:
- A place for a small desk
- Units that sit well with original features
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
If you live in a flat close to West Drayton station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
What to check before you book
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
Living-room storage in West Drayton
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 33% of the housing in the streets around West Drayton, with about 25% built since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Part of West Drayton is in the West Drayton Green Conservation Area, one of the conservation areas recorded by Historic England. The controls in a conservation area are mostly about the outside of buildings, so furniture fitted inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. About 33% of homes in the neighbourhood around West Drayton were built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Rooms from that era are often squarer, with fewer alcoves and sometimes no chimney breast, so alcove units often run along a full wall, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block.
If you live near Lake Farm Country Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. If you live in a period home close to Church of St Martin, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
West Drayton is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon, about 6 miles north-east of Ruislip. From period terraces to newer flats in West Drayton, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. West Drayton is one of the places in Hillingdon where we make alcove units.
Design visits and fitting in UB7 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. If your home is on a street like Church Road, Station Road and Constabulary Place, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. We also cover the places around West Drayton: Yiewsley (1 mile north), Cowley (2 miles north), Hayes (2 miles east) and Hillingdon (2 miles north). Across the rest of Hillingdon, our area takes in Ruislip (6 miles north-east), Yeading (4 miles north-east), Yiewsley (4 miles north-east), Ruislip Manor (5 miles north-east), South Ruislip (5 miles north-east) and Ruislip Gardens (5 miles north-east).
Local landmarks in West Drayton
Our area takes in the homes around Park Academy West London and The Fox and Pheasant pub and the streets around them. The closest station to West Drayton is West Drayton station, roughly 0.5 miles north-west. Nearby you’ll also find Harlington (1.3 miles south-east).
Practical tips
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
Fill the shelves gradually and spread heavy things evenly. Books weigh more than most people expect, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Now and then, check handles and hinges are still tight and adjust a door before a small rub becomes a mark.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
The depth of an alcove is set by the chimney breast. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. We set the depth to suit the room, flush with the chimney breast or set back from it. A room without alcoves gives ready-made furniture nothing to sit into, so it stands out from the wall, whereas fitted furniture can make its own recesses and frame a window or door.
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
Why choose us
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.