Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Ealing · London
Alcove Units in West Ealing
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in West Ealing. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
Alcove units for your home in West Ealing
Flats, blocks and rented homes
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that’s best sorted before fitting day. We cannot advise on your lease.
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
Alcove units for homes in West Ealing
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It’s a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you, with a gap or hole planned so cables can reach the sockets. People typically come to us about tired cupboards in the alcoves and bare alcoves beside the fireplace, and the answer is made at our workshop from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Rooms in houses from before 1919 tend to have generous ceiling heights, and around West Ealing, a large share of homes are that age. Full-height alcove units can run up to the picture rail or the cornice, so the furniture looks as if it belongs to the house. Where a fireplace has been blocked up, the chimney still needs ventilating, and any damp is sorted before units go in.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Location
- West Ealing (W7, W13, UB2)
- Area
- Ealing
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later, and it suits a period room.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
From workshop to your room
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and take up the floor coverings. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and answer any questions. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Parking on terraced streets can be tight, particularly in a controlled parking zone, so it’s useful to tell us at the measuring visit what’s outside. The van is unloaded quickly, with the sections carried straight in. Saturdays are possible by arrangement.
- You contact us with some details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- The units are made in 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.
Before fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
Getting a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Related advice
Neighbourhoods near West Ealing
Other services in West Ealing
Pricing alcove units in West Ealing
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. The things that affect it are:
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- The width and height of the space
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. It is useful to talk about parking at the measuring visit.
What we need to know
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. Just send what you can:
- A few pictures of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- How you want to use the space
- Your postcode and the borough
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
For a quote for alcove units in West Ealing, message us from the contact page. Let us know the room and the rough idea. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
Is bespoke worth it?
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 unit is built to the alcove and scribed to follow the wall. Off-the-shelf furniture is made for flat walls and level floors, which older houses rarely have, so it leaves gaps at the wall, tilts on sloping floors or sits awkwardly against skirting and picture rails. Fitted furniture is scribed to the wall instead.
The finish affects the cost: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
What you get with us
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Built around your room
- Saturdays by arrangement
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.
FAQs: alcove units in West Ealing
My home in West Ealing is a period house with walls that aren’t straight. Is that a problem?
Yes, that’s normal in older houses: each piece is scribed to the wall and levelled at the base. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
Can you make alcove units for a home in West Ealing?
Yes, West Ealing is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Ealing and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It’s entirely your choice. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
Should I send pictures?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit, along with rough measurements. Show anything the furniture has to work around, like radiators or sockets.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We will help you choose during the design visit.
West Ealing homes and alcove units
The biggest shares of homes in the area around West Ealing were built before 1919 (about 53%) and since 2000 (about 21%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The Hanwell Clock Tower Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of West Ealing. 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. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. The share of homes built before 1919 around West Ealing, about 53%, is well above the figure for Ealing as a whole, about 28%, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). That makes period details like uneven walls, alcoves and picture rails more likely to shape the design.
Living in a block of flats near Hanwell station? Then the route in is measured as well as the room, and the sections are sized to fit it. If you live in a period home close to St Mary's Cathedral, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live near Drayton Green, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
West Ealing is within the London Borough of Ealing, about 1 mile east of Ealing. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and West Ealing is part of that. West Ealing is one of the places in Ealing where we make alcove units.
Here we cover the W7, W13 and UB2 postcode area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street like Park Road, Green Lane and Dean's Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. West Ealing is near the A4001; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Hanwell (1 mile east), Dormers Wells (1 mile north-west), Ealing (1 mile east), South Ealing (2 miles east) and Pitshanger (2 miles north-east). Other parts of Ealing we cover include Acton (3 miles east), Greenford (2 miles north), Northolt (3 miles north-west), Acton Green (3 miles east), Bedford Park (3 miles east) and Acton Vale (4 miles east).
What’s near West Ealing
Our area takes in the homes around Cuckoo Schools, Drayton Manor High School and The Viaduct pub, among other places. West Ealing has its own railway station: Hanwell station. Nearby you’ll also find Ealing Hospital (less than half a mile south-west). Green spaces nearby include Long Wood and Castlebar Hill.