Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
Alcove Units in Westminster
For homes in Westminster, 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.
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Space for a growing book collection
Alcove units in Westminster
How we make alcove units for Westminster
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, chosen part by part. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, while birch plywood is strong and holds screws well. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in a colour agreed with you. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are room to work in an alcove and alcoves that are wasted space.
Solid brick external walls are standard in Victorian and Edwardian houses, while the walls inside can be brick or lath and plaster. With so many homes around Westminster built before 1919, the wall type is checked before any fixing for alcove units is chosen. Lath and plaster needs a lighter touch and the right fixings.
The furniture is made in our workshop after you have had the quote and decided to go ahead. It describes the design, the materials and the finish agreed at the visit, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Location
- Westminster (SW1P, W1J, SW1V)
- Borough
- Westminster
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for alcove units?
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. Built-in units use the whole recess up to the ceiling if you want.
Most of the enquiries we get are about things like these:
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Units that sit well with original features
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- A place for a small desk
Living in a block of flats near London Victoria station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Where they’ll park and unload
- Will the quote be in writing?
Other services in Westminster
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder, because scribing and the right fixings start to matter.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well, and it is quick to buy.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Bespoke furniture is not instant: there is a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, not the nearest catalogue size. Alcoves and recesses in period houses are rarely a standard width or depth, so off-the-shelf pieces either do not fit or leave a gap either side. Made for the space, the furniture uses the full width and height.
Every room is priced on its own, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
Why work with us in Westminster
- Over 300 projects completed
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
Read bespoke vs off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
How fitting day works
In older rooms, the furniture normally has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details, so it sits neatly against the room. 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. Original hallway tiles and old floorboards are worth protecting, so they’re covered before anything comes in. Drilling into lath and plaster is done with care, so the plaster around stays sound. Decorating around the furniture afterwards is for your decorator.
- To begin, drop us a line using the contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. It’s useful to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- We then send a quote in writing for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Before we arrive
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Starting with a design visit
To make a start, tell us about the room on our contact form and let us know which room you have in mind and roughly what you’d like. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a written quote follows.
Related advice
Materials and finishes
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is also good for drawer boxes. It is painted to match the rest of the unit, or the edge is left as a detail.
Spray-painted finish
A sprayed coat covers edges and corners evenly and leaves no brush marks. The colour is agreed with you before we start.
Living-room storage in Westminster
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around Westminster were built before 1919 (about 47%) and since 2000 (about 25%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Part of Westminster is in the Broadway and Christchurch Gardens Conservation Area, according to Historic England’s records. Planning controls in conservation areas are mainly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitting furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need permission. The council can confirm if you are not sure. Controlled parking zones cover much of inner London, and each borough runs its own. So a van fitting furniture in Westminster typically needs a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension arranged through the council. We ask about parking at the design visit, so the van can be planned for.
Near listed buildings like London Underground Headquarters, less than half a mile west of the centre of Westminster, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. If your children go to Harris Westminster Sixth Form or a school nearby, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design.
Westminster is about 1 mile north-west of City of Westminster, part of the City of Westminster. Anywhere in Westminster, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a quote in writing, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. We cover places right across the rest of London, large and small.
We cover every part of SW1P, W1J and SW1V. You’ll find streets here such as Eaton Lane, Wilton Road and Castle Lane, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. The A4 and A202 runs close to Westminster; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Millbank (1 mile north), Victoria (1 mile south-west), Pimlico (1 mile south), Vauxhall (1 mile south-east) and Lambeth (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Paddington Green (2 miles north-west), Paddington (2 miles north-west), Connaught Village (2 miles north-west), Lisson Grove (2 miles north-west), Westbourne (3 miles north-west) and Little Venice (3 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Westminster
Around Westminster, we cover homes near Blewcoat School, St Matthew's School and Grafton Arms. The closest station to Westminster is London Victoria station, about 0.6 miles south-west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find The Crime Museum (a few minutes’ walk south) and Kingly Court (0.9 miles north). Open spaces near Westminster include St. James's Park Lake.
Questions from Westminster
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Westminster?
At the design visit, we measure the way in along with the room itself. Alcove units are built in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Westminster?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That’s your choice. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. Shared details, such as the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even. We’ll help you choose at the measuring visit.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. We’ll plan the desk around how you work.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That is your choice. Full-height units give the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We talk through the options at the design visit.