Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Hammersmith and Fulham · London
Alcove Units in White City
We make alcove units for homes in White City, designed around the room you have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and built in our workshop.
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Alcove units designed for your room
Alcove units in White City
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. If your home in White City has alcoves like these, we design a unit for each one. If your home has empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess, alcove units made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed can solve it.
Some living rooms in London have tall ceilings and cornices, while others have low, plain ceilings. However your room in White City is built, the height is measured as carefully as the width, because it decides how tall alcove units can go. Sections are sized for the stairs and doors on the way in.
The quote names the materials: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both, depending on the design. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- White City (W12, W11, W10)
- Borough
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- 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
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Alcove units in White City: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the area around White City were built before 1919 (about 43%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 18%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. 8 conservation areas have at least part of their area less than a mile from the middle of White City. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Flats in converted or shared houses account for about 23% of households in the area around White City, based on Census 2021. In a converted house, rooms can be odd shapes, with new partitions meeting old walls, and the route in may go through a shared hall and stairs. A lease can require consent for alterations, so it’s worth checking yours first.
For a flat near Shepherds Bush station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like Building Adjoining to West of Harrow Club, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features may need listed building consent.
White City is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, about 2 miles south of Fulham. Homes in White City are part of the area we cover for alcove units. Across Hammersmith and Fulham, we cover White City.
We make alcove units across the W12, W11 and W10 postcode area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Bard Road, Wood Lane and Abdale Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. If you’re just outside White City, we also cover Shepherd's Bush (1 mile south), Notting Dale (1 mile east), North Kensington (1 mile north), Notting Hill (1 mile east) and Kensal Town (1 mile north-east). Across the rest of Hammersmith and Fulham, our area takes in Fulham (2 miles south), Parsons Green (3 miles south), Walham Green (3 miles south-east), West Brompton (2 miles south-east), Hurlingham (3 miles south) and Chelsea Harbour (3 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in White City
We fit furniture in homes around Polish Library POSK in London, Star Chamber Academy and Kensington Aldridge Academy. White City’s nearest station is Shepherds Bush station, roughly 0.5 miles south-east. Nearby you’ll also find Princess Louise Hospital (0.5 miles north) and Culture House (0.5 miles south). Not far away are Campden Hill.
Nearby places to White City
What else we make in White City
Elsewhere in Hammersmith and Fulham
Alcove Units across all 16 places in Hammersmith and Fulham
Our services in Hammersmith and Fulham
Areas we cover
About alcove units
Questions we’re often asked
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in White City?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
I live near Shepherds Bush station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Hammersmith and Fulham and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that aren’t square?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the design visit, then the units are built in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them, which closes the gaps you’d see with standard furniture.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
We don’t do electrical work. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Normally not. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings may need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so ask the council’s conservation officer.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
Looking after your furniture
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
A soft, slightly damp cloth is all painted units typically need. Avoid abrasive pads and strong cleaning sprays, as they can mark the finish. Dry the surface afterwards.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units.
Why bespoke in White City?
With bought furniture you are limited to the maker’s finishes. We paint ours in the colour you pick, sprayed in the workshop or painted by hand on site. They can match the walls, the woodwork or neither. Standard units come with shelves and rails where the maker put them, rather than where you need them. With fitted furniture, the inside is planned around what you keep.
We do not publish set prices, because each job is designed for a single room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote, with the materials and finish set out. To arrange a design visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in White City
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- We work across all London boroughs
- A design visit, then a written quote
- A spray or hand-painted finish
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.
Boards, parts and paint
Moisture-resistant MDF
With no grain to show through, MDF keeps the painted surface smooth and even. Moisture-resistant MDF is what we use for fitted work.
Spray-painted finish
A spray-painted finish is applied in our workshop, giving a smooth, even, factory-like surface. It works on simple doors and on more traditional ones.
From workshop to your room
You will not need to do much on the day. Someone needs to let us in, and the room should already be cleared. After that, it is over to us: the floors are covered, the sections come in and the fitting begins. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. It’s useful to clear the room and the route in before fitting day, including anything on the walls near the work. We cover floors and doorways first. Sections are then carried in and assembled.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent.
- We send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
How to prepare
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Arranging a design visit
It is useful to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space. To share them, drop us a line using the contact form, and we will arrange a design visit.
Advice
Is it time for alcove units?
For some, it is about books, records or a TV. We can plan an alcove unit around exactly what you have, with each shelf set to suit it.
Most of the enquiries we get are about things like these:
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Room to work in an alcove
For families living near Ark Swift Primary Academy, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Before you choose who makes it
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- How parking will work on your street