Old alcove shelves out, a proper unit in

Before and after, because that says most of it.

The alcove next to the chimney breast in this Newington Green living room had four shelves on brackets. They held things, but everything was on show and the bottom of the alcove did nothing.

The new unit has a low cupboard with two flat doors for the clutter, open shelves above for the things worth looking at, and a light in the shelf just over the cupboard.

Paint before it goes in

I painted the doors and shelves on trestles in the room before fitting them. Painting the inside of an alcove unit after it is built means a lot of reaching into corners and a lot of drips. Flat on trestles, every edge gets done properly.

The light

The shelf above the cupboard has a light along it. In the day you do not notice it. In the evening it lights whatever sits on that shelf and makes the whole alcove look deeper than it is.

All white, to match the walls and the old window shutters next to it, so it looks like it was always part of the room.

See every photo of this job.