Fitted wardrobes for alcoves and chimney breasts

Fitted wardrobes in the alcoves either side of a chimney breast turn the most awkward wall in a period bedroom into the most useful one. We measure each alcove on its own, have the carcases made to our specification in Leicestershire, and scribe every filler and end panel to your walls and ceiling on site. The wardrobes fill the recesses to the millimetre, and the chimney breast is either left showing or brought into the run.

We design and fit across Leicestershire from our base in Sileby, including the Victorian terraces and 1930s semis of Leicester, Stoneygate, Oadby and Loughborough, where most bedrooms have a chimney breast with an alcove either side.

Two recent jobs show it done. In Loughborough, Harrington wardrobes in Fjord matt run either side of the chimney breast, with an open section over it for the television. In Sileby, Stockholm fluted wardrobes in Fjord matt frame wood-effect shelves across the breast.

Why a standard wardrobe never fits an alcove

An alcove has a width, a depth and a height that nobody planned. The two either side of the same chimney breast can differ by a surprising amount, the back wall leans, the breast isn’t square to the room and the coving runs across the top. A standard wardrobe either doesn’t fit or fits with gaps, filler strips and a step at the top where the ceiling drops.

Because our furniture is made to your room’s measurements, the alcove is the wardrobe. The carcase is made to the recess, the doors are made to the carcase, and the fillers and end panels are cut on site to follow the plaster exactly. There is nothing to hide and nothing to pack out.

Three ways to use the wall

Wardrobes in both alcoves, breast left showing. The classic answer in a Victorian bedroom. Two full-height wardrobes, one each side, with the chimney breast between them for a mirror, a headboard or a dressing table. The doors finish against the sides of the breast, so the breast itself looks as if it was always framed by furniture.

One run across the whole wall. The alcoves take full-depth hanging and the chimney breast takes shallower cupboards in front of it, for folded clothes, shoes or bedding. Finished in the same doors from end to end, the chimney breast disappears and the room gains a flat wall of storage. This works best where the breast is shallow.

One alcove, matched to the other. Where one alcove already holds a cupboard or a radiator, we fit the other and match its proportions, so the wall reads as a pair.

Scribed to the millimetre

Scribing is the difference between fitted and freestanding. Every piece that meets a wall or the ceiling is cut on site to that surface, so the furniture follows the lean of the plaster and the line of the coving instead of leaving a shadow gap. On a wall that has settled for a hundred years, that is the only way to get a true fit.

Door styles for a period room

Framed doors suit these houses. Harrington 4-Panel and Chester carry the proportions of a Victorian panelled door, Contemporary Shaker and Shaker No Grooves sit quietly in a 1930s room, and Regency or Cairo Fretted add detail where the room can take it. For a modern interior in an old shell, a plain slab such as Capri or Aurora lets the chimney breast stay the feature. Every style is on our finishes page, and we bring the samples to you.

Alcoves either side of a living-room fireplace want shelves and cupboards rather than hanging. Those are on our media walls and fitted living page.

How it works and what it costs

Aaran comes to your home, measures both alcoves and the breast, and draws the options in 3D with you on the spot. We send one clear price that includes everything, fitted, valid for 30 days. From your go-ahead to fitting day is usually 6 to 8 weeks. The price guide explains what moves the price, and the main fitted wardrobes page covers the construction.

Book your free design visit. It’s free, and you’re under no obligation.