Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Addington Alcove Units
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. We make alcove units for homes in Addington, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
Need alcove units in Addington?
Alcove units for homes in Addington
In a tall room, a full-height alcove cupboard holds a great deal. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard. At the design visit we ask what you plan to keep there, and set out the shelves and rails around it. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are tired cupboards in the alcoves and everyday clutter left on show.
A good share of the homes around Addington were built in the post-war years, between 1945 and the early 1970s. Rooms from that era are often squarer than in older houses, and many have no chimney breast at all. That makes a full wall of alcove units a strong option, or a recess built out with cupboards either side. Walls may be concrete, block or brick, so fixings are chosen for the wall.
A quote in writing follows the design visit. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- Place
- Addington (CR0, CR2, BR4)
- Area
- Croydon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need alcove units in Addington?
Sometimes it is the clutter of a busy living room. Toys, games, post and chargers all need a home, and closed cupboards hide them away. The shelves above can then stay tidy.
If any of these sound familiar, it is worth getting in touch:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
Living in a block of flats near West Wickham station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Choosing a carpenter
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- Are the boards named, such as MDF or plywood?
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
Nearby places to Addington
What else we make in Addington
Addington homes and alcove units
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 are the largest group in the streets around Addington, at about 96%, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. The National Heritage List records 7 entries within half a mile of the centre of Addington. Being near listed buildings does not make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. About 40% of households in the area around Addington live in purpose-built flats, according to Census 2021. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day.
If your children go to Applegarth Academy or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. If you live in a period home close to Church of St Mary, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Addington is about 4 miles north-west of Thornton Heath, part of the London Borough of Croydon. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Addington included. Our work takes in places right across Croydon, large and small.
We work across CR0, CR2 and BR4. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Lodge Lane, Falconwood Road and Addington Village Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. We also cover Coney Hall (1 mile north), Forestdale (1 mile south), Spring Park (1 mile north), New Addington (1 mile south-east) and West Wickham (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Thornton Heath (4 miles north-west), Croydon (3 miles west), Coulsdon (5 miles south-west), Purley (4 miles west), Broad Green (4 miles north-west) and Upper Norwood (5 miles north-west).
Around Addington
Around Addington, we cover homes near John Ruskin College, among other places. The nearest railway station is West Wickham station, about 1.7 miles north-east. A little further out are National Psychosis Unit (1.6 miles north). Open spaces near Addington include Bramley Bank.
Flats, conversions and lettings
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them during the design visit.
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We cannot advise on your lease.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. That is something we plan for in the design.
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: flat-pack is usually cheaper to buy. Bespoke earns its place where the room is tricky, space is tight or you want the furniture to look part of the house.
From workshop to your room
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site, so it looks as though it was always there. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Estates sometimes have their own parking rules alongside the council’s, so it helps to tell us at the design visit. On the day, the sections are carried in, assembled and fixed. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish.
- Once you’re happy, the units are built in our workshop.
- 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.
Before we arrive
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
How to get a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. A written quote follows the visit for you to look over. To book one, use our contact form.
Advice
What it costs
Not every room costs the same, and it comes down to:
- The number of doors and drawers
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
What to send when you get in touch
To help us picture the room, please include:
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
To make a start, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us a little about the room. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a quote in writing follows.
FAQs: alcove units in Addington
Does a conservation area in or near Addington affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Addington?
Yes, Addington is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Croydon and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, followed by a quote.
What happens at the design visit?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. We plan the height and depth with you, with a route left for cables.
How do I get started?
The first step is to send us a few details through our contact form. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
It is up to you. Full-height units give the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We discuss the options at the measuring visit.