Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Alcove Units in Addiscombe
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Addiscombe. After a design visit and a quote in writing, it is made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Shelving for books and records
- A place for a small desk
- Alcoves that are not square
Alcove units in Addiscombe
Alcove units for homes in Addiscombe
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Units can be cut around them, stop just below them or run neatly up to them, whichever suits the room. The plinth height can match the skirting for a tidy line around the room. These details are settled when we visit. Most enquiries start with walls too uneven for standard furniture and clutter with nowhere to go; the furniture is made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Some living rooms in London have tall ceilings and cornices, while others have low, plain ceilings. However your room in Addiscombe is built, the height is measured as carefully as the width, since it sets how tall alcove units can be. Each section is sized to fit the route into the room.
The furniture is made at our workshop after you’ve had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- Addiscombe (CR0, SE25, CR9)
- Area
- Croydon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need alcove units in Addiscombe?
Some homes already have alcove cupboards, but they’ve seen better days. Starting again lets you rethink the layout.
We’re often asked to help with:
- Alcoves that are not square
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Storage that suits a period room
If your home is one of the older houses near St Mildred's Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Before you choose who makes it
- How parking will work on your street
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
How fitting works for alcove units
The last stage of the day is the finish. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is typically only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. Parking varies a lot across London, from permit zones to private bays, so let us know what’s near you at the measuring visit. If you live in a flat, any lift or building rules are worth checking too.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a written quote. We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. To book a design visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
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Looking after your furniture
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
Once the cupboards are filled and in daily use, a door may settle slightly. Hinges can normally be adjusted to bring a door back in line.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water. Dry any spills quickly.
Why bespoke in Addiscombe?
Bought units stop at standard heights, which usually leaves a gap above. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, depending on the room. Standard units come with shelves and rails where the maker put them, rather than where you need them. Fitted furniture is laid out inside around your things.
Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured. A larger piece means more material and more time. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Why us?
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- More than 300 projects completed
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made or what a quote should include.
Living-room carpentry in Addiscombe: local notes
In the neighbourhood around Addiscombe, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 44%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 27%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Near the centre of Addiscombe, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Mildred (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west, and Addiscombe Farm Cottage (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-west. For a listed home, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent from the council, for example removing or fixing into original panelling. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. All of London, Croydon included, is inside the ULEZ. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Addiscombe. We plan parking and access with you at the measuring visit.
For a flat near Norwood Junction station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. Close to Ashburton Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Addiscombe is part of the London Borough of Croydon, about 2 miles north-west of Thornton Heath. Anywhere in Addiscombe, the process is the same: a design visit, a written quote, furniture made in our workshop and fitting in your home. Addiscombe is one of 32 places on our list for Croydon.
Every home in CR0, SE25 and CR9 is covered for alcove units. You will find streets here like Grant Road, Capri Road and Coe Avenue, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Addiscombe is near the A232; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Close by, we also work in Shirley Oaks (1 mile east), Ashburton (1 mile north), Woodside (1 mile north), Shirley (1 mile east) and Monks Orchard (1 mile east). Other parts of Croydon we cover include Thornton Heath (2 miles north-west), Croydon (2 miles south-west), Coulsdon (5 miles south-west), Purley (4 miles south-west), Broad Green (2 miles west) and Upper Norwood (3 miles north).
Around Addiscombe
Our area takes in the homes around The Woodside Academy and The Cricketers pub, among other places. Addiscombe’s nearest station is Norwood Junction station, about 1.2 miles north. Nearby you will also find St George's Walk (1.5 miles west) and National Psychosis Unit (1.5 miles east).
What it costs
Several things affect the price:
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Spray painting or hand painting
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
Tricky rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That is reflected in the quote, which we write after seeing the room.
What we need to know
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. It is useful to include:
- How you want to use the space
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we have measured up and talked through the design. For a quote, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Common questions about alcove units
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Norwood Junction station?
Yes, homes across Croydon and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Addiscombe?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
How do I get started?
Simply drop us a line using the contact form. It is useful to send rough measurements and a few photos, and then we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We’ll help you choose at the measuring visit.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. We do not treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That is your choice. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.