Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove units in Anerley, Bromley
In Anerley, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Storage that suits a period room
Need alcove units in Anerley?
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf units can work in an alcove, and they usually cost less to buy. The catch is the fit: standard sizes seldom match the alcove, and walls that are not straight show up every gap. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster. Alcoves and recesses in period houses are rarely a standard width or depth, so ready-made units rarely fill them properly. Made for the space, the furniture uses the full width and height.
In London, parking can affect the price. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so we may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay near your home. Tell us about parking at the design visit.
Why us?
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- We visit, measure and discuss the design before we quote
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.
Alcove units for homes in Anerley
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In bedrooms, this often becomes a compact wardrobe or a place for bedding. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, and set out the shelves and rails around it. Typical reasons to get in touch are shelving for books and records and alcoves that are wasted space, and the answer is made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Picture rails, deep skirting boards and plaster cornices are part of the character of older houses, and they set the lines that alcove units have to meet. Homes built before 1919 make up a large share of the housing around Anerley, so those details are worth looking at closely during the design visit. The top of the furniture can stop at the picture rail or carry on to the cornice, whichever suits the room.
The written quote puts the design visit in writing: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it’s easier before the furniture is made.
- Location
- Anerley (SE20, SE19, SE26)
- Area
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Other services in Anerley
Alcove units in Anerley: local notes
About 47% of the homes in the streets around Anerley went up before 1919, and about 20% between 1973 and 1999, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The Crystal Palace Park Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Anerley. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings. If you are unsure, check with the council before work starts. The Ultra Low Emission Zone has covered all of London since it reached the outer boroughs on 29 August 2023. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Anerley. Parking and access are planned at the measuring visit.
Close to Crystal Palace Dinosaurs? Alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. For families living near James Dixon Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. If you live in a period home close to St Paul's, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Anerley is about 8 miles east of Orpington, within the London Borough of Bromley. Anerley is part of the area we cover, and the process is the same everywhere we work. In Bromley, Anerley is one of the places we cover.
Here we cover the SE20, SE19 and SE26 postcode area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets like Maple Road, Padua Road and Genoa Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Close by, we also work in Penge (1 mile east), Crystal Palace (1 mile north), Sydenham (1 mile north-east), Gipsy Hill (1 mile north-west) and Upper Norwood (1 mile west). Other parts of Bromley we cover include Orpington (8 miles east), Bromley (4 miles east), Beckenham (2 miles east), St Mary Cray (8 miles east), Chislehurst (6 miles east) and Biggin Hill (8 miles south-east).
Local landmarks in Anerley
Our area takes in the homes around Harris City Academy Crystal Palace, Anerley Arms and Crystal Palace School, among other places. Anerley has its own railway station: Anerley station. Well-known places in the area include Crystal Palace Museum (0.5 miles north-west) and St Christopher's Hospice (0.7 miles north-east). For a walk, there is Dulwich Upper Wood.
What happens on fitting day
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference, which keeps the lines straight. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Original hallway tiles and old floorboards are worth protecting, so they’re covered before anything comes in. Fixings into older walls are made carefully, as lath and plaster can crack if treated roughly. Decorating around the furniture afterwards is for your decorator.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- Once you’re happy, the units are made at our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Before we arrive
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Arranging a design visit
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Related advice
Could you do it yourself?
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture can’t usually do that in an older room.
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that aren’t square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
Questions from Anerley
Can you make alcove units for a home in Anerley?
Yes, we work across Bromley, Anerley included, and across the rest of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with a few details.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Anerley?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that aren’t square?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the measuring visit, then the units are made in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them.
Do photos help?
Yes, they help. Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling, give us a good idea of the space, especially with rough measurements. To send them, use our contact form.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, by prior arrangement. Tell us when you contact us if a Saturday suits you best.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
When you need someone else
We make and fit furniture, and we do not do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Decorating the rest of the room
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can fill in our short enquiry form and we will tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
What affects the cost of alcove units
Prices vary from room to room, for these reasons:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- The overall size of the piece
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
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. To start, get in touch through our contact form.
What we need to know
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. Just send what you can:
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Rough measurements, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
For a quote for alcove units in Anerley, fill in our short enquiry form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, plus any rough sizes. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.