Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bexley · London
Alcove Units in Barnehurst
Alcove units for your home in Barnehurst: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and go through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
Alcove units for your home in Barnehurst
What happens on fitting day
You will not need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and the room should already be cleared, as agreed at the measuring visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. It is useful to clear the room and the route before we arrive. On the day, we cover the floors first, then bring the sections in. Each piece is levelled, scribed where the wall wanders and fixed to suit the wall.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish, so you can look it over in your own time.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
Preparing the room
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Getting a quote
The design visit is where every quote starts. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and go through the design with you. Afterwards, we send a written quote, so you can take your time with it. To book one, send us a few details through our contact form.
Advice
Alcove units in Barnehurst: what you get
Few alcoves in older houses are truly square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the sides meet the wall closely rather than showing a dark line. A plinth or adjustable feet take up any slope in the floor. Most enquiries start with tired cupboards in the alcoves and somewhere to keep books and records, and the answer is made in our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
In an area like Barnehurst, where interwar homes or semis make up much of the housing, many living rooms have been opened up to the dining room behind. The result is often a long room with a chimney breast, a good spot for alcove units. Cable routes for a TV or speakers, and space for set-top boxes, are planned during the design visit.
The quote names the materials: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- Barnehurst (DA7, DA1, DA8)
- Borough
- Bexley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we are often asked
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Barnehurst?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Barnehurst?
Yes, Barnehurst is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Bexley and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, and then we send a quote.
What happens to the chimney vent when alcove units go in?
Any vent is kept clear in the design. Ventilation helps keep a capped chimney dry. If there is damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture, which helps avoid condensation and mould. If there is damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
How tall should alcove units be?
It depends on the room and the look you want. Units can stop just under the picture rail or run up to the cornice. We agree the height at the design visit.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Living-room carpentry in Barnehurst: local notes
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 40% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Barnehurst, with about 31% built between 1945 and 1972, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Barnehurst include Parish Church of St Paulinus (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles south-east, and One Bell Public House (Grade II), about 0.6 miles south-east. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, such as fixing into original panelling. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. Around a third of the homes in the streets around Barnehurst (about 31%) were built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Post-war rooms tend to be simple shapes, often without a chimney breast, so alcove units often run along a full wall, with fixings chosen for the wall.
The wider area includes historic houses like Hall Place and Gardens, about 1 mile south-west. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Living in a block of flats near Barnehurst station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. For families living near Mayplace Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Barnehurst is in the London Borough of Bexley, about 3 miles south-west of Sidcup. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Barnehurst is part of that. Barnehurst is one of 27 places on our list for Bexley.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: DA7, DA1 and DA8. Streets in the area include Old Road, Grove Road and Manor Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Barnehurst sits close to the A2000. If you’re just outside Barnehurst, we also cover Bexley Riverside (1 mile north), Northumberland Heath (1 mile north), North End (1 mile east) and Slade Green (1 mile east). Across the rest of Bexley, our area takes in Sidcup (3 miles south-west), Welling (3 miles west), Bexley (2 miles south-west), Belvedere (2 miles north), Lessness Heath (2 miles north-west) and Albany Park (4 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Barnehurst
In Barnehurst, that includes homes near The Red Barn pub, St Catherine's Catholic School and St Catherine's Catholic School. For rail, the closest station is Barnehurst station, about 0.5 miles north-west. Well-known places in the area include Bexley Museum (1 mile south) and Broadway Shopping Centre (1.1 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Wansunt Pit.
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: flat-pack is usually cheaper to buy. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is normally a gap left over at the top or at one end. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Looking after your furniture
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after with a little care. These habits help most:
- 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
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
Painted finishes feel dry quickly but take longer to cure fully. At first, go gently with the new paintwork, lifting things rather than sliding them and avoiding any scrubbing.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. The cause is a job for the right trade, not something paint will hide, and it is easier to deal with before it spreads.
Also near Barnehurst
Other services in Barnehurst
What it’s made from
Spray-painted finish
Because the units are sprayed before they come to you, there’s less painting to do in your home. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Moisture-resistant MDF
With no grain to show through, MDF keeps the painted surface smooth and even. We choose the moisture-resistant grade for fitted furniture.
Is bespoke worth it?
Some flat-pack shelves are thin and start to sag once they’re loaded. We size our shelves for their span and what they’ll carry. Still, a decent off-the-shelf unit can be the sensible choice if you are renting or moving soon. Ready-made furniture rarely suits a bay, a box room or a bulkhead over the stairs, and interwar homes often have all three. Fitted furniture is made around them.
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections, and that is part of the price. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose.
Why us?
- Designed for the room you have
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- Over 300 projects completed
See bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what a quote should include.