Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Beckenham Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Beckenham: 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.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Storage that suits a period room
Alcove units in Beckenham
Alcove units for homes in Beckenham
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. The plinth height can match the skirting so the units feel part of the room. These details are settled when we visit, before anything is made. Typical reasons to get in touch are room to work in an alcove and toys and paperwork with no proper home, and the answer is made in our workshop from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Ceiling heights across London vary a lot, from tall period rooms to compact modern ones. In Beckenham, as anywhere, we measure the height as carefully as the width, because it decides how tall alcove units can go. Sections are sized for the stairs and doors on the way in.
The quote comes in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and talk it over at home. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Location
- Beckenham (BR3, SE26, BR4, SE20)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Is it time for alcove units?
A move into an older home is a common reason. People who have just moved in want storage that suits the age of the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It’s easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
Here’s what alcove units can help with:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Space for a growing book collection
Close to Beckenham Place Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
What to check before you book
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
Living-room storage in Beckenham
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 25% of the housing in the streets around Beckenham, with about 25% built between 1973 and 1999, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Within a mile of the centre of Beckenham, 10 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. About 50% of households around Beckenham live in purpose-built flats, well above the figure for Bromley as a whole, about 23%, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. So the route in, from stairs to lifts, is part of the design.
If your home is one of the older houses near Christ Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. The wider area includes historic houses like Bromley Palace, about 2.1 miles east. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Beckenham is about 6 miles east of Orpington, within the London Borough of Bromley. We design and make alcove units for homes in Beckenham and the rest of Bromley, as part of our work in every London borough. Beckenham is one of the places in Bromley where we make alcove units.
Every home in BR3, SE26, BR4 and SE20 is within our area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street such as High Street, The Drive and Stanmore Terrace or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Beckenham is near the B230 and B251; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. If you’re just outside Beckenham, we also cover Penge (1 mile west), Bell Green (2 miles north), Bellingham (2 miles north), Southend (2 miles north) and Sydenham (2 miles north-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Orpington (6 miles east), Bromley (2 miles east), St Mary Cray (6 miles east), Chislehurst (4 miles east), Crystal Palace (2 miles north-west) and Biggin Hill (7 miles south). Being one of the larger places in Bromley, Beckenham is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Near you in Beckenham
We fit furniture in homes around The George Inn and Harris Academy Beckenham. There’s a railway station in Beckenham itself: Beckenham Junction station. Well-known places in the area include Beckenham Beacon (a few minutes’ walk south-west) and The Glades (1.9 miles east).
How fitting works for alcove units
At the end, we tidy up and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Before fitting day, we check the route in along with the room itself, so alcove units arrive in sections that fit through. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You get in touch and tell us about the room and the alcoves.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout 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.
How to prepare
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
How to get a quote
If you know what you want, say so; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we have measured, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To start, get in touch through our contact form.
Related advice
What alcove units can’t fix
We design, make and fit the furniture. That means:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can fill in our short enquiry form and we’ll tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
Common questions about alcove units
Does a conservation area in or near Beckenham affect fitted furniture?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character may need listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
I live in a flat in Beckenham. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
We measure the route in not just the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Do both alcove units have to match?
That’s your choice. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.
Do photos help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit. Show anything the furniture has to work around, like radiators or sockets.
How do I get a quote?
The first step is to use our contact form with a few details about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Is bespoke worth it?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, rather than the nearest standard size. Walls and floors are seldom perfectly flat in any home, so standalone furniture can lean or leave gaps. Fitted furniture is scribed and levelled on site.
How it’s painted is part of the price: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
Why work with us in Beckenham
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Boards, parts and paint
Shelves
How thick a shelf needs to be depends on how wide the alcove is and what it holds. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish suits alcove units in a period room. You choose the colour, and it’s easy to refresh in years to come.