Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Sutton · London
Beddington Alcove Units
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. We make alcove units for homes in Beddington, each designed at a visit to your home.
- A place for a small desk
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Alcove units in Beddington
Alcove units in Beddington
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. 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. We agree these details during the design visit. If you’re living with standard units leaving gaps at the sides and units that sit well with original features, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish can solve it.
Around Beddington, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the living room may be a good size but with fewer recesses than a Victorian house. Alcove units can fill the alcoves, run the length of a wall or frame the chimney breast. The carcasses are made from moisture-resistant MDF or birch plywood, painted in a colour agreed with you.
You get the quote in writing, so you can read it at your own pace. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Where
- Beddington (CR0, SM6, CR9)
- Area
- Sutton
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Caring for painted furniture
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Most hinges can be adjusted to line the doors up again, which deals with a door that starts to catch.
Watch for damp marks on the chimney breast or the walls near the units. The cause is a job for the right trade, not something paint will hide.
What happens on fitting day
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 sits neatly against the room. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. A front path or side gate can make the carry from the van simpler. Gates, paths and steps up to the door are part of the route we measure. Floors, stairs and doorways are protected on the way in.
- You tell us which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- 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. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- 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.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Arranging a design visit
You do not need exact measurements to get started. We measure everything properly during the design visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, fill in our short enquiry form. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Read more
Why people ask for alcove units in Beddington
Moving into a period house often prompts it. New owners want storage that suits the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It’s also a good moment, before the room fills up.
Here are some of the needs we’re asked about most:
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
If you live near Waddon Ponds, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Are the boards named, like MDF or plywood?
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Real projects you can actually look at
Flats, leases and landlords
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants. An agent can arrange access for you.
If your building is on a red route or a busy main road, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so it’s worth raising during the design visit.
Where other trades come in
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we don’t do:
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
If in doubt, you can use our contact form and describe the room. Our process from visit to fitting.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
Common questions about alcove units
Is Beddington in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. We cover all of Sutton and the rest of London, and Beddington is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, followed by a quote.
Does a conservation area in or near Beddington affect fitted furniture?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter 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.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. Height and depth are agreed with you.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
That is a job for your electrician. It’s best done before the units go in so the sockets line up with the design. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Places near Beddington
More for homes in Beddington
Living-room carpentry in Beddington: local notes
About 52% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Beddington went up between 1919 and 1939, and about 22% between 1973 and 1999, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Beddington include Beddington Place (great Hall Only) (Grade I), under half a mile west, and Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin (Grade II*), under half a mile west. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, can need listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Detached and semi-detached houses are home to about 51% of households in the streets around Beddington, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. A house like that normally has more rooms to plan around than a flat, and sometimes a driveway that makes unloading easier.
For a flat near Waddon station, the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it. If your home is one of the older houses near Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Beddington is about 3 miles west of Sutton, in the London Borough of Sutton. Beddington is part of the area we cover. Across Sutton, we cover Beddington, along with the rest of the borough.
Every home in CR0, SM6 and CR9 is within our area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets like Guy Road, Mill Lane and Church Lane, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Other places close to Beddington include Bandonhill (1 mile south), Wallington (1 mile south-west), Waddon (1 mile south-east), Old Town (1 mile east) and Roundshaw (1 mile south). Other parts of Sutton we cover include Sutton (3 miles west), Carshalton (2 miles west), North Cheam (4 miles west), Benhilton (3 miles west), Sutton Common (3 miles west) and Rosehill (2 miles west).
Near you in Beddington
In Beddington, that includes homes near Wallington County Grammar School, The Archbishop Lanfranc School and The Plough pub. Beddington’s nearest station is Waddon station, about 0.7 miles east. Other landmarks nearby include Croydon University Hospital (1.6 miles north-east) and Croydon Airport Visitor Centre (1.2 miles south-east). Open spaces near Beddington include Duppas Hill and Wilderness Island.