Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Berry's Green Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Berry's Green. Every piece is made in our workshop and fitted in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- A place for a small desk
Ask about alcove units in Berry's Green
Alcove units for homes in Berry's Green
Alcove units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF suits doors and panels because it paints so evenly, while birch plywood is strong and holds screws well. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in the colour you choose. If your home has alcoves that are wasted space and alcoves that aren’t square, that’s what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Ceilings in interwar houses tend to be lower than in Victorian ones, so alcove units are proportioned to the room rather than copied from a taller one. If yours is one of the interwar houses, semis or detached homes that make up much of the housing around Berry's Green, the cornice may be plain or missing, so the furniture can run straight to the ceiling. The skirting is scribed around neatly.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. They say what will be made, what it is made from and how it will be finished, taken from what we agreed at the visit.
- Location
- Berry's Green (TN16)
- Area
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
When is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it’s easy to buy.
Living-room storage in Berry's Green
In the neighbourhood around Berry's Green, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 29%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 25%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Berry's Green include The Old Jail Public House (Grade II), less than half a mile north-west, and Bell Cottage (Grade II), about 0.5 miles north. If your own home is listed, works inside that affect its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, may need listed building consent. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. About 29% of homes in the area around Berry's Green were built between 1945 and 1972, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Post-war rooms tend to be simple shapes, often without a chimney breast, so a full wall of alcove units is often the answer, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block.
Down House, about 1.3 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If your home is one of the older houses near Church of St Peter and St Paul, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Berry's Green is within the London Borough of Bromley, about 5 miles north of Orpington. We can visit homes in Berry's Green on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Across Bromley, we cover Berry's Green and the places around it.
Every address in TN16 is within our area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street such as Berry's Green Road, St Margarets Avenue and St Johns Rise or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. If you’re just outside Berry's Green, we also cover Single Street (1 mile north), Luxted (1 mile north-west) and Aperfield (1 mile south-west). Across the rest of Bromley, our area takes in Orpington (5 miles north), Bromley (6 miles north), Beckenham (8 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (6 miles north), Chislehurst (7 miles north) and Plaistow (8 miles north).
Around Berry's Green
In Berry's Green, that includes homes near The Old Jail Public House and Charles Darwin School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Chelsfield station, about 3.6 miles north-east of the centre. For a walk, there is Downe Bank.
Questions from Berry's Green
Is Berry's Green in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Bromley, Berry's Green included, and across the rest of London. To get started, you can fill in our short enquiry form with some details.
Do you cover homes near Chelsfield station?
Yes. We cover all of Bromley and the rest of London. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We’ll help you choose at the measuring visit.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house does not normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Do alcove units need to reach the ceiling?
That’s your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We will go through what suits your room when we visit.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
Any vent in the chimney breast is kept clear when we design the units. Even a blocked chimney needs some ventilation to help keep damp away and we design around it.
Why people ask for alcove units in Berry's Green
A move into an older home is a common reason. New owners want storage that suits the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It’s easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
People typically get in touch with us about things like these:
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Space for a growing book collection
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
For a family home near Cudham Church of England Primary School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether you will get a quote in writing, not just a figure
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
What it’s made from
Shelves
Alcove shelves can be fixed or adjustable. Fixed shelves add stiffness to the unit, while adjustable ones let you change heights later.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. Small marks are easy to touch up, and it gives a softer, traditional look.
What we don’t do
We’re carpenters, so some jobs belong to other trades. These are worth knowing before you plan:
- Decorating the rest of the room
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can send us a few details through our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. How it works.
What goes into it
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
How fitting works for alcove units
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. If you have a driveway, it can make unloading simpler, so let us know at the measuring visit. Otherwise, details of permits or nearby bays help. Doorways, stairs and floors are covered on the way in.
- To begin, message us from the contact page; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. Parking is worth mentioning too, since a van often needs a permit or a paid bay in London.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Before we arrive
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Getting a quote
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough sizes and some photos if you have them. To send them, tell us about the room on our contact form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.