Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in Biggin Hill
Alcove units in Biggin Hill: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
Ask about alcove units in Biggin Hill
Alcove units in Biggin Hill: what you get
Even a chimney that’s been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear, rather than boxing it in. Any damp in the alcoves should be dealt with by the right trade before the units go in so the new furniture starts on a dry wall. Typical reasons to get in touch are space for a growing book collection and standard units leaving gaps at the sides, and the answer is made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
If you live in one of the interwar houses or semis around Biggin Hill, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, taken from what we agreed at the visit.
- Place
- Biggin Hill (TN16, BR6)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How we price alcove units
There’s no set price, because there’s no set room. The things that affect it are:
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- The width and height of the space
- How many doors and drawers there are
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. Size, the number of doors and drawers and the internal fittings make the biggest difference to the price.
Helping us understand the room
Some details help us understand the job before we visit. It’s useful to include:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- Where you live, with the postcode
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, get in touch through our contact form. The written quote follows the visit.
Biggin Hill homes and alcove units
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 42% of the housing in the area around Biggin Hill, with about 29% built between 1973 and 1999, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Biggin Hill include St Mark's Church (Grade II), under half a mile east, and Norheads Farmhouse (Grade II), under half a mile north-west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features like panelling can require listed building consent. It is worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Detached and semi-detached houses are home to about 67% of households in the streets around Biggin Hill, according to Census 2021. In a semi or detached house, a driveway, where there is one, can make unloading easier.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Down House, about 1.7 miles north-east. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. For a family home near Oaklands Primary Academy, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. Living in a block of flats near Woldingham station? Then it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Biggin Hill is about 6 miles north-east of Orpington, part of the London Borough of Bromley. Design visits and fitting in Biggin Hill can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. We cover places right across Bromley, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Every address in TN16 and BR6 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Streets in the area include Rushdene Walk, Mount Pleasant and Stock Hill, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Main roads around Biggin Hill include the A233, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Other places close to Biggin Hill include Aperfield (1 mile south-east), Luxted (1 mile north-east), Berry's Green (1 mile east), Single Street (1 mile east) and Leaves Green (2 miles north). Across the rest of Bromley, our area takes in Orpington (6 miles north-east), Bromley (6 miles north), Beckenham (7 miles north), St Mary Cray (7 miles north-east), Chislehurst (7 miles north) and Penge (8 miles north-west).
Near you in Biggin Hill
We fit furniture in homes around Charles Darwin School, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Woldingham station, roughly 3.8 miles south-west of the centre. Green spaces nearby include West Kent Golf Course nature reserve.
Questions from Biggin Hill
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Biggin Hill?
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. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit.
I live near Woldingham station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Bromley and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room.
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 fit furniture on an external wall?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other, or matching desks in both. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.
When you need someone else
We make and fit furniture, and we don’t do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. Please bear these in mind too:
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
If in doubt, you can message us from the contact page and describe the room. How a job runs, step by step.
What it’s made from
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Panelled or flat doors
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
How fitting day works
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. On fitting day, the sections are carried in, assembled, scribed to the wall and levelled. Hand-painted furniture can be finished on site; spray-painted pieces arrive finished from the workshop. Saturdays can be arranged.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish.
- A written quote follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that is done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
Ask for a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and talk through the design with you. A quote in writing follows the visit, so you can take your time with it. To book one, get in touch through our contact form.
Related advice
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of, after checking the walls at the design visit.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the design visit, so fitting day is planned around them.
Neighbourhoods near Biggin Hill
Other services in Biggin Hill
Why bespoke in Biggin Hill?
Off-the-shelf units come in the colours the maker chose. We paint ours in the colour you pick, sprayed in the workshop or painted by hand on site. They can match the walls, the woodwork or neither. The spaces between doors, windows and radiators are seldom a stock size, so ready-made furniture often ends up in the wrong place. Built-in pieces are planned around those fixed points.
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size comes first. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Biggin Hill
- Saturday work by arrangement
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made and what to look for in a quote.