Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Lambeth · London
Brixton Alcove Units
Alcove units for your home in Brixton: 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.
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Room to work in an alcove
Ask about alcove units in Brixton
Alcove units in Brixton: what you get
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard, and in a dining room a home for china and glass. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, and set out the shelves and rails around it. We make alcove units from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and people most often get in touch about worn or badly fitted alcove units and cupboards in keeping with an older house.
In a Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the front room usually keeps its chimney breast even where the fireplace has gone. That matters around Brixton, as a large share of the homes there were built before 1919. Alcove units built into the recesses either side are scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting, so they sit as if they came with the house.
A written quote follows the design visit. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Where
- Brixton (SW2, SW9, SW4)
- Borough
- Lambeth
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Is bespoke worth it?
Shelves in some flat-pack furniture are thin and can bow under books. Shelves in a bespoke unit are sized for the span and the load, using birch plywood where strength matters. Still, a decent off-the-shelf unit can be the sensible choice if you are renting or moving soon. Recesses in older houses come in every size except the standard ones, so off-the-shelf pieces either don’t fit or leave a gap either side. Furniture made for the space fills it.
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. At the design visit, we work out what you need inside.
Why work with us in Brixton
- Work across the whole of London
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Finished by spray or by hand
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.
Nearby places to Brixton
Also in Brixton
Built-in living-room furniture in Brixton
Homes built before 1919 make up about 46% of the housing in the area around Brixton, with about 18% built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax 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. Part of Brixton is in the Rush Common and Brixton Hill Conservation Area, one of the conservation areas recorded by Historic England. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings. The council can confirm if you’re not sure. Controlled parking zones cover much of inner London, and each borough runs its own. For fitting in Brixton, a van typically needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It’s useful to tell us about parking at the measuring visit.
If your home is one of the older houses near Trinity Congregational Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Close to Max Roach Park? Alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. Living in a block of flats near Brixton station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Brixton is in the London Borough of Lambeth, about 1 mile north of Stockwell. Design visits and fitting in Brixton can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Our Lambeth coverage includes Brixton and the places around it.
We cover every part of SW2, SW9 and SW4 for alcove units. We cover homes on streets such as Acre Lane, Jelf Road and Trent Road, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. The A204 and A2217 run close to Brixton; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Close by, we also work in Stockwell (1 mile north), Clapham Park (1 mile west), Angell Town (1 mile north), Loughborough Junction (1 mile north-east) and Tulse Hill (1 mile south-east). Other parts of Lambeth we cover include Kennington (2 miles north), Streatham (2 miles south), West Norwood (2 miles south-east), South Bank (3 miles north), Oval (2 miles north) and Waterloo (3 miles north).
Landmarks near Brixton
We fit furniture in homes around Trinity Academy, Trinity Academy and Trinity Arms, among other places. Brixton has its own railway station: Brixton station. Nearby you will also find Dulwich Community Hospital (1.6 miles east). For a walk, there’s Knight's Hill.
FAQs: alcove units in Brixton
Is parking a problem for fitting in Brixton?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. 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.
My home in Brixton is a period house with walls that are not straight. Is that a problem?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It is entirely your choice. Alcoves are often different widths anyway. They can share a style while doing different things.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it, along with access and parking. We send a written quote after the design visit.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Ventilation helps keep a capped chimney dry, which protects the units as well as the wall. If there is damp on the breast already, it is best sorted before fitting.
Where is the furniture made?
Everything is made in our workshop for your room, then fitted in your home. It’s built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
Flats, conversions and lettings
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of, which we check during the design visit.
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work.
How we price alcove units
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. This is what makes the difference:
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Spray painting or hand painting
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- How big the furniture is
We don’t publish set prices, because every piece is designed for one room. Instead, we measure, discuss the design and then quote in writing. To start, drop us a line using the contact form.
Before the design visit
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. Just send what you can:
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Where you live, with the postcode
A quote begins with some details from you: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of pictures if you can take them. To send them, fill in our short enquiry form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture normally costs less up front. Bespoke earns its place where the room is tricky, space is tight or you want the furniture to look part of the house.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
From workshop to your room
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth, and that keeps the doors and shelves true. After that, it is fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. In a period home, the furniture is fitted to walls that are not straight, so there’s some trimming and adjusting on site. Floors are protected, and dust is kept down as far as possible. Parking can be tight on terraced streets, so tell us about permits and bays at the design visit.
- You get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square, then go through the design with you.
- We send the design, materials and finish in a quote in writing.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
Before we arrive
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Ask for a quote
We quote once we’ve seen the room. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and discuss the design with you, then send a quote in writing. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To arrange a visit, get in touch through our contact form.