Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove units in Bushey Mead, Merton
Alcove units for your home in Bushey Mead: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, built in our workshop and fitted by us.
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Units that sit well with original features
Ask about alcove units in Bushey Mead
How we make alcove units for Bushey Mead
An alcove can also take a small desk, with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard below. It gives you a place to work without turning a room into an office. We plan the desk height and depth with you, with a gap or hole planned so cables can reach the sockets. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and people most often get in touch about a desk that tucks into an alcove and cupboards in keeping with an older house.
In an area like Bushey Mead, where interwar homes or semis make up much of the housing, many homes have had the front and back rooms knocked together. That leaves a long room with a chimney breast on one side, which suits alcove units along that wall. At the design visit we plan any cable routes and ventilation the room needs, with any new sockets left to your electrician.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we have agreed. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Where
- Bushey Mead (SW20, SW19, SM4)
- Area
- Merton
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
Every fitting follows the same order: we protect the floors, bring the sections in, set them level, scribe them to the walls, fix them and finish them. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Semis and detached houses often have a front path or a side gate, which can make carrying in easier. We measure the path, any steps and the front door as part of the route. Floors are covered from the door to the room.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- Paint needs time to cure, so go gently with the new units at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
Starting with a design visit
For a quote for alcove units in Bushey Mead, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea. We will arrange a design visit, then send a quote in writing.
Advice
Questions from Bushey Mead
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Raynes Park station?
Yes. We cover all of Merton and the rest of London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details about the room.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Bushey Mead?
Yes. We cover all of Merton and the rest of London, and Bushey Mead is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Bushey Mead?
The first step is to use our contact form. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture doesn’t normally need planning permission. If the building is listed, works affecting its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We will help you choose at the design visit.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. Many people use one alcove for a desk and the other for cupboards if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
If your building is on a red route or a busy main road, unloading takes some planning. TfL runs the red routes, and the stopping rules are strict, so it is worth raising at the design visit.
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it.
Built-in living-room furniture in Bushey Mead
Homes built before 1919 make up about 39% of the housing in the area around Bushey Mead, with about 33% built between 1919 and 1939, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Within a mile of the centre of Bushey Mead, 10 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. TfL’s Ultra Low Emission Zone covers every part of London, Merton included. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Bushey Mead. Access and parking are talked through during the design visit.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Southside House, about 0.7 miles north-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Close to Cannon Hill Common? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. For a family home near Joseph Hood Primary School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Bushey Mead is about 1 mile north-east of Wimbledon, part of the London Borough of Merton. From period terraces to newer flats in Bushey Mead, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Across Merton, we cover Bushey Mead.
We cover every part of SW20, SW19 and SM4 for alcove units. If your home is on a street such as Gore Road, Edna Road and Wyke Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Main roads around Bushey Mead include the A298. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Wimbledon Chase (1 mile east), Raynes Park (1 mile south-west), Cannon Hill (1 mile south-east), Copse Hill (1 mile north-west) and West Barnes (1 mile south-west). Other parts of Merton we cover include Colliers Wood (2 miles east), Eastfields (3 miles east), Merton Abbey (2 miles east), Mitcham (3 miles east), Hackbridge (3 miles east) and Wimbledon Park (2 miles north).
Around Bushey Mead
Around Bushey Mead, we cover homes near Harris Academy Wimbledon, The Edward Rayne pub and Ursuline Preparatory School, among other places. Bushey Mead has its own railway station: Raynes Park station. Other landmarks nearby include Atkinson Morley Hospital (0.9 miles north-west) and Wimbledon Museum (1.1 miles north). Open spaces near Bushey Mead include Cherry Wood.
Before and after fitting day
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in, even when the cupboards fill up. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry, which protects the units too.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units.
What alcove units can’t fix
We make and fit furniture, and we don’t do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. Please bear these in mind too:
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
If in doubt, you can get in touch through our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Spray-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
Nearby places to Bushey Mead
Also in Bushey Mead
Materials and finishes
Spray-painted finish
A spray-painted finish is applied in our workshop, for a smooth and even finish. It suits a crisp, modern look as well as a classic one.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, so it’s ideal for shelves and the boxes behind the doors. You can paint its layered edge or leave it on show.