Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove Units in Cannon Hill
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Cannon Hill. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
Need alcove units in Cannon Hill?
Alcove units for homes in Cannon Hill
Few alcoves in older houses are truly square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope. Each unit is built in our workshop to our measurements and scribed to the walls when we fit it, so the sides meet the wall closely rather than showing a dark line. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and walls too uneven for standard furniture.
In an area like Cannon Hill, where interwar homes or semis make up much of the housing, many living rooms have been opened up to the dining room behind. The result is often a long room with a chimney breast, a good spot for alcove units. Cable routes for a TV or speakers, and space for set-top boxes, are planned at the design visit, with any new sockets left to your electrician.
The furniture is built in our workshop after you’ve had the quote and decided to go ahead. It describes the design, the materials and the finish agreed at the visit, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- Cannon Hill (SW20, SM4, KT3)
- Borough
- Merton
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about alcove units in Cannon Hill
Can you make alcove units for a home in Cannon Hill?
Yes, we work across Merton, Cannon Hill included, and across the rest of London. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Cannon 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. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. We plan the height and depth with you, with a route left for cables.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The fitting depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. We’ll talk you through what fitting day involves before we start.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not usually. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That depends on the room and what you’d like to store. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. The height is settled at the design visit.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
With bought furniture you’re limited to the maker’s finishes. Ours are painted in a colour agreed with you, either spray painted in the workshop or hand painted. They can match the walls, the woodwork or neither. Walls in interwar houses are straighter than in older ones, but rarely perfect, so standalone furniture can still lean or leave gaps. Fitted furniture is scribed and levelled on site.
Parking is part of the price picture in London. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so we may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay. It helps to talk about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan for it.
Why work with us in Cannon Hill
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- We visit, measure and go through the design before we quote
- We work across all London boroughs
- Made for your room, not a standard size
See bespoke vs off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Cannon Hill homes and alcove units
In the neighbourhood around Cannon Hill, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 61%) and before 1919 (about 16%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. 9 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of central Cannon Hill. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. London’s red routes are run by TfL, and stopping on them is tightly controlled. If you live on or close to a main road in Cannon Hill, let us know at the measuring visit. We will plan where the van can stop.
For a flat near South Merton station, the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it. For an older house near St James Merton, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If your children go to Hillcross Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Cannon Hill is about 2 miles north of Wimbledon, in the London Borough of Merton. Design visits and fitting in Cannon Hill can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Our Merton coverage includes Cannon Hill.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: SW20, SM4 and KT3. If your home is on a street such as Aylward Road, Camborne Road and Botsford Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Bushey Mead (1 mile north-west), Raynes Park (1 mile west), Wimbledon Chase (1 mile north), West Barnes (1 mile west) and Merton Park (1 mile north-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Wimbledon (2 miles north), Colliers Wood (2 miles north-east), Eastfields (3 miles east), South Wimbledon (2 miles north-east), Merton Abbey (2 miles north-east) and Crooked Billet (2 miles north).
Landmarks near Cannon Hill
Our area takes in the homes around The Edward Rayne pub, Merton College and Harris Academy Wimbledon, among other places. Cannon Hill’s nearest station is South Merton station, roughly 0.5 miles north-east. Well-known places in the area include Wimbledon Museum (1.6 miles north) and St. Anthony's Hospital (1.5 miles south). For a walk, there’s Cherry Wood.
How fitting day works
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and take up the floor coverings. Before we go, we look over the finished furniture with you and explain how to look after the paint. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Clearing the room and the way in beforehand helps the day run well. On the day, we cover the floors first, then bring the sections in. The pieces are levelled, fitted to the walls and fixed back.
- To begin, use our contact form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Ask for a quote
The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit. For a quote, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. Lifts sometimes need to be booked, and the lift size helps decide how big each section can be. Tell us about it when you contact us.
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of.
Also near Cannon Hill
What else we make in Cannon Hill
Tips worth knowing
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They help before and after fitting:
- Mention parking and access when we visit
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
Doors can settle a little once the units are in use. Most hinges can be adjusted to line the doors up again.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Wipe up spills right away.
What alcove units cannot fix
We design, make and fit the furniture. That means:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can tell us about the room on our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Spray-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors