Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in Chislehurst
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. Our work on alcove units in Chislehurst starts with a design visit, and everything is made at our workshop.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Storage that suits a period room
- Room to work in an alcove
Alcove units designed for your room
Flats, blocks and rented homes
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let, as it makes good use of an tricky room. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work.
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, and that often means a shared hallway and a tight turn on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we have measured the way in.
Alcove units in Chislehurst: what you get
Period alcoves are rarely square. The walls lean, the chimney breast may bow and the floor often slopes. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. A plinth or adjustable feet take up any slope in the floor. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand, and people most often get in touch about alcoves that aren’t square and bare alcoves beside the fireplace.
Around Chislehurst, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the living room may be a good size but with fewer recesses than a Victorian house. Alcove units can fill the alcoves, run the length of a wall or frame the chimney breast. The carcasses are made from moisture-resistant MDF or birch plywood, painted in a colour agreed with you.
A written quote follows the design visit. It sets out the design we have talked through, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Where
- Chislehurst (BR7, BR1, BR2, SE9)
- Area
- Bromley
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we are often asked
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Chislehurst station?
Yes. We cover all of Bromley and the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Does a conservation area in or near Chislehurst affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We will plan the desk around how you work.
How tall should alcove units be?
It’s up to you. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We’ll go through what suits your room when we visit.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Chislehurst?
Simply fill in our short enquiry form. It helps to send rough measurements and a few photos, and we will arrange a design visit, followed by a written quote.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. We do not treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Alcove units for homes in Chislehurst
In the neighbourhood around Chislehurst, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 35%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 23%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. 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. Within a mile of the centre of Chislehurst, 3 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. Strict stopping rules apply on red routes, which TfL runs. If you live on or close to a main road in Chislehurst, let us know at the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, like Church of St Nicholas, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. Living in a block of flats near Chislehurst station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. For an older house near Parish Church The Annunciation Of Blessed Virgin Mary, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Chislehurst is about 3 miles south-east of Orpington, within the London Borough of Bromley. From period terraces to newer flats in Chislehurst, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Across Bromley, we cover Chislehurst and the places around it.
Every home in BR7, BR1, BR2 and SE9 is within our area for alcove units. Streets in the area include Chislehurst High Street, Sanderson Square and Wilderness Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. The A208 and B264 runs close to Chislehurst; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Other places close to Chislehurst include Elmstead (1 mile west), Foxbury (1 mile east), Bickley (1 mile south-west), Widmore (1 mile south-west) and Coldharbour (1 mile north-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Orpington (3 miles south-east), Bromley (2 miles south-west), Beckenham (4 miles west), St Mary Cray (2 miles south-east), Penge (5 miles west) and Anerley (6 miles west). As one of the bigger places in Bromley, Chislehurst is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Landmarks near Chislehurst
We fit furniture in homes around Coopers School and The Queens Head pub, among other places. Chislehurst’s nearest station is Chislehurst station, roughly 0.7 miles south-west of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Queen Mary's Hospital (1.6 miles east). Not far away are Summer Hill.
What happens on fitting day
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’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid 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, a visitor permit or a nearby bay helps. Doorways, stairs and floors are covered on the way in.
- You tell us which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Before fitting day
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Let us know about parking near your home
Getting a quote
Getting a quote starts with some details: the room, rough measurements and some pictures 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.
Related advice
What else we make in Chislehurst
When you need someone else
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we do not do:
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can drop us a line using the contact form and we will tell you before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Looking after your furniture
Getting the most from alcove units starts with the planning and carries on after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Think about how the units meet the picture rail and cornice
Fill the shelves gradually and spread heavy things evenly. Books weigh more than most people expect, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, because constant heat is not kind to a painted finish.
How we price alcove units
There’s no set price, because there’s no set room. The things that affect it are:
- How big the furniture is
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- Parking and unloading on your street
- Doors and drawers, and how many
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so we may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay near your home. It’s useful to talk about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan for it.
Helping us understand the room
When you contact us, these help most:
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- What the furniture needs to hold
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
It is useful to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line tell us a lot about the space, particularly with rough measurements. To send them over, send us a few details through our contact form, and we’ll arrange a design visit.