Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in Crofton
Alcove units for your home in Crofton: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made at our workshop and fitted by us.
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Alcove units in Crofton
How we make alcove units for Crofton
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. At the design visit we ask what you plan to keep there, so shelves and rails go where they’re needed. If your home has empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast and shelving for books and records, that’s what alcove units are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
A house from between the wars typically has lower ceilings than a Victorian one, so alcove units are proportioned to the room rather than copied from a taller one. If yours is one of the interwar houses, semis or detached homes that make up much of the housing around Crofton, there may be little or no cornice, which lets the furniture run straight up to the ceiling. The skirting is scribed around neatly.
You get the quote in writing, so you can read it at your own pace. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Where
- Crofton (BR6, BR5)
- Area
- Bromley
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Last 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. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Some interwar and suburban streets have driveways, which can make unloading easier, so it’s worth mentioning at the measuring visit. Otherwise, details of permits or nearby bays help. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You send us a few details about the alcoves and what you’d like in them.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves. Then we go through the doors and shelves with you.
How to prepare
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Starting with a design visit
To make a start, send us a few details through our contact form and let us know which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a written quote afterwards.
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Your questions about alcove units in Crofton
I live near Orpington 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 drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room.
Is Crofton in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Crofton is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Bromley and London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Normally not. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings may need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so ask the council’s conservation officer.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and discuss the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That depends on how you use the room. Alcoves are often different widths anyway, so each unit is made for its own recess. They can share a style while doing different things.
Alcove units for homes in Crofton
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 57% of the housing in the area around Crofton, with about 31% built between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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. 4 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Crofton. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Bromley is inside it. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Crofton. Parking and access are planned at the measuring visit.
If your children go to Crofton Infant School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If you live in a period home close to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Crofton is about 1 mile north-east of Orpington, part of the London Borough of Bromley. From period terraces to newer flats in Crofton, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Crofton is one of 49 places on our list for Bromley.
We work across the BR6 and BR5 postcode area for alcove units. Whether you live on a street such as Grange Road, Reed Avenue and Gumping Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. We also cover the places around Crofton: Broom Hill (1 mile north-east), Locksbottom (1 mile west), Petts Wood (1 mile north), Farnborough (1 mile south) and Green Street Green (2 miles south). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Bromley (3 miles north-west), Beckenham (5 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (2 miles north-east), Chislehurst (3 miles north), Penge (7 miles north-west) and Anerley (7 miles north-west).
Near you in Crofton
The streets we cover here include those near The Maxwell pub, Newstead Wood School and The Priory School. There’s a railway station in Crofton itself: Orpington station. Nearby you will also find Orpington Hospital (1.1 miles south-east) and Crofton Roman Villa (under half a mile south-east).
What prompts alcove units in Crofton
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Standard furniture seldom fits an alcove, leaving gaps at the sides and above. Built-in units use the whole recess.
Here’s what alcove units can help with:
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Space for a growing book collection
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
If you live in a flat close to Orpington station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
What to check before you book
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Whether you’ll get a written quote, not just a figure
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
The depth of an alcove is set by the chimney breast. A shop-bought cabinet may stick out past the chimney breast or leave a deep gap behind it. Bespoke units are made to the depth you want, whether that is flush with the breast or a little shallower. Off-the-shelf furniture comes in a few set depths, which may be too deep for one spot and too shallow for another. With fitted furniture, the depth is chosen for the room.
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Size, the number of doors and drawers and the internal fittings make the biggest difference to the price.
Why us?
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Designed for the room you have
- A design visit, then a written quote
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
What affects the cost of alcove units
To work out the quote, we look at:
- Parking near your home
- How many doors and drawers there are
- The width and height of the space
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
In London, parking can affect the price. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. Tell us about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan for it.
Helping us understand the room
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. It’s useful to include:
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, once the room is measured and the design talked through. For a quote, drop us a line using the contact form.
Neighbourhoods near Crofton
More for homes in Crofton
Boards, parts and paint
Shelves
Shelf heights are planned around your things. A shallower top shelf can keep things within reach.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished, in the colour agreed with you. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.