Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Crystal Palace Alcove Units
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Crystal Palace, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Units that sit well with original features
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Need alcove units in Crystal Palace?
How we make alcove units for Crystal Palace
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF gives smooth doors and panels that take paint well, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in a colour agreed with you. If you’re living with a desk that tucks into an alcove and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Across London, neighbouring streets can be decades apart in age, so the walls behind alcove units could be solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. That’s why every wall is checked at the measuring visit before the fixings are chosen. With a chimney breast, alcove units typically fill the alcoves; without one, they can run along a whole wall.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Where
- Crystal Palace (SE19, SE20, SE26)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is 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
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Crystal Palace homes and alcove units
About 36% of the homes in the area around Crystal Palace went up before 1919, and about 25% between 1973 and 1999, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Near the centre of Crystal Palace, Historic England’s list includes Subway (Grade II*), less than half a mile north-west, and Crystal Palace Lower Level Station (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, may need listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Each London borough runs its own parking controls, and Bromley is no exception. Where a street in Crystal Palace is controlled, a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension from the council. Let us know about parking during the design visit.
Close to Crystal Palace Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. For a flat near Crystal Palace station, it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Crystal Palace is about 8 miles east of Orpington, part of the London Borough of Bromley. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Crystal Palace included. Crystal Palace is one of 49 places on our list for Bromley.
We cover every part of the SE19, SE20 and SE26 postcode area. If your home is on a street like Tudor Road, Colby Road and Church Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. We also cover the places around Crystal Palace: Anerley (1 mile south), Penge (1 mile south-east), Gipsy Hill (1 mile west), Upper Norwood (1 mile west) and Sydenham (1 mile north-east). Elsewhere in Bromley, we also cover Orpington (8 miles east), Bromley (4 miles east), Beckenham (2 miles south-east), St Mary Cray (8 miles east), Chislehurst (6 miles east) and Plaistow (3 miles east).
Near you in Crystal Palace
We fit furniture in homes around Paxton Primary School, The Grape & Grain pub and Sydenham High School, among other places. There’s a railway station in Crystal Palace itself: Crystal Palace station. Well-known places in the area include Crystal Palace Museum (less than half a mile west) and St Christopher's Hospice (0.6 miles east). For a walk, there is Dulwich Upper Wood.
How it is made
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. It is easy to touch up later, and it suits a period room.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Is it time for alcove units?
Where a fireplace has been blocked up or removed, the chimney breast can look bare. Units on both sides frame the chimney breast and balance the room, whether or not the fireplace is used.
We’re often asked to help with:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- A place for a small desk
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Kingswood House, about 0.9 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Before you choose who makes it
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- Real projects you can actually look at
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
Flats, blocks and rented homes
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf.
Mansion blocks and purpose-built blocks often have house rules about lifts, entry systems and when trades can come in. Let us know about them at the design visit.
Fitting day, step by step
On the morning of the fitting, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. The sections made at our workshop come in next. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Parking varies a lot across London, from permit zones to private bays, so let us know what applies during the design visit. If you live in a flat, any lift or building rules are worth checking too.
- 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.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- The units are fitted and scribed to the alcoves; 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.
Before fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Getting a quote
For a quote for alcove units in Crystal Palace, message us from the contact page. Let us know the room and the rough idea, plus any rough sizes. Next comes a design visit, followed by a written quote.
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How we price alcove units
Prices vary from room to room, and it comes down to:
- How square the room is
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- How many doors and drawers there are
The inside of the furniture affects the price as well: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers all add work. We’ll talk through what you need inside at the design visit, then set it out in the quote.
What to send when you contact us
To help us picture the room, please include:
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Your postcode and the borough
- Rough measurements: width, height and depth
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. A written quote follows the visit for you to look over. To arrange the visit, get in touch through our contact form.
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Questions from Crystal Palace
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Crystal Palace?
At the design visit, we measure the way in along with the room itself. Alcove units are made in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Crystal Palace?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the design visit.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that aren’t square?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so we scribe each unit to follow the wall. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
Do pictures help?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit. It is useful to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we will see what we can do.
How do I get a quote?
Simply get in touch through our contact form. Rough measurements and a few photos help, and then we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design.