Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Alcove Units in Custom House
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Custom House. Every piece is made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Space for a growing book collection
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
Alcove units in Custom House
Alcove units for homes in Custom House
A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear, with nothing covering it. Any damp in the alcoves should be dealt with by the right trade before the units go in, as cupboards fitted over damp walls can suffer. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are tired cupboards in the alcoves and everyday clutter left on show.
Open-plan living is usual in homes built since 2000, and around Custom House many homes date from those years. Alcove units can give the sitting end of an open-plan room its own identity, without putting up a wall. Finished floors in newer homes mark easily, so they’re covered while we work.
Once you’ve read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is made at our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Where
- Custom House (E16, E13)
- Area
- Newham
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Custom House homes and alcove units
Homes built since 2000 make up about 64% of the housing in the streets around Custom House, with about 16% built between 1973 and 1999, 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. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Custom House include Warehouse K (Grade II), less than half a mile north-west, and Warehouse W (Grade II), less than half a mile west. For a listed home, internal works that affect its character may need listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. Strict stopping rules apply on red routes, which TfL runs. If you live on or close to a main road in Custom House, let us know during the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
If you live in a period home close to St Matthew's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. Queen's House, about 2.3 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Living in a block of flats near Custom House station? Then the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in.
Custom House is about 1 mile north of Plaistow, in the London Borough of Newham. Wherever you are in Custom House, the process is the same: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Our Newham coverage includes Custom House, along with the rest of the borough.
Every home in E16 and E13 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Streets in the area include Tree Road, Ethel Road and Booth Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Custom House sits close to the A1020. We also cover the places around Custom House: West Silvertown (1 mile south-west), Silvertown (1 mile south), Canning Town (1 mile north), Royal Docks (1 mile east) and Limmo Peninsula (1 mile west). Elsewhere in Newham, we also cover Stratford (3 miles north-west), Forest Gate (3 miles north), East Ham (2 miles north-east), Upton Park (2 miles north), Maryland (3 miles north-west) and Upton (2 miles north).
Local landmarks in Custom House
The streets we cover here include those near Royal Docks Academy, The Connaught Tavern and The Royal Docks Community School. There is a railway station in Custom House itself: Custom House station. A little further out are Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital (0.5 miles north-east) and Charlton Athletic Museum (1.5 miles south). Not far away are Gilbert's Pit.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. We choose fixings to suit the wall, after checking the walls at the measuring visit.
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through without a struggle.
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
In fairness, standalone furniture comes with you when you move. Fitted alcove units stay with the house and are left behind when you go. It depends on how long you expect to stay. Ready-made units fixed to stud walls are often held by fixings that do not suit the board. Built-in pieces are designed with the right fixings from the start, and heavy pieces can stand on the floor.
What goes inside matters as much as the outside: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. At the design visit, we work out what you need inside, and the quote follows.
What you get with us
- We work across all London boroughs
- We visit, measure and go through the design before we quote
- Finished by spray or by hand
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
Take a look at bespoke vs off-the-shelf or how to compare quotes.
Also near Custom House
More for homes in Custom House
How fitting day works
Finishing comes last. If the furniture was spray painted in the workshop, we fill the fixing holes and touch up on site; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. In a newer home, floors, walls and door frames are often freshly finished, so everything on the way in is covered before the sections arrive. Corners and door frames are covered as well. The sections are assembled in the room.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units, with a note of the room they’re in.
- We come to measure and talk through cupboards, shelves, heights and doors.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a quote in writing.
- We build the units in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We bring them to your home and fit them in place.
Before we arrive
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Ask for a quote
You do not need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, tell us about the room on our contact form. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Advice
Questions we’re often asked
Do you cover homes near Custom House station?
Yes, homes across Newham and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Custom House?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. 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. It is useful to let us know about parking at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan 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 do I get a quote?
Simply drop us a line using the contact form. Rough measurements and a few photos help, and we’ll arrange a design visit.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
We plan alcove units so any chimney vent stays clear. Even a blocked chimney needs some ventilation to help keep damp away.
How is the price worked out?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Where other trades come in
It is worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can send us a few details through our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
Tips worth knowing
The finish lasts best with a little care, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. 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 isn’t kind to a painted finish.