Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in Downe
We make alcove units for homes in Downe, designed around the room you have. We design your alcove unit at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Alcoves that are not square
Ask about alcove units in Downe
Looking after your furniture
People planning alcove units often ask about these. They’re worth knowing whatever the room:
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Think about what you’ll store before we meet
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
Do not let stored things block the chimney breast vent, even when the cupboards fill up. Air moving through the chimney helps keep damp away.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade, and it is easier to deal with before it spreads.
Alcove units for homes in Downe
Few alcoves in older houses are truly square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, often all at once. 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 room to work in an alcove and shelving for books and records.
Around Downe, interwar houses or semi-detached and detached homes make up a good part of the housing. If yours is a 1920s or 1930s house, the front room may have a bay window at one end and a chimney breast on the side wall, which decides where alcove units sit. Walls in houses of that age are normally straighter than in Victorian ones, though they’re still checked and scribed where needed.
Our quotes are written in plain words. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Place
- Downe (BR6)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
When you need someone else
Before you plan the job, it helps to know what we don’t do:
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Electrical work, such as 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 drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
Living-room storage in Downe
Homes built between 1973 and 1999 make up about 31% of the housing in the area around Downe, with about 27% built between 1945 and 1972, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The National Heritage List records 9 entries within half a mile of the centre of Downe. Being near listed buildings doesn’t make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. TfL’s red routes have strict stopping rules. If your home is on or just off a main road, it is useful to mention it. It lets us plan the stop before fitting day.
For families living near Downe Primary School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If your home is one of the older houses near St Mary's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Downe is within the London Borough of Bromley, about 4 miles north-east of Orpington. We cover Downe as part of our work across Bromley, and the process is the same everywhere we work. Across Bromley, we cover Downe, along with the rest of the borough.
Every address in BR6 is within our area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets like High Street, North End Lane and Belle Vue Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. We also cover Farthing Street (1 mile north-west), Luxted (1 mile south), Leaves Green (1 mile west), Single Street (2 miles south) and Farnborough (2 miles north-east). Across the rest of Bromley, our area takes in Orpington (4 miles north-east), Bromley (5 miles north), Beckenham (6 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (4 miles north-east), Chislehurst (5 miles north) and Penge (7 miles north-west).
Near you in Downe
In Downe, that includes homes near Charles Darwin School and The Queens Head pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Downe is Chelsfield station, about 2.6 miles north-east. Other landmarks nearby include Princess Royal University Hospital (1.8 miles north). Open spaces near Downe include Downe Bank Nature Reserve.
Places near Downe
What else we make in Downe
Fitting day, step by step
When we arrive on fitting day, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. Next, we carry in the sections made in our workshop, one at a time. How long the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. In a 1920s or 1930s house, the hall and stairs are usually straightforward, though we still measure the route in as well as the room. The furniture comes in sections and is put together where it’s going, with floors protected throughout.
- 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.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out, for you to read through at your own pace.
- The units are made at our workshop, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls.
How to prepare
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
Getting a quote
To get a quote, message us from the contact page and tell us a little about the room. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a quote in writing afterwards.
Related advice
FAQs: alcove units in Downe
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Downe?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Does a conservation area in or near Downe affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, 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.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Downe?
It’s easiest to tell us about the room on our contact form and let us know about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. We plan the height and depth with you.
Do you cover areas outside London?
No. We work in London and nowhere else, across all the boroughs and the City of London.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you contact us.
Pricing alcove units in Downe
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. The things that affect it are:
- The number of doors and drawers
- How big the furniture is
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- Parking near your home
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size comes first. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Helping us understand the room
What helps most when you first contact us:
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Approximate measurements of the space
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we have measured up and talked through the design. For a quote, send us a few details through our contact form.
The problems alcove units solve
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works, from the shelf heights to the doors.
People usually get in touch with us about things like these:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Space for a growing book collection
- Units that sit well with original features
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
If you live in a flat close to Chelsfield station, it’s useful to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber