Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove Units in Eastfields
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Eastfields. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Ask about alcove units in Eastfields
Alcove units in Eastfields: what you get
Even a chimney that’s been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear, with nothing covering it. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting so the new furniture starts on a dry wall. Typical reasons to get in touch are walls too uneven for standard furniture and shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess, and the answer is made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
A typical 1930s semi has a bay window at the front and a chimney breast with a recess either side. Around Eastfields, interwar houses, semis and detached homes make up a big part of the housing, so it’s a layout worth planning for. Alcove units typically go on the chimney breast wall, leaving the bay clear, though every room is measured first.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- Eastfields (CR4, SW16, SW17)
- Borough
- Merton
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
FAQs: alcove units in Eastfields
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Mitcham Eastfields station?
Yes. We cover all of Merton and the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Eastfields?
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 helps to tell us about parking at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That depends on the room and what you’d like to store. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. We agree the height at the design visit.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time on site depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Most of the making happens in our workshop, so the work in your home is about fitting and finishing.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted finish in your home. Both are in a colour agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a quote in writing.
Living-room carpentry in Eastfields: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around Eastfields were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 43%) and before 1919 (about 16%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. The National Heritage List records 8 entries within half a mile of the centre of Eastfields. Being near listed buildings doesn’t make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Merton included. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Eastfields. We plan parking and access with you at the design visit.
For an older house near St. Mark's Church, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Near listed buildings like Eagle House, under half a mile west of the centre of Eastfields, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Eastfields is about 3 miles north-west of Wimbledon, within the London Borough of Merton. From period terraces to newer flats in Eastfields, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Our work takes in places right across Merton, large and small.
Every address in CR4, SW16 and SW17 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Whether you live on a street like Bond Road, Hill Road and York Lane or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. If you are just outside Eastfields, we also cover Mitcham (1 mile south), Hackbridge (1 mile south), Colliers Wood (1 mile north-west), Furzedown (1 mile north) and Merton Abbey (1 mile west). Other parts of Merton we cover include Wimbledon (3 miles north-west), Morden (3 miles south-west), South Wimbledon (2 miles north-west), Wimbledon Chase (2 miles west), Merton Park (2 miles west) and Crooked Billet (3 miles west). Being one of the larger places in Merton, Eastfields is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Around Eastfields
Around Eastfields, we cover homes near The White Lion of Mortimer pub, Furzedown Secondary School and Lonesome Primary School. There’s a railway station in Eastfields itself: Mitcham Eastfields station. Other landmarks nearby include Wilson Hospital (0.9 miles south-west) and Wandle Industrial Museum (0.7 miles south-west). Green spaces nearby include Oakleigh Way.
Also near Eastfields
Other services in Eastfields
What alcove units cannot fix
Damp treatment and building work are for other specialists, and there are a few other limits too:
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Electrical work, such as new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
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 a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so it’s worth raising at the measuring visit.
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it, once we have measured the way in.
How fitting day works
Fitting day follows a set 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. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Semis and detached houses often have a front path or a side gate, which can make carrying in easier. Gates, paths and steps up to the door are part of the route we measure. Floors, stairs and doorways are protected on the way in.
- You send us some details about the alcoves and what you’d like in them, and a rough sketch helps if you have one.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- 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, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
How to get a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and go through the design with you, and the written quote comes after. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To book a design visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
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Flat-pack or bespoke?
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: flat-pack is normally cheaper to buy. Bespoke earns its place where the room is tricky, space is tight or you want the furniture to look part of the house.
The problems alcove units solve
Where a fireplace has been blocked up or removed, the chimney breast can look bare. A pair of alcove units frames it and gives the wall a sense of order, whether or not the fireplace is used.
Some of the things we are asked to solve include:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- A place for a small desk
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
If you live near Figge's Marsh, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will the quote be in writing?
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- Real projects you can actually look at
- Whether the route into your home has been checked