Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Havering · London
Elm Park Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Elm Park. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Room to work in an alcove
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
Alcove units designed for your room
What it’s made from
Shelves
We set shelf spacing around what you own, from paperbacks to tall art books. 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.
About our alcove units in Elm Park
A classic layout is a low cupboard with open shelves above. Closed cupboards hide everyday clutter, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The cupboard top gives you a ledge for a lamp, a speaker or a plant. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. If you’re living with a place for a small desk and alcoves that aren’t square, alcove units made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish can solve it.
In a semi from the 1920s or 1930s, the front room typically has a bay at one end and a chimney breast on the side wall. Around Elm Park, interwar houses, semis and detached homes make up a big part of the housing, so that layout is worth knowing well. Alcove units typically go on the chimney breast wall, leaving the bay clear.
After the design visit, we send you a written quote. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Location
- Elm Park (RM12, RM13)
- Borough
- Havering
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Fitting day, step by step
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. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. On fitting day, the sections are carried in, assembled, scribed to the wall and levelled. Hand-painted furniture can be finished on site; spray-painted pieces arrive finished from the workshop. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- To begin, fill in our short enquiry form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. It helps to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Preparing the room
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Ask for a quote
You do not need exact measurements to get started. We measure everything properly at the measuring visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To arrange it, fill in our short enquiry form. The written quote follows the visit.
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Nearby places to Elm Park
Other services in Elm Park
Common questions about alcove units
Can you make alcove units for a home in Elm Park?
Yes, we work across Havering, Elm Park included, and across the rest of London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Do you cover homes near Emerson Park station?
Yes. We cover all of Havering and the rest of London. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
Any vent in the chimney breast is kept clear when we design the units. A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp, so we never box a vent in.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Normally not. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings may need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It is entirely your choice. Alcoves are often different widths anyway, so each unit is made for its own recess. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
Alcove units in Elm Park: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Elm Park were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 25%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (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. Strict stopping rules apply on red routes, which TfL runs. Where a home in Elm Park is on or beside a main road, it is useful to mention that at the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Havering sets its own rules. Where a street in Elm Park is controlled, a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension from the council. Let us know what the parking is like at the design visit.
For a family home near Elm Park Primary School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design. For an older house near St Nicholas Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Elm Park is in the London Borough of Havering, about 2 miles north of Romford. We design and make alcove units for homes in Elm Park and the rest of Havering. We cover places right across Havering, large and small.
Design visits and fitting in RM12 and RM13 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. You’ll find streets here such as Park Lane, Wood Lane and Carfax Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. If you’re just outside Elm Park, we also cover South Hornchurch (1 mile south-west), Rush Green (2 miles north-west), Dagenham (2 miles west), Romford (2 miles north) and Rainham (2 miles south). Other parts of Havering we cover include Gallows Corner (3 miles north), Heath Park (2 miles north), Collier Row (3 miles north), Upminster (2 miles east), Ardleigh Green (3 miles north) and Emerson Park (2 miles north-east). Being one of the larger places in Havering, Elm Park is covered for alcove units and everything else we make.
Around Elm Park
In Elm Park, that includes homes near Abbs Cross Academy and Arts College and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Emerson Park station, roughly 1.7 miles north-east. A little further out are The Brewery (2 miles north-west) and St George's Hospital (0.9 miles east). Open spaces near Elm Park include The Chase Nature Reserve.
Do you need alcove units in Elm Park?
Moving into a period house often prompts it. People who have just moved in want storage that suits the age of the house, and the alcoves are an obvious place to start. It is also a good moment, before the room fills up.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- A place for a small desk
- Somewhere to keep books and records
The wider area includes historic houses like Rainham Hall, about 2.1 miles south. 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.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will the quote be in writing?
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
Tips worth knowing
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Let us know about parking and access at the design visit
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
Make a note of the paint colour used for future touch-ups. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Wipe up spills right away.
Why bespoke in Elm Park?
Alcoves vary in depth, and the chimney breast decides how far a unit can come out. Standard cabinets can stand proud of the breast or sit too far back. We set the depth to suit the room. The spaces between doors, windows and radiators are seldom a stock size, which leaves ready-made pieces sitting awkwardly. Built-in pieces are planned around those fixed points.
The finish affects the cost: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
Why us?
- Every quote follows a design visit
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Over 300 projects completed
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.