Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Greenwich · London
Alcove units in Eltham, Greenwich
We make alcove units in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Eltham. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- Storage that suits a period room
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Need alcove units in Eltham?
About our alcove units in Eltham
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It gives you a place to work without turning a room into an office. Desk height and depth are agreed with you, and leave a route for cables to reach the sockets. People usually come to us about bowed walls and sloping floors and a desk that tucks into an alcove, and the answer is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Post-war houses often have a through lounge or a living room with a wide window at one end. Around Eltham, many homes come from between 1945 and the early 1970s, so alcove units are often planned to give the room a focal point. Low cupboards with shelves over them can sit beside or below the window, leaving any radiator clear.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. The finish is stated too, whether that is spray painting or hand painting.
- Location
- Eltham (SE9, SE12, DA15, BR7)
- Area
- Greenwich
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it’s quick to buy.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there’s usually a gap left over at the top or at one end. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
How fitting works for alcove units
On the morning of the fitting, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. The sections built in our workshop come in next, a piece at a time. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Stairwells in post-war blocks can have tight turns, so sections are sized for both the stairs and any lift. Where the building has a caretaker or managing agent, it helps to tell them before fitting day. Common parts are protected while we carry in.
- You contact us about the alcoves you want to fill, with a note of the room they’re in.
- We come to measure and talk through cupboards, shelves, heights and doors. If one alcove needs a desk or a TV space, this is when we plan it.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish set out.
- 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.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Ask for a quote
If you know what you want, say so; if you don’t, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To start, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Advice
Alcove units in Eltham: local notes
In the neighbourhood around Eltham, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 40%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 28%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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. Part of Eltham is in a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. The controls in a conservation area are mostly about the outside of buildings, so furniture fitted inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. Purpose-built flats are home to about 43% of households in the area around Eltham, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. In a block, each section is sized to get up the stairs or into the lift and through the door. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day.
For families living near St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. The wider area includes historic houses such as Eltham Palace, about 0.4 miles north-west. 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. If you live in a period home close to Church of Holy Trinity, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Eltham is about 3 miles north of Plumstead, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Homes in Eltham are part of the area we cover for alcove units, as part of our work in every London borough. We cover places right across Greenwich.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: SE9, SE12, DA15 and BR7. You’ll find streets here like Eltham High Street, Tarnwood Park and Elmslie Court, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. The A20 and B263 run close to Eltham, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Other places close to Eltham include Middle Park (1 mile west), New Eltham (1 mile south-east), Well Hall (1 mile north), Coldharbour (1 mile south) and Avery Hill (1 mile north-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Plumstead (3 miles north), Greenwich (3 miles north-west), Woolwich (3 miles north), Westcombe Park (3 miles north-west), Maze Hill (3 miles north-west) and Charlton (3 miles north). Being one of the larger places in Greenwich, Eltham is covered for all of our fitted furniture.
Landmarks near Eltham
Our area takes in the homes around Eltham Church of England Primary School and The Greyhound Public House and the streets around them. There is a railway station in Eltham itself: Mottingham station. Well-known places in the area include Eltham Community Hospital (within half a mile north). Not far away are The Tarn.
What we do not do
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
If in doubt, you can send us a few details through our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What goes into it
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
Caring for painted furniture
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Mention parking and access when we visit
Keep a record of the colour. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks to stop rings and water marks on the paint. Wipe up spills right away.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too, often to make the most of a small or awkward room. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
If the property is let, we’ll need access agreed with the tenants. An agent can arrange access for you.
Your questions about alcove units in Eltham
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Eltham?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. 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’s useful to let us know about parking at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
I live near Mottingham station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Greenwich and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with some details about the room.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and afterwards we send a written quote.
Can you fit a desk into an alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We will plan the desk around how you work.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
An outside wall can be colder and damper than an inside one, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture to avoid condensation. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.