Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Havering · London
Emerson Park Alcove Units
Alcove units in Emerson Park: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and talk through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Shelving for books and records
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Alcove units in Emerson Park
About our alcove units in Emerson Park
Period alcoves are rarely square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, often all at once. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about alcoves that aren’t square and somewhere to keep books and records.
With interwar houses or semis a big part of the picture around Emerson Park, many living rooms have been opened up to the dining room behind. The result is often a long room with a chimney breast, a good spot for alcove units. At the design visit we plan any cable routes and ventilation the room needs, with any new sockets left to your electrician.
You get the quote in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and share it with anyone else involved. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Location
- Emerson Park (RM11, RM3)
- Borough
- Havering
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How it’s made
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF does not have a grain to show through the paint, so a painted finish looks even and calm. Moisture-resistant MDF is what we use for fitted work.
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we normally scribe the sides and often the top too. It is what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Neighbourhoods near Emerson Park
Other services in Emerson Park
Honest limits
Some parts of a job need another trade, like an electrician, a plumber or a Gas Safe engineer. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
If in doubt, you can tell us about the room on our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What it is made from
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
Why people ask for alcove units in Emerson Park
A chimney breast without its fireplace can leave a wall that feels unfinished. Units on both sides frame the chimney breast and balance the room, whether or not the fireplace is used.
If you recognise any of these, it is worth talking to us:
- Storage that suits a period room
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
If your children go to Nelmes Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
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.
Built-in living-room furniture in Emerson Park
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 38% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Emerson Park, with about 23% built between 1919 and 1939, 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 Emerson Park include Well Tower at Tower Lodge (Grade II), under half a mile west. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. On TfL’s red routes, the rules on stopping and loading are strict. If your home in Emerson Park is on or near a main road, tell us at the measuring visit. It lets us plan the stop before fitting day.
If your home is one of the older houses near All Saints, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. The wider area includes historic houses like Hare Hall, about 1.2 miles north-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Emerson Park is about 2 miles west of Romford, part of the London Borough of Havering. From period terraces to newer flats in Emerson Park, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Emerson Park is one of 22 places on our list for Havering.
Every home in RM11 and RM3 is within our area for alcove units. If your home is on a street like Ernest Road, Nelmes Road and Maybush Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Ardleigh Green (1 mile north-west), Upminster Bridge (1 mile south), Hornchurch (1 mile south-west), Heath Park (1 mile west) and Upminster (1 mile south-east). Across the rest of Havering, our area takes in Romford (2 miles west), Elm Park (2 miles south-west), Collier Row (3 miles north-west), Rainham (4 miles south), South Hornchurch (4 miles south-west) and Rise Park (3 miles north-west).
Near you in Emerson Park
We fit furniture in homes around Havering College of Further and Higher Education and Campion School, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Emerson Park station, roughly 0.6 miles south-west. Other landmarks nearby include Upminster Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia (1.2 miles south-east) and Harold Wood Hospital (1.3 miles north). For a walk, there’s Hornchurch Cutting.
Questions we are often asked
Is Emerson Park in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Emerson Park is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Havering and London. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Emerson Park?
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 let us know about parking at the measuring visit.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture does not normally need planning permission. If the building is listed, works affecting its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
That’s a job for your electrician. Ideally it is done before fitting so the sockets line up with the design. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.
What happens at the design visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. We will also ask about access and parking.
How fitting works for alcove units
With the carcasses fixed and level, we hang any doors and fit any drawers or lids. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly, then checked again. 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. Some interwar and suburban streets have driveways, which can make unloading easier, so let us know at the design visit. Otherwise, details of permits or nearby bays help. Doorways, stairs and floors are covered on the way in.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish.
- A written quote follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
How to prepare
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Ask for a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Emerson Park, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.