Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Forestdale Alcove Units
We make alcove units for homes in Forestdale, 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.
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Room to work in an alcove
- Everyday clutter left on show
Alcove units designed for your room
Alcove units for homes in Forestdale
A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help keep damp out of the breast. We keep any vent clear when we design alcove units, with nothing covering it. Any damp in the alcoves should be dealt with by the right trade before the units go in so the new furniture starts on a dry wall. We make alcove units from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and the usual reasons to get in touch are standard units leaving gaps at the sides and storage that suits a period room.
In many houses from the 1950s and 1960s, the living room has a wide window and a plain chimney breast or none at all. Many homes around Forestdale date from those decades, so alcove units are often planned to give the room a focal point. A run of low cupboards with shelving above can sit under or beside the window.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, what it’s made from and how it’s finished, and the workshop works from it.
- Where
- Forestdale (CR0, CR2)
- Area
- Croydon
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
The problems alcove units solve
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. Starting again lets you rethink the layout, from the shelf heights to the doors.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Shop-bought shelving that doesn’t fill the recess
- Space for a growing book collection
Close to Addington Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
What to check before you book
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- Real projects you can actually look at
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Have they thought about parking near you?
Your questions about alcove units in Forestdale
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Forestdale?
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, so we can plan the day around it.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Forestdale?
Yes. Forestdale is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Croydon and London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
How is the price worked out?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. You’ll get a written quote once we have measured up.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
That’s a job for your electrician. It’s best done before the units go in so the sockets line up with the design. We then plan cut-outs and cable gaps around them.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Forestdale?
Simply send us a few details through our contact form. It is useful to send rough sizes and a few photos, and we will arrange a design visit.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
It’s up to you. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We’ll go through what suits your room when we visit.
What it’s made from
Moisture-resistant MDF
For alcove units, MDF gives crisp doors and smooth sides, ready for a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. The moisture-resistant grade is a sensible choice next to a chimney breast.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood helps shelves stay straight under books over a wider alcove. We size the shelf for the span and the load.
Places near Forestdale
More for homes in Forestdale
Living-room carpentry in Forestdale: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Forestdale were built between 1945 and 1972 (about 53%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 37%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. More than half of the homes in the neighbourhood around Forestdale (about 53%) were built between 1945 and 1972, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Rooms from that era are often squarer, with fewer alcoves and sometimes no chimney breast, so a full wall of alcove units is often the answer, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block. Red routes are run by TfL, with tight limits on where and when vehicles can stop. If your home in Forestdale is on or near a main road, tell us during the design visit. We can then plan where the van will stop.
If you live in a flat close to Sanderstead station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. If you live in a period home close to St Francis, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Forestdale is about 5 miles north-west of Thornton Heath, within the London Borough of Croydon. We cover Forestdale as part of our work across Croydon. Our work takes in places right across Croydon, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Every address in CR0 and CR2 is covered for alcove units. You will find streets here such as Courtwood Lane, Goldfinch Road and Bardolph Avenue, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Other places close to Forestdale include New Addington (1 mile east), Addington (1 mile north) and Coombe (2 miles north-west). Across the rest of Croydon, our area takes in Thornton Heath (5 miles north-west), Croydon (3 miles north-west), Coulsdon (5 miles south-west), Purley (4 miles west), Broad Green (4 miles north-west) and Upper Norwood (6 miles north-west).
Around Forestdale
The streets we cover here include those near John Ruskin College, among other places. The nearest railway station is Sanderstead station, roughly 2.4 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Warlingham Park Hospital (1.9 miles south). For a walk, there is Hutchinson's Bank.
How fitting works for alcove units
You’re welcome to ask questions while we work. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Walls in post-war homes can be concrete or blockwork, so the right fixings are part of the plan for fitting day. Floors and doorways are protected while the sections come in.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- 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.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Arranging a design visit
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, including how level the floor and ceiling are. To get started, use our contact form and tell us about the room. The written quote follows the visit.
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Flats, blocks and rented homes
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through without a struggle.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We can’t give advice on leases.
What affects the price in Forestdale
What you pay depends on:
- Where a van can park, such as a permit bay or a bay suspension
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
Parking is part of the price picture in London. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. It’s useful to talk about parking at the measuring visit.
Helping us understand the room
A few details help us understand the job before we visit. When you contact us, it’s useful to send:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- Where you live, with the postcode
- Rough measurements: width, height and depth
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and talk through the design with you. A quote in writing follows the visit, so you can take your time with it. To arrange the visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.