Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove Units in Hackbridge
Planning alcove units for a home in Hackbridge? We start with a design visit and a written quote, before anything is made.
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units for your home in Hackbridge
Your questions about alcove units in Hackbridge
Can you make alcove units for a home in Hackbridge?
Yes. Hackbridge is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Merton and London. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Hackbridge?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Either way, the colour is agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
That is your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We go through the options during the design visit.
How do I get started?
Just use our contact form. It is useful to send rough measurements and a few photos, and we will arrange a design visit.
Will alcove units fit if my walls aren’t straight?
Yes. Most period alcoves are out of square in some way, so we scribe each unit to follow the wall. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
Alcove units for homes in Hackbridge
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. Closed cupboards hide everyday clutter, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The top of the cupboard makes a useful surface at a comfortable height. Heights are agreed with you to suit the room and your things. Most enquiries start with clutter with nowhere to go and shelving for books and records, and the answer is made in our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
If you live in one of the interwar houses or semis around Hackbridge, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast. The carcasses are made from moisture-resistant MDF or birch plywood, painted in a colour agreed with you.
After the design visit, we send you a written quote. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- Place
- Hackbridge (CR4, SW16, SM4)
- Borough
- Merton
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Where other trades come in
We’d rather be clear about where our work stops:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can get in touch through our contact form and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it’s made from
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
Flats, blocks and rented homes
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you.
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. Lifts sometimes need to be booked, and the lift size helps decide how big each section can be. Tell us about it when you get in touch.
Living-room storage in Hackbridge
In the streets around Hackbridge, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 14%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Near the centre of Hackbridge, Historic England’s list includes Base of Windmill at Mill House (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-east, and Prospect House (Grade II), about 0.5 miles north-west. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, may need listed building consent from the council. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. More than a third of the homes in the area around Hackbridge (about 49%) date from between 1919 and 1939, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Interwar front rooms usually have a bay at the front and a chimney breast on the side wall, and alcove units are planned around both.
If you live near Cranmer Green, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. If your children go to St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Hackbridge is within the London Borough of Merton, about 3 miles north-west of Wimbledon. From period terraces to newer flats in Hackbridge, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Hackbridge is one of the places in Merton where we make alcove units, and the borough has 20 places on our list.
We cover every part of CR4, SW16 and SM4. Our area takes in homes on streets like Kings Road, Baker Lane and Manor Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. If you’re just outside Hackbridge, we also cover Mitcham (1 mile north), Eastfields (1 mile north), Colliers Wood (1 mile north-west), Merton Abbey (2 miles north-west) and Furzedown (2 miles north). Across the rest of Merton, our area takes in Wimbledon (3 miles north-west), Morden (2 miles west), South Wimbledon (2 miles north-west), Wimbledon Chase (3 miles west), Merton Park (2 miles west) and Crooked Billet (4 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Hackbridge
The streets we cover here include those near St Mark's Church of England Academy, The Archbishop Lanfranc School and The White Lion of Mortimer pub. For rail, the closest station is Mitcham Eastfields station, roughly 0.5 miles north. A little further out are Wilson Hospital (0.5 miles south-west) and Wandle Industrial Museum (0.7 miles west).
How fitting day works
The last stage of the day is the finish. If the furniture was spray painted in the workshop, we fill the fixing holes and touch up on site; hand painting, if that is what you chose, can be done in place once everything is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed 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 contact us about the alcoves you want to fill.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a quote in writing, ready for you to check.
- The units are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill.
Preparing the room
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
Getting a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing. To arrange the visit, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
Could you do it yourself?
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that aren’t square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths.
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture cannot usually do that in an older room.
Is it time for alcove units?
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.
People normally get in touch with us about things like these:
- Everyday clutter left on show
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Alcoves that are not square
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
If your home is one of the older houses near St. Mark's Church, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Where they’ll park and unload
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home