Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Southwark · London
Alcove Units in Herne Hill
We make alcove units for homes in Herne Hill, 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.
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Alcoves that are not square
- Room to work in an alcove
Alcove units for your home in Herne Hill
Alcove units in Herne Hill: what you get
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. We set the heights to suit the room and what you’ll store. Most enquiries start with furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and bare alcoves beside the fireplace, and the answer is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Victorian and Edwardian houses were built with solid brick outside walls, and internal walls may be brick or lath and plaster. With so many homes around Herne Hill built before 1919, the wall type is checked before any fixing for alcove units is chosen. Lath and plaster in particular needs fixings chosen for it.
Once you have read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is built in our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Where
- Herne Hill (SE22, SW2, SE24)
- Borough
- Southwark
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions about alcove units
Is parking a problem for fitting in Herne Hill?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. 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 during the design visit.
Is Herne Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Southwark, Herne Hill included, and across the rest of London. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and go through the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and a quote in writing follows.
How long are you in the house for the fitting?
The time on site depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. The units are made in our workshop first.
When you need someone else
It helps to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
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. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves
- Birch plywood
How fitting works for alcove units
You will not need to do much on the day. Someone needs to let us in, and it is useful to have the room cleared beforehand, as we will have talked about at the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Hallways in period houses are often narrow, and the stairs turn sharply, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route in. Floors, stairs and doorways are covered before anything is carried through, and the sections are joined and scribed in the room.
- To begin, message us from the contact page; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, talk through the design and check the route from the street to the room.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are made 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.
Before fitting day
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
Starting with a design visit
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form with a few details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Advice
Also near Herne Hill
Also in Herne Hill
What prompts alcove units in Herne Hill
For some, it is about books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with shelf heights and depths to suit.
People typically get in touch with us about needs like these:
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Alcoves that aren’t square
If you live in a period home close to Saint Faith's, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
What to check before you book
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of.
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We cannot advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Could you do it yourself?
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is normally 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 run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
Built-in living-room furniture in Herne Hill
Homes built before 1919 make up about 59% of the housing in the area around Herne Hill, with about 16% built between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Near the centre of Herne Hill, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Paul (Grade II*), under half a mile west, and Half Moon Public House (Grade II*), under half a mile south-west. Listing covers the inside of a building as well as the outside, so works that affect a listed home’s character, like removing original joinery, can require listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of inner London. For fitting in Herne Hill, a van typically needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know about parking near your home at the measuring visit.
If your children go to Judith Kerr Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. Close to Belair Park? Alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Herne Hill is within the London Borough of Southwark, about 1 mile north-east of East Dulwich. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Herne Hill is part of that. We list Herne Hill among 21 places we cover in Southwark.
We cover every part of the SE22, SW2 and SE24 postcode area. Our area takes in homes on streets like Jelf Road, Dewey Lane and Talma Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around Herne Hill include the A204 and A2214. If you are just outside Herne Hill, we also cover Dulwich Village (1 mile south-east), East Dulwich (1 mile north-east), Dulwich (1 mile south-east), Denmark Hill (1 mile north) and Camberwell (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Bermondsey (3 miles north), Elephant and Castle (3 miles north), Bankside (4 miles north), Southwark (3 miles north), St George's Fields (3 miles north) and Newington Butts (3 miles north). Herne Hill is one of the larger places we cover in Southwark.
Landmarks near Herne Hill
Around Herne Hill, we cover homes near The Charter School, Half Moon pub and The Charter School and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Herne Hill itself: North Dulwich station. Other landmarks nearby include Dulwich Community Hospital (0.6 miles north-east) and House of Dreams Museum (0.7 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Centre for Wildlife Gardening and Knight's Hill.