Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Lewisham · London
Alcove units in Hither Green, Lewisham
In Hither Green, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made at our workshop.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Space for a growing book collection
Ask about alcove units in Hither Green
Alcove units in Hither Green: what you get
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that sit as part of the room. If your home in Hither Green has alcoves like these, we design a unit for each one, starting with a design visit to measure. If your home has alcoves that are wasted space and a place for a small desk, alcove units made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish can solve it.
In a house from the Victorian or Edwardian years, the front room usually keeps its chimney breast even where the fireplace has gone. Around Hither Green, where a large share of homes date from before 1919, that’s a common starting point. The recesses either side take alcove units scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting.
The quote comes in writing, so there is time to read it properly. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Place
- Hither Green (SE13, SE12, SE6)
- Borough
- Lewisham
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
The depth of an alcove is set by the chimney breast. Standard cabinets can stand proud of the breast or sit too far back. We set the depth to suit the room, flush with the chimney breast or set back from it. Alcoves and recesses in period houses are rarely a standard width or depth, so off-the-shelf pieces either don’t fit or leave a gap either side. Furniture made for the space fills it.
We do not publish set prices, because each job is designed for a single room. Instead, we measure, discuss the design and then quote in writing. To start, drop us a line using the contact form.
What you get with us
- Work across the whole of London
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
- Over 300 projects completed
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made or what a quote should include.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. These are the things that affect it:
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- The number of doors and drawers
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Spray painting or hand painting
Awkward rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That’s reflected in the quote.
What to send when you get in touch
A few details help us understand the job before we visit. When you get in touch, it’s useful to send:
- Any ideas or images you have saved
- Your postcode and the borough
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
Rough sizes are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Why people ask for alcove units in Hither Green
Often the alcoves are simply the biggest unused space in the room. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, leaving gaps at the sides and above. Built-in units use the whole recess up to the ceiling if you want.
People typically get in touch with us about needs like these:
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Living in a block of flats near Hither Green station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
What it is made from
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribing means trimming the edges on site so they follow the wall. This closes the gap between a straight unit and a bowed alcove.
Hand-painted finish
With a hand-painted finish, you see the colour in your own light as it goes on. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Living-room storage in Hither Green
In the area around Hither Green, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 50%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 18%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. The National Heritage List records 14 entries within half a mile of the centre of Hither Green. Being near listed buildings does not make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. Controlled parking zones cover much of inner London, and each borough runs its own. In Hither Green, a van will typically need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. We ask about parking at the measuring visit, so the van can be planned for.
If your home is one of the older houses near Church of St Swithun, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. Close to Manor House Gardens? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Hither Green is about 2 miles north-west of New Cross, part of the London Borough of Lewisham. Wherever you are in Hither Green, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Hither Green is one of 22 places on our list for Lewisham.
Every home in SE13, SE12 and SE6 is within our area for alcove units. If your home is on a street like Old Road, Manor Lane and Pascoe Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Lee (1 mile east), Ladywell (1 mile west), Lewisham (1 mile north-west), Catford (1 mile south-west) and Horn Park (1 mile east). Other parts of Lewisham we cover include New Cross (2 miles north-west), St Johns (2 miles north-west), Deptford (2 miles north-west), Surrey Canal (3 miles north-west), Sydenham (3 miles south-west) and Telegraph Hill (2 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Hither Green
The streets we cover here include those near International Academy of Greenwich, Trinity Church of England School and The Edmund Halley pub and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Hither Green itself: Hither Green station. Nearby you will also find Lewisham Shopping Centre (0.9 miles north-west) and University Hospital Lewisham (0.7 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Brookmill Road Local Nature Reserve.
Other services in Hither Green
Fitting day, step by step
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. On fitting day, edges are trimmed on site to follow the walls, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. Dust is kept down and cleared up as we go. Hand painting, if that is your finish, can follow the fitting.
- 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.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a written quote.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- We bring them to your home and fit them in place.
Before we arrive
- Empty the space we will be working in
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
Starting with a design visit
Getting a quote starts with some details: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of pictures if you can take them. When you are ready, send us a few details through our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a quote in writing.
Advice
Common questions about alcove units
I live near Hither Green station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Lewisham and the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
My house in Hither Green is Victorian. Can you deal with uneven walls?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Normally not. 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.
How is the price worked out?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it. The price comes in a written quote after the design visit.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting, 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.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Ventilation helps keep a capped chimney dry. If there is damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.