Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove units in Kevington, Bromley
Thinking about alcove units in Kevington? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing.
- A place for a small desk
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
Alcove units in Kevington
Alcove units in Kevington: 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. Where a room in Kevington has a pair of alcoves, each alcove gets a unit designed for it after we’ve measured them at a design visit. 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 units that sit well with original features and bare alcoves beside the fireplace.
Around Kevington, where many homes date from the post-war decades, a living room often has plain walls and simple skirtings, so there are fewer mouldings to cut around. Alcove units can run cleanly to the ceiling. Wall types can vary within one home, so we check each wall and choose fixings to suit it.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It sets out the design we have talked through, the materials and the finish, so it’s clear what’s included.
- Where
- Kevington (BR5)
- Area
- Bromley
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What alcove units can’t fix
It’s useful to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can get in touch through our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What it’s made from
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
What it is made from
Shelves
How thick a shelf needs to be depends on how wide the alcove is and what it holds. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish suits alcove units in a period room. The colour is agreed with you, and it is easy to refresh in years to come.
What affects the cost of alcove units
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. This is what makes the difference:
- Parking near your home
- The overall size of the piece
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Doors and drawers, and how many
Tricky rooms take more time: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it, written once we’ve measured up.
Getting in touch
Getting a few details early makes the visit more useful. If you can, send:
- Approximate measurements of the space
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
It’s useful to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line give us a good feel for the space. To send them over, fill in our short enquiry form, and we’ll arrange a design visit.
Your questions about alcove units in Kevington
Do you cover homes near St Mary Cray station?
Yes, homes across Bromley and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with a few details about the room.
Is Kevington in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Kevington is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Bromley and London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
How tall should alcove units be?
It depends on the room and the look you want. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. We agree the height at the measuring visit.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. We’ll plan the desk around how you work.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. We’ll also ask about access and parking, and afterwards we send a written quote.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it is done before fitting. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Bought units stop at standard heights, which typically leaves a gap above. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, depending on the room. In a flat with stairs or a small lift, large flat-pack units can be hard to get in, whereas fitted furniture is made in sections sized for the way in. It’s then assembled in the room.
How it is painted is part of the price: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Why us?
- Designed for the room you have
- We work across all London boroughs
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made or how to compare quotes.
Neighbourhoods near Kevington
What else we make in Kevington
Kevington homes and alcove units
About 43% of the homes in the streets around Kevington went up between 1945 and 1972, and about 26% between 1973 and 1999, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (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. The National Heritage List records 7 entries within half a mile of the centre of Kevington. Being near listed buildings doesn’t make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. About 31% of households in the streets around Kevington live in terraced houses, based on Census 2021. Many London terraces have a chimney breast and alcoves in the main rooms, which suit alcove units built to their exact widths.
If you live in a period home close to Unity Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Kevington Hall, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. For a flat near St Mary Cray station, the route in is measured not just the room, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Kevington is within the London Borough of Bromley, about 1 mile west of Orpington. We design and make alcove units for homes in Kevington. We cover places right across Bromley, large and small.
Every home in BR5 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Our area takes in homes on streets like Crockenhill Road and Sheepcote Lane, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Derry Downs (1 mile west), St Mary Cray (1 mile west), Orpington (1 mile west), Poverest (2 miles west) and St Paul's Cray (2 miles north-west). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Bromley (5 miles west), Beckenham (7 miles west), Chislehurst (4 miles north-west), Biggin Hill (7 miles south-west), Plaistow (6 miles west) and Shortlands (6 miles west).
Near you in Kevington
Around Kevington, we cover homes near Harris Academy Orpington and The Priory School, among other places. The nearest railway station is St Mary Cray station, about 1.4 miles north-west. Nearby you will also find London Borough of Bromley Museum (1.5 miles west). Green spaces nearby include The Warren.
How fitting works for alcove units
Once the main sections are fixed in place, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. 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 the fitting days are set out in your quote. Post-war blocks often have shared stairwells and lifts, so alcove units are made in sections sized for each. Let us know about any building rules on lifts or working hours at the design visit.
- You get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square. Then we go through the design together.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- In our workshop the units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a little extra left on the edges that meet the wall.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall.
How to prepare
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
Getting a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Kevington, message us from the contact page. Let us know which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, plus any rough sizes. We will arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.