Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove units in Merton Abbey, Merton
In Merton Abbey, we design alcove units around the room you actually have. We design your alcove unit at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- A place for a small desk
Alcove units in Merton Abbey
Honest limits
Some parts of a job need another trade, from an electrician to a plumber or an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Here’s what to know:
- Electrical work, like new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can tell us about the room on our contact form and we will tell you. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
How we make alcove units for Merton Abbey
Period alcoves are rarely square. Walls bow, corners wander and floors slope, sometimes all in one recess. We make each unit in our workshop to the measurements we take, then scribe it on site, so the edges follow the plaster instead of leaving a gap. Adjustable feet or a plinth set it level. 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 toys and paperwork with no proper home and storage that suits a period room.
You might live in a Victorian terrace, a 1930s semi, a mansion block or a recent flat, and your home in Merton Abbey could be any one of them. Each brings different walls and floors, so the design of alcove units starts with a look at what you have. Bowed walls call for scribing, and plasterboard for the right fixings.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and it’s what the workshop builds to.
- Place
- Merton Abbey (SW19, CR4, SW17)
- Borough
- Merton
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Merton Abbey
What else we make in Merton Abbey
Boards, parts and paint
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is stiff, strong and grips screws firmly, which makes it a good choice for shelves and carcasses. Its layered edge can be painted or left to show.
Spray-painted finish
Spray painting is done in the workshop, giving a smooth, even, factory-like surface. It works on simple doors and on more traditional ones.
Your questions about alcove units in Merton Abbey
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Merton Abbey?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Merton Abbey?
Yes, Merton Abbey is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Merton and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It’s entirely your choice. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes, so each unit is made to its own measurements. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that are not square?
Yes. Most period alcoves are out of square in some way, so we scribe each unit to follow the wall. Adjustable feet or a plinth take care of a floor that slopes.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you get in touch.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Living-room carpentry in Merton Abbey: local notes
In the streets around Merton Abbey, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 34%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 27%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Within a mile of the centre of Merton Abbey, 3 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. About 31% of households in the area around Merton Abbey live in terraced houses, based on Census 2021. Many London terraces have a chimney breast and alcoves in the main rooms, and alcove units are made to those widths.
For a flat near Haydons Road station, the route in is measured not just the room, and the sections are sized to fit it. Near listed buildings like Colour House at Misters Liberty's Print Works, less than half a mile north-west of the centre of Merton Abbey, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. For an older house near Christ Church Colliers Wood, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Merton Abbey is about 2 miles north-west of Wimbledon, within the London Borough of Merton. Homes in Merton Abbey are part of the area we cover for alcove units. We list Merton Abbey among 20 places we cover in Merton.
Every home in SW19, CR4 and SW17 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street such as East Road, Hardy Road and Mount Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Merton Abbey is near the A24; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. We also cover Merton (1 mile west), Colliers Wood (1 mile north-east), South Wimbledon (1 mile north-west), Eastfields (1 mile east) and Tooting Bec (1 mile north-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Wimbledon (2 miles north-west), Morden (2 miles south-west), Crooked Billet (2 miles west), Bushey Mead (2 miles west), Copse Hill (2 miles west) and Mitcham (2 miles south-east).
What’s near Merton Abbey
Our area takes in the homes around King's Head pub, Rutlish School and Ensham School, among other places. The nearest railway station is Haydons Road station, roughly 0.9 miles north of the centre. Well-known places in the area include Wandle Industrial Museum (0.9 miles south-east) and St George's Hospital (1 mile north). Open spaces near Merton Abbey include Myrna Close.
What happens on fitting day
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made at the measuring visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. On fitting day, each piece is fitted to the room’s own walls, scribed where walls bow and levelled where floors slope. Spray-painted pieces arrive finished; hand-painted ones can be finished on site.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish.
- 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.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
How to get a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a quote in writing. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. To arrange a visit, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
With bought furniture you’re limited to the maker’s finishes. Ours are painted in a colour agreed with you, either spray painted in the workshop or hand painted. You can match the walls or choose a contrast. Off-the-shelf furniture is designed for no room in particular, while fitted furniture is drawn for the room it goes into. The finish is chosen to suit the space.
Every room is priced on its own, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
What you get with us
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- A design visit, then a written quote
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and how to compare quotes.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too, as it makes good use of an tricky room. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.