Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove Units in Merton Park
Alcove units for your home in Merton Park: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. We visit to measure and discuss the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Room to work in an alcove
- Units that sit well with original features
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
Alcove units designed for your room
Materials and finishes
Plinths and scribe strips
In older houses, we usually scribe the sides and often the top too. It’s what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished. Treat the units gently while the paint cures fully.
Alcove units in Merton Park
We fit alcove units across Merton and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and talk through the design. Then you receive a quote, and once you are happy the units are built in our workshop and fitted in your home. Most enquiries start with a place for a small desk and bare alcoves beside the fireplace; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
A large share of the homes around Merton Park were built before 1919, and in London most homes of that age are Victorian or Edwardian. Main rooms in houses like these normally have a chimney breast with an alcove on each side, which gives alcove units an obvious place to go. Walls are rarely flat, so each piece is scribed to the plaster and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet.
Where other trades are needed, for instance an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Where
- Merton Park (SW19, SW20, SM4)
- Area
- Merton
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Fitting day, step by step
In older rooms, the furniture normally has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. On fitting day, edges are trimmed on site to follow the walls, so we ask for a clear space to work near the room. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Hand painting, if that’s your finish, can follow the fitting.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Preparing the room
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
Arranging a design visit
You do not need exact measurements to get started. We measure everything properly at the design visit. To get started, fill in our short enquiry form with a few details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Related advice
What we don’t do
We don’t treat damp or carry out building work, and there are a few other limits too:
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
- Electrical work, such as new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we will give you a straight answer. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Caring for painted furniture
A little care keeps the finish looking good. Here are our suggestions:
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, like a record player
Once the cupboards are filled and in daily use, a door may settle slightly. Hinges can usually be adjusted to bring a door back in line, so a small gap or rub is easy to correct.
Every so often, check that hinges and handles haven’t worked loose, and adjust any door that starts to catch.
What prompts alcove units in Merton Park
Moving into a period house often prompts it. New owners want storage that suits the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It is easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
If you recognise any of these, it is worth talking to us:
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
Southside House, about 1.4 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- Whether you’ll get a written quote, not just a figure
Alcove units in Merton Park: local notes
About 47% of the homes in the area around Merton Park went up before 1919, and about 29% between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. There are 11 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Merton Park. Being near listed buildings does not make a home listed, and you can check any address on Historic England’s list. About 34% of households in the streets around Merton Park live in terraced houses, according to Census 2021. Many London terraces have a chimney breast and alcoves in the main rooms, and alcove units are made to those widths.
If your children go to Merton Park Primary School or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. If you live near Morden Hall Park, a room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Merton Park is about 1 mile north-west of Wimbledon, in the London Borough of Merton. Homes in Merton Park are part of the area we cover for alcove units. We cover places right across Merton.
Design visits and fitting in SW19, SW20 and SM4 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether you live on a street such as Mina Road, Manor Road and Cecil Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Other places close to Merton Park include Wimbledon Chase (1 mile west), Bushey Mead (1 mile west), Cannon Hill (1 mile south-west), Wimbledon (1 mile north-west) and Crooked Billet (1 mile north-west). Across the rest of Merton, our area takes in Colliers Wood (2 miles east), Eastfields (2 miles east), Mitcham (2 miles east), Hackbridge (2 miles east), Wimbledon Park (2 miles north) and West Barnes (2 miles south-west).
Near you in Merton Park
We fit furniture in homes around Rutlish School, Wibbas Down Inn and Wimbledon School of Art, among other places. The nearest railway station is South Merton station, about 0.5 miles south. A little further out are Wimbledon Museum (1.1 miles north-west) and St George's Hospital (1.6 miles north-east). Green spaces nearby include Merton Park Green Walks.
Places near Merton Park
Other services in Merton Park
Your questions about alcove units in Merton Park
Can you fit furniture in a home close to South Merton station?
Yes. We cover all of Merton and the rest of London. You can get in touch through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Merton Park?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
How tall should alcove units be?
It is up to you. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We talk through the options during the design visit.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Let us know when you first get in touch.
How do I get a quote?
The first step is to drop us a line using the contact form and tell us about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It is up to you. A matching pair balances the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. We can keep the details the same so they still look like a pair.