Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Merton · London
Alcove units in Mitcham, Merton
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Mitcham. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Alcove units in Mitcham
Is it time for alcove units?
In bedrooms, the alcoves may be the only place for hanging space. Built into the alcove, a cupboard holds clothes without taking over the room, which matters in a smaller room.
Requests we hear often include:
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Space for a growing book collection
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
If you live in a flat close to Mitcham Eastfields station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
What to check before you book
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- How parking will work on your street
- Can you see real work of theirs?
About our alcove units in Mitcham
Alcove units are made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF gives smooth doors and panels that take paint well, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. You can have a spray-painted finish from the workshop or a hand-painted one done on site, in the colour you choose. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are standard units leaving gaps at the sides and old alcove cupboards that have seen better days.
Many houses from between the wars, and many semis, have been extended or opened up inside, which matters around Mitcham, where homes like these are a big part of the housing. A long through room gives alcove units a whole wall to work with, or mark out the sitting end from the dining end. An extension’s plasterboard walls need different fixings from the original brick or block.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we have agreed. It describes the alcove unit we have designed for the room, what it is made from and how it’s finished, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Location
- Mitcham (CR4, SW16, SM4)
- Area
- Merton
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Nearby places to Mitcham
Other services in Mitcham
Common questions about alcove units
Is parking a problem for fitting in Mitcham?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit.
Is Mitcham in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, we work across Merton, Mitcham included, and across the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, by arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you get in touch.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It’s good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
What happens when you come to measure?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, then send a written quote.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. We choose fixings to suit the wall, after checking the walls at the design visit.
In a flat, the route in matters as much as the room. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through without a struggle.
Built-in living-room furniture in Mitcham
In the streets around Mitcham, the largest groups of homes date from between 1919 and 1939 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 14%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Near the centre of Mitcham, Historic England’s list includes Base of Windmill at Mill House (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-east, and Prospect House (Grade II), about 0.5 miles north-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, may need listed building consent. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. The Ultra Low Emission Zone has covered all of London since it reached the outer boroughs on 29 August 2023. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Mitcham. We go through parking and access at the measuring visit.
If your children go to St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. Close to Cranmer Green? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Mitcham is about 3 miles north-west of Wimbledon, within the London Borough of Merton. Anywhere in Mitcham, it works the same way: we visit and measure, send a quote in writing, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Our work takes in places right across Merton.
Every address in CR4, SW16 and SM4 is within our area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets like Kings Road, Baker Lane and Manor Road, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Other places close to Mitcham include Hackbridge (1 mile north), Eastfields (1 mile north), Colliers Wood (1 mile north-west), Merton Abbey (2 miles north-west) and Furzedown (2 miles north). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Wimbledon (3 miles north-west), Morden (2 miles west), South Wimbledon (2 miles north-west), Wimbledon Chase (3 miles west), Merton Park (2 miles west) and Crooked Billet (4 miles north-west).
Around Mitcham
In Mitcham, that includes homes near The Archbishop Lanfranc School, St Mark's Church of England Academy and The White Lion of Mortimer pub and the streets around them. The closest station to Mitcham is Mitcham Eastfields station, roughly 0.5 miles north of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Wilson Hospital (0.5 miles south-west) and Wandle Industrial Museum (0.7 miles west).
Is bespoke worth it?
In fairness, standalone furniture comes with you when you move. Fitted alcove units stay with the house and remain when you move on. It depends on how long you expect to stay. Standard widths rarely add up to the length of a real wall, which fitted furniture avoids. It can use the full height too.
We don’t publish set prices, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote. To arrange a design visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
What you get with us
- Saturday visits and fitting by prior arrangement
- More than 300 projects completed
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Work across the whole of London
When is bespoke worth it?
The real difference is in the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. Off-the-shelf furniture cannot typically do that in an older room.
If you’re handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.
What happens on fitting day
In older rooms, the furniture usually has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site, so it sits neatly against the room. The time the 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. Fitting day means carrying in the sections, joining them and fitting them to the walls. Spray-painted pieces come finished from the workshop, while hand painting can happen on site. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- At the design visit we measure up, agree the layout and talk about colour and finish.
- The written quote then sets out the design, the materials and the finish you have picked.
- We make the units in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF, which takes paint well, and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- 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.
Before fitting day
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.