Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Greenwich · London
Alcove units in New Eltham, Greenwich
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. Our work on alcove units in New Eltham starts with a design visit, and everything is made in our workshop.
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
Need alcove units in New Eltham?
Alcove units for homes in New Eltham
We fit alcove units across Greenwich and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and go through the design. Then you receive a quote; the units are then built in our workshop and fitted in your home. If your home has somewhere to keep books and records and storage that suits a period room, that is what alcove units are for, made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Ceilings in interwar houses tend to be lower than in Victorian ones, and the proportions of alcove units are set to match. If yours is one of the interwar houses, semis or detached homes that make up much of the housing around New Eltham, the cornice may be plain or missing, so the furniture can run straight to the ceiling. Any skirting is cut around neatly.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- Location
- New Eltham (SE9, DA15, BR7)
- Area
- Greenwich
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting works for alcove units
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and that happens on fitting day. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Some interwar and suburban streets have driveways, which can make unloading easier, so it is worth mentioning at the design visit. Otherwise, a visitor permit or a nearby bay helps. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
Before fitting day
- Empty the space we will be working in
- Keep pets in another room while we work
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
Starting with a design visit
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we have measured up and talked through the design. For a quote, tell us about the room on our contact form.
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New Eltham homes and alcove units
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 59% of the housing in the neighbourhood around New Eltham, with about 22% built between 1945 and 1972, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of New Eltham include Southend House (Grade II), about 0.6 miles north-west. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can need listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. Detached and semi-detached houses are home to about 61% of households in the area around New Eltham, according to Census 2021. In a semi or detached house, a driveway, where there is one, can make unloading easier.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Eltham Palace, about 1.1 miles north-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live in a flat close to New Eltham station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
New Eltham is in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, about 3 miles north of Plumstead. Whether your home in New Eltham is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. In Greenwich, New Eltham is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 18 places on our list.
In SE9, DA15 and BR7, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street like Green Lane, Gerda Road and Novar Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Other places close to New Eltham include Eltham (1 mile north-west), Longlands (1 mile south-east), Coldharbour (1 mile south-west), Avery Hill (1 mile north) and Blackfen (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Greenwich we cover include Plumstead (3 miles north), Greenwich (4 miles north-west), Woolwich (4 miles north), Westcombe Park (4 miles north-west), Well Hall (2 miles north-west) and Maze Hill (4 miles north-west).
Landmarks near New Eltham
The streets we cover here include those near St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School, among other places. New Eltham has its own railway station: New Eltham station. Well-known places in the area include Eltham Community Hospital (1.1 miles north-west) and Metropolitan Police Museum (1.4 miles east). For a walk, there is The Tarn.
What prompts alcove units in New Eltham
A busy family living room is another reason. Toys, games, paperwork and gadgets need somewhere to go, and closed cupboards hide them away. The shelves above can then stay tidy.
A few of the things people ask us to solve are these:
- Storage that suits a period room
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- Clutter with nowhere to go
Close to Elmstead Wood? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Are the boards named, such as MDF or plywood?
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: there is a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. In return, the unit is planned for your alcove alone. The spaces between doors, windows and radiators are seldom a stock size, so ready-made furniture often ends up in the wrong place. Built-in pieces are planned around those fixed points.
The finish affects the cost: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
What you get with us
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
FAQs: alcove units in New Eltham
Can you fit furniture in a home close to New Eltham station?
Yes. We cover all of Greenwich and the rest of London. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can you make alcove units for a home in New Eltham?
Yes. New Eltham is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Greenwich and London. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. It is best done before the units go in. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not typically. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
An outside wall can be colder and damper than an inside one, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture to avoid condensation. If there’s damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We will plan the desk around how you work.
Practical tips
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They’re worth knowing before and after fitting:
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
To clean painted units, a soft cloth that is barely damp is enough. Avoid abrasive pads and strong cleaning sprays, which can dull or mark the paint. Dry the surface afterwards.
Watch for damp marks on the chimney breast or the walls near the units. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade.
Also near New Eltham
More for homes in New Eltham
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too, often to make the most of a small or tricky room. It’s made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so each section is sized to get through.