Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Norbury Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Norbury. After a design visit and a written quote, it is made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Room to work in an alcove
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Alcove units in Norbury
Alcove units for homes in Norbury
In the area around Norbury, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 43%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 34%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Near the centre of Norbury, Historic England’s list includes Norbury Hall (Grade II), under half a mile west. If your own home is listed, works inside that affect its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, may need listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Croydon is inside it. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Norbury, as it does anywhere else in London. Access and parking are talked through at the design visit.
If you live in a flat close to Norbury station, it is useful to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day. If you live in a period home close to St Oswald, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Norbury is in the London Borough of Croydon, about 1 mile south of Thornton Heath. Whether your home in Norbury is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. In Croydon, Norbury is one of the places we cover.
Here we cover the CR7, SW16 and SE19 postcode area for alcove units. Streets in the area include Green Lane, Croft Road and Downs Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. We also cover the places around Norbury: Pollards Hill (1 mile north), Thornton Heath (1 mile south), Streatham (2 miles north-west), Streatham Park (2 miles north-west) and Mitcham (2 miles west). Across the rest of Croydon, our area takes in Croydon (3 miles south), Coulsdon (7 miles south), Purley (5 miles south), Broad Green (2 miles south), Selhurst (2 miles south-east) and South Norwood (2 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Norbury
We fit furniture in homes around Silburn Reid, Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls and The Moon Under Water pub, among other places. The nearest railway station is Norbury station, roughly 0.6 miles west. Other landmarks nearby include Croydon University Hospital (1.3 miles south) and Crystal Palace Museum (1.5 miles north-east). For a walk, there is Biggin Wood.
Alcove units for homes in Norbury
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, chosen part by part. MDF gives smooth doors and panels that take paint well, and birch plywood is strong for shelves and carcasses. The finish is spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in a colour agreed with you. If you are living with walls too uneven for standard furniture and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
If you live in one of the interwar houses or semis around Norbury, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. The carcasses are made from moisture-resistant MDF or birch plywood, painted in a colour agreed with you.
A written quote is the clearest record of what we have agreed. It describes the alcove unit we’ve designed for the room, its materials and its finish, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Where
- Norbury (CR7, SW16, SE19)
- Area
- Croydon
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Nearby places to Norbury
More for homes in Norbury
How fitting works for alcove units
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and answer any questions. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Loft stairs in an interwar house can be tight, with a low ceiling at the top, so any section going up there is sized for them. The main stairs in houses of that age are normally straighter. Each section is assembled and fixed in the room.
- 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. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a quote in writing setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- Once you’re happy, the units are made at our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- Fitting day: the units go in, are scribed to the alcoves and levelled on a plinth or feet. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
How to prepare
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
Arranging a design visit
Rough sizes are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, get in touch through our contact form and tell us about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Read more
What prompts alcove units in Norbury
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 also a good moment, before the room fills up.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
Kingswood House, about 1.9 miles north-east, 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.
What to check before you book
- Real projects you can actually look at
- How parking will work on your street
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
What it is made from
Moisture-resistant MDF
MDF in a moisture-resistant grade is stable and paints beautifully, which makes it our choice for doors and visible panels. It is a sensible choice where an alcove sits against an external wall.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gets an even coat into corners and onto edges. You choose the colour at the design stage.
Could you do it yourself?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it is easy to buy.
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. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
Questions from Norbury
Is parking a problem for fitting in Norbury?
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 at the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Do you cover homes near Norbury station?
Yes, homes across Croydon and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
How long will the fitting take?
How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Most of the making happens in our workshop, so the work in your home is about fitting and finishing.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
Someone needs to let us in. It’s good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Who moves the sockets behind the alcove units?
That’s a job for your electrician. Ideally it is done before fitting. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
How is the price worked out?
Size, doors and drawers, what goes inside and the finish all affect it. We send a quote in writing after the design visit.
Where other trades come in
Before you plan the job, it is useful to know what we do not do:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
If in doubt, you can send us a few details through our contact form and describe the room. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Adjustable shelves