Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Alcove Units in Norwood New Town
We make alcove units in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Norwood New Town. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Room to work in an alcove
- Everyday clutter left on show
Ask about alcove units in Norwood New Town
Alcove units in Norwood New Town
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. The plinth height can match the skirting so the units feel part of the room. We agree these details during the design visit, before anything is made. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are a desk that tucks into an alcove and alcoves that are wasted space.
Across London, neighbouring streets can be decades apart in age, so the walls behind alcove units could be solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. We check what the walls are made of at the design visit, then choose the fixings. If your room has a chimney breast, the alcoves are an obvious place for alcove units; if not, a full wall works well.
Everything we agree at the design visit goes into the written quote: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If something is not quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Where
- Norwood New Town (SE19, SE27, SE21)
- Borough
- Croydon
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Tell us about them at the design visit, so fitting day is planned around them.
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf.
Questions from Norwood New Town
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Norwood New Town?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it’s worth checking those early.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Norwood New Town?
Yes. Norwood New Town is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Croydon and London. You can message us from the contact page to arrange a design visit.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Usually not. Inside a house, fitted furniture doesn’t normally need planning permission. If the building is listed, works affecting its character may need listed building consent, so ask the council’s conservation officer.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
That depends on how you use the room. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes, so each unit is made to its own measurements. They can share a style while doing different things.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, by prior arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you get in touch.
Practical tips
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Decide what goes behind doors and what goes on show
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
Painted finishes feel dry quickly but take longer to cure fully. For the first while, treat the units gently: lift things onto the shelves rather than sliding them, and do not scrub the surfaces.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Most sagging comes from shelves carrying more than they were planned for.
Neighbourhoods near Norwood New Town
Also in Norwood New Town
How fitting works for alcove units
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it, 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. For a flat, building rules and lift booking are worth checking early; for a house, steps, paths and parking are the things to mention. We plan the details of the day during the design visit. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you.
- We send a written quote for the units, for you to read through at your own pace.
- The units are made at our workshop, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Before fitting day
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Tell us about parking near your home
- Keep pets in another room while we work
How to get a quote
To make a start, message us from the contact page and tell us which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a written quote follows.
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Living-room storage in Norwood New Town
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Norwood New Town were built before 1919 (about 30%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 22%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Within a mile of the centre of Norwood New Town, 11 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Croydon included. Vans bringing furniture to Norwood New Town fall under it, just as they do across the rest of London. We go through parking and access during the design visit.
If you live in a flat close to Gipsy Hill station, it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day. For an older house near New Covenant Church-Equipping People, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Norwood New Town is in the London Borough of Croydon, about 2 miles south-west of Thornton Heath. We design and make alcove units for homes in Norwood New Town and across Croydon, as part of our work in every London borough. We list Norwood New Town among 32 places we cover in Croydon.
In SE19, SE27 and SE21, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. We cover homes on streets such as Dover Road, Moore Road and Gipsy Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Norwood New Town is near the A214; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Upper Norwood (1 mile east), Gipsy Hill (1 mile north-east), West Norwood (1 mile north), Crystal Palace (1 mile east) and West Dulwich (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Thornton Heath (2 miles south-west), Croydon (4 miles south), Coulsdon (7 miles south), Purley (6 miles south), Broad Green (2 miles south) and Selhurst (2 miles south-east).
What’s near Norwood New Town
Around Norwood New Town, we cover homes near Virgo Fidelis Convent Senior School, Hillcrest and The Sparrowhawk pub. The nearest railway station is Gipsy Hill station, about 0.5 miles north-east. Nearby you’ll also find St Christopher's Hospice (1.5 miles east) and Crystal Palace Museum (0.7 miles east). Not far away are Dulwich Upper Wood.
Why people ask for alcove units in Norwood New Town
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. Starting again lets you rethink the layout, from the shelf heights to the doors.
If you recognise any of these, it is worth talking to us:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Units that sit well with original features
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Innisfail, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
What to check before you book
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
How we price alcove units
Not every room costs the same, for these reasons:
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- How square the room is
- The width and height of the space
- The internal fittings
The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. The price depends mainly on the size of the piece, how many doors and drawers it has and what goes inside.
What to send when you get in touch
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. It is useful to include:
- Where you live, with the postcode
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if you don’t, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we have measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, drop us a line using the contact form.