Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Plashet Alcove Units
Alcove units in Plashet: cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast. Each piece is designed at a visit to your home, made at our workshop and fitted by us.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Units that sit well with original features
- Alcoves that are wasted space
Alcove units designed for your room
How we make alcove units for Plashet
We work across London, including Plashet. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. Then you receive a quote, and once you’re happy the units are made at our workshop and fitted in your home. If you are living with somewhere to keep books and records and everyday clutter left on show, that’s what alcove units are for, made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Solid brick external walls are standard in Victorian and Edwardian houses, and internal walls may be brick or lath and plaster. Since a large share of the homes around Plashet date from before 1919, we check which you have before deciding how alcove units are fixed. Lath and plaster needs a lighter touch and the right fixings, particularly behind loaded shelves.
You get the quote in writing, so there is time to read it properly. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Where
- Plashet (E6, E12, E7)
- Borough
- Newham
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What we do not do
It is worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we will tell you before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
Questions from Plashet
Can you make alcove units for a home in Plashet?
Yes. Plashet is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Newham and London. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Woodgrange Park station?
Yes. We cover all of Newham and the rest of London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details about the room.
What happens to the chimney vent when alcove units go in?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Air moving through a capped chimney helps stop damp. Any existing damp should be dealt with before the units go in.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work is not something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not normally. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. Listed buildings are different: check with the council’s conservation officer first.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even; a hand-painted one is easy to touch up later. We talk through both during the design visit.
How fitting day works
Every fitting follows the same order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Terraced streets in London are often lined with parked cars, so details of permits, bays and any loading restrictions help. Unloading is kept short, with sections taken straight inside. Saturdays are possible by prior arrangement.
- You get in touch to say you’d like alcove units, with a note of the room they’re in.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you.
- We put the design, materials and finish into a written quote, ready for you to check.
- We build the units in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill.
How to prepare
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Ask for a quote
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, drop us a line using the contact form with some details about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Related advice
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish often suits alcove units in older houses. The colour is agreed with you, and touch-ups are simple if the units get marked later.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, so it is ideal for shelves and the boxes behind the doors. Its layered edge can be painted or left to show.
Also near Plashet
What else we make in Plashet
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the measuring visit, so fitting day is planned around them.
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 each section is sized to get through without a struggle.
Plashet homes and alcove units
In the area around Plashet, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 71%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 13%), 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. Near the centre of Plashet, Historic England’s list includes Passmore Edwards Library (Grade II), under half a mile south-west, and East Ham Underground Station (Grade II), less than half a mile south-east. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. The share of homes built before 1919 around Plashet, about 71%, is well above the figure for Newham as a whole, about 37%, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. That makes period details like uneven walls, alcoves and picture rails more likely to shape the design.
The wider area includes historic houses like Valentines Mansion, about 2.2 miles north. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Living in a block of flats near Woodgrange Park station? Then the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it. For families living near Plashet School, a cupboard for board games and a shelf for reading books can go into the same design.
Plashet is in the London Borough of Newham, about 2 miles south-west of Plaistow. Homes in Plashet are part of the area we cover for alcove units, as part of our work in every London borough. We cover places right across Newham, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Design visits and fitting in E6, E12 and E7 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Streets in the area include Fry Road, Edith Road and Hilda Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Manor Park (1 mile north-east), Little Ilford (1 mile north-east), Upton Park (1 mile south-west), Upton (1 mile west) and Wallend (1 mile south-east). Elsewhere in Newham, we also cover Plaistow (2 miles south-west), Stratford (2 miles west), Canning Town (2 miles south-west), Maryland (2 miles west), East Village (3 miles west) and Three Mills (3 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Plashet
Around Plashet, we cover homes near The Overdraft Tavern, Monega Primary School and Tyndale Academy. The nearest railway station is Woodgrange Park station, about 0.5 miles north. A little further out are Newham University Hospital (1.5 miles south) and The Who Shop Museum (0.7 miles south-east).
Pricing alcove units in Plashet
Several things affect the price:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Parking near your home
The finish affects the cost: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Helping us understand the room
You don’t need exact measurements or a plan. It is enough to send:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- What the furniture needs to hold
We quote once we’ve seen the room. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a quote in writing. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To arrange a visit, drop us a line using the contact form.