Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Pollards Hill Alcove Units
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Pollards Hill, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Room to work in an alcove
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
Need alcove units in Pollards Hill?
Fitting day, step by step
On the morning of the fitting, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. Next, we carry in the sections made at our workshop, a piece at a time. The time the fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. On fitting day, the sections are carried in, assembled, scribed to the wall and levelled. Spray-painted pieces come finished from the workshop, while hand painting can happen on site. Saturdays can be arranged.
- It starts with a short message from you about the alcoves.
- 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’ve 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; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Preparing the room
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
Arranging a design visit
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough sizes and some photos if you have them. When you’re ready, send us a few details through our contact form. We will then arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Advice
About our alcove units in Pollards Hill
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that sit as part of the room. Where a room in Pollards Hill has a pair of alcoves, we design a unit for each one. If your home has a place for a small desk and toys and paperwork with no proper home, that’s what alcove units are for, made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Around Pollards Hill, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the main room is often well proportioned, with a bay, a chimney breast and not many other recesses. Alcove units can fill the alcoves, run the length of a wall or frame the chimney breast. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we’ll tell you. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Place
- Pollards Hill (CR7, SW16, SE19)
- Borough
- Croydon
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What affects the cost of alcove units
What you pay depends on:
- Where a van can park, such as a permit bay or a bay suspension
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- How many doors and drawers there are
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because the size, the layout and the finish all vary. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
What we need to know
When you contact us, these help most:
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, then send a written quote. The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. To arrange a visit, message us from the contact page.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, rather than the nearest standard size. Doors, windows and radiators rarely leave a gap that matches a standard width, so ready-made furniture often ends up in the wrong place. Fitted furniture is designed around them.
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. The price depends mainly on the size of the piece, how many doors and drawers it has and what goes inside.
Why work with us in Pollards Hill
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- More than 300 projects completed
See our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and how to compare quotes.
FAQs: alcove units in Pollards Hill
Is Pollards Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, Pollards Hill is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Croydon and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, and then we send a quote.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Pollards Hill?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. 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. It helps to tell us about parking at the design visit.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Pollards Hill?
Simply send us a few details through our contact form. Rough measurements and a few pictures help, and then we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that aren’t square?
Yes. We measure each alcove carefully at the measuring visit, then the units are made in our workshop and scribed to the walls when we fit them.
Should I send pictures?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit, along with rough sizes. Show anything the furniture has to work around, such as radiators or sockets.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. If the building is listed, works affecting its character may need listed building consent.
Caring for painted furniture
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They help whatever the room:
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
Once the cupboards are filled and in daily use, a door may settle slightly. Most hinges can be adjusted to line the doors up again, so a small gap or rub is easy to correct.
Put the heaviest books and objects low down and spread the weight. Most sagging comes from shelves carrying more than they were planned for, so tell us at the design visit if a shelf will hold something heavy.
Neighbourhoods near Pollards Hill
More for homes in Pollards Hill
Built-in living-room furniture in Pollards Hill
About 43% of the homes in the streets around Pollards Hill went up before 1919, and about 34% between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Within a mile of the centre of Pollards Hill, 5 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Croydon sets its own rules. If your road in Pollards Hill falls in a zone, the van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. We ask about parking at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
For families living near Kensington Avenue Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place. If your home is one of the older houses near St Oswald, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Near listed buildings like Norbury Hall, under half a mile west of the centre of Pollards Hill, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Pollards Hill is in the London Borough of Croydon, about 1 mile south of Thornton Heath. We can visit homes in Pollards Hill on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Our Croydon coverage includes Pollards Hill, along with the rest of the borough.
In CR7, SW16 and SE19, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. You’ll find streets here like Green Lane, Croft Road and Downs Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Norbury (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).
Near you in Pollards Hill
The streets we cover here include those near The Moon Under Water pub, Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls and Silburn Reid and the streets around them. The closest station to Pollards Hill is Norbury station, roughly 0.6 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Crystal Palace Museum (1.5 miles north-east) and Croydon University Hospital (1.3 miles south). Not far away are Biggin Wood.
Materials and finishes
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribing means trimming the edges on site so they follow the wall. This closes the gap between a straight unit and a bowed alcove.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gets an even coat into corners and onto edges and leaves no brush marks. You choose the colour at the design stage.