Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Wandsworth · London
Alcove units in Putney Vale, Wandsworth
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, designed for your room in Putney Vale. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Space for a growing book collection
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
Ask about alcove units in Putney Vale
Alcove units for homes in Putney Vale
Many people choose cupboards at low level and shelves above them. The cupboards take the things you’d rather not see, while the shelves hold books and the things you want on show. The cupboard top gives you a ledge for a lamp, a speaker or a plant. We set the heights to suit the room and what you will store. If your home has bare alcoves beside the fireplace and toys and paperwork with no proper home, that is what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Rooms from the 1950s and 1960s tend to be plain, with flat walls and simple skirting. Many homes around Putney Vale were built between 1945 and the early 1970s, which often leaves alcove units with clean lines to follow. That lets the furniture set the character of the room, in a paint colour you choose.
The quote comes in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and share it with anyone else involved. It covers the design, materials and finish agreed at the visit.
- Place
- Putney Vale (SW15, KT2, SW19)
- Area
- Wandsworth
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after fitting day
None of this takes much effort. What we’d suggest:
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Check whether there’s a vent in the chimney breast
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
Keep a record of the colour for future touch-ups. Small marks on a hand-painted finish are easy to touch up.
Every so often, check that hinges and handles haven’t worked loose and adjust a door before a small rub becomes a mark.
Alcove units for homes in Putney Vale
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 71% of the housing in the streets around Putney Vale, with about 12% built between 1973 and 1999, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. The centre of Putney Vale is within about a quarter of a mile of the Kingston Vale Conservation Area. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. The council can confirm if you’re not sure. Purpose-built flats are more common around Putney Vale than across Wandsworth: about 72% of households, against about 48%, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. So the route in, from stairs to lifts, is part of the design.
The wider area includes historic houses like Southside House, about 1.5 miles south-east. If your own home is a period one, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If your home is one of the older houses near St John the Baptist, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Putney Vale is about 4 miles north-east of Clapham Junction, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Putney Vale included. We list Putney Vale among 15 places we cover in Wandsworth.
Design visits and fitting in SW15, KT2 and SW19 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Our area takes in homes on streets like Stag Lane, Friars Avenue and Kingston Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Putney Vale is near the A308, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Kingston Vale (1 mile south), Coombe Hill (1 mile west), Coombe (1 mile south-west), Crooked Billet (1 mile south-east) and Copse Hill (1 mile south-east). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Clapham Junction (4 miles north-east), Battersea (4 miles north-east), Putney (2 miles north-east), Wandsworth (3 miles north-east), Tooting (4 miles east) and Tooting Bec (4 miles east).
Local landmarks in Putney Vale
In Putney Vale, that includes homes near Robin Hood Primary School, Duke of Cambridge pub and The Norwegian School in London. The nearest railway station is Raynes Park station, about 2 miles south-east. Nearby you’ll also find Atkinson Morley Hospital (1.3 miles south-east) and Wimbledon Windmill Museum (0.8 miles east). For a walk, there is Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads and Kingston Hill Road area.
What affects the price in Putney Vale
A few things affect what fitted furniture costs:
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- The width and height of the space
The finish affects the cost: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
What to send when you contact us
Before the design visit, it helps us to know about:
- Where you live, with the postcode
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. We measure everything properly during the design visit. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us about the room. The written quote follows the visit.
The problems alcove units solve
Where a fireplace has been blocked up or removed, the chimney breast can look bare. A pair of alcove units frames it and gives the wall a sense of order.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Space for a growing book collection
Near listed buildings like Dorich House, about 0.5 miles west of the centre of Putney Vale, 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.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Have they thought about parking near you?
Also near Putney Vale
More for homes in Putney Vale
How fitting day works
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Stairwells in post-war blocks can have tight turns, so sections are sized for both the stairs and any lift. Letting the caretaker or managing agent know in advance helps. Common parts are protected while we carry in.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves, even if the design is only a rough idea so far.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish.
- Once you are happy, the units are made at our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Before fitting day
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Getting a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. A written quote follows the visit, so you can take your time with it. To arrange the visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
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Common questions about alcove units
I live near Raynes Park station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Wandsworth and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Putney Vale?
Yes, we work across Wandsworth, Putney Vale included, and across the rest of London. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Just mention it when you get in touch, and we will see what we can do.
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.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even. We talk through both at the measuring visit.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different: check with the council’s conservation officer first.
Is bespoke worth it?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re usually cheaper. The catch is the fit: standard sizes seldom match the alcove, and walls that are not straight show up every gap. A bespoke unit is built to the alcove and scribed to follow the wall. Big ready-made pieces can be tricky to carry up communal stairs, while fitted furniture arrives in sections made to fit the route. It is then assembled in the room.
Access to the room makes a difference too. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, and that’s part of the price. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit.
Why choose us
- Scribed to uneven walls
- More than 300 projects completed
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Made for your room, not a standard size
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what to look for in a quote.