Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Alcove units in Riddlesdown, Croydon
Planning alcove units for a home in Riddlesdown? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing, before anything is made.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
Alcove units for your home in Riddlesdown
Alcove units in Riddlesdown: what you get
We fit alcove units across Croydon and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit to measure the alcoves and agree the layout. Then you receive a quote; the units are then built in our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about room to work in an alcove and units that sit well with original features.
In a semi from the 1920s or 1930s, the front room typically has a bay at one end and a chimney breast on the side wall. Around Riddlesdown, interwar houses, semis and detached homes make up a big part of the housing, so that layout is worth knowing well. Alcove units normally go on the chimney breast wall, leaving the bay clear.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. The finish is stated too, whether that’s spray painting or hand painting.
- Place
- Riddlesdown (CR8, CR2)
- Borough
- Croydon
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
Finishing comes last. With a spray finish from the workshop, there is normally only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. The finish is always the one agreed in your quote. Fitting day means carrying in the sections, joining them and fitting them to the walls. Spray-painted pieces come finished from the workshop, while hand painting can happen on site. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- To begin, send us a few details through our contact form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty, and mention if you live in a flat or up a few flights of stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns. It helps to tell us then about parking, as much of London is in a controlled parking zone.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
How to prepare
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
Starting with a design visit
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Advice
What it costs
What it costs comes down to the materials and the time involved. The main factors are:
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Parking near your home
- Access to the room, like stairs, lifts and narrow halls
- Spray painting or hand painting
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Size, the number of doors and drawers and the internal fittings make the biggest difference to the price.
What to send when you get in touch
To help us picture the room, please include:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- Where you live, with the postcode
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, once the room is measured and the design talked through. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Places near Riddlesdown
Also in Riddlesdown
Flats, blocks and rented homes
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, getting the furniture from the van to the door needs planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so let us know about it at the measuring visit.
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, and that often means a shared hallway and a tight turn on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we have measured the way in.
Built-in living-room furniture in Riddlesdown
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Riddlesdown were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 32%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 31%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. Near the centre of Riddlesdown, Historic England’s list includes Kenley Station House (original 1856 Building) (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-west. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Around a third of the homes in the streets around Riddlesdown (about 32%) date from between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Houses from the 1920s and 1930s often have a bay window and a chimney breast in the front room, and alcove units are planned around both.
For a family home near Harris Primary Academy Kenley, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If your home is one of the older houses near St Edmund's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. For a flat near Riddlesdown station, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room.
Riddlesdown is about 5 miles north of Thornton Heath, within the London Borough of Croydon. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and Riddlesdown is part of that. In Croydon, Riddlesdown is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 32 places on our list.
We work across CR8 and CR2 for alcove units. Streets in the area include Hyde Road, Lower Road and Famet Avenue, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. Riddlesdown sits close to the A22, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover Kenley (1 mile south), Sanderstead (1 mile north-east) and South Croydon (2 miles north). Elsewhere in Croydon, we also cover Thornton Heath (5 miles north), Croydon (3 miles north), Coulsdon (2 miles south-west), Broad Green (4 miles north), Upper Norwood (6 miles north) and Selhurst (5 miles north).
Near you in Riddlesdown
The streets we cover here include those near Riddlesdown Collegiate. There is a railway station in Riddlesdown itself: Riddlesdown station. Nearby you will also find Purley War Memorial Hospital (1 mile north-west) and Croydon Airport Visitor Centre (2 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Foxley Wood.
Honest limits
We design, make and fit the furniture. In practice, that means:
- Treating damp in the chimney breast or walls
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can tell us about the room on our contact form and we will tell you. How it works.
What it is made from
- Scribed side panels
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
Your questions about alcove units in Riddlesdown
Do you cover homes near Riddlesdown station?
Yes. We cover all of Croydon and the rest of London. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Riddlesdown?
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 during the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a written quote.
Do alcove units affect the chimney’s ventilation?
We design around any vent so it stays open. Air moving through a capped chimney helps stop damp, which protects the units as well as the wall. Any existing damp should be dealt with before the units go in.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other if you want the two sides to differ. The desk is planned around the way you work.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Riddlesdown?
It’s easiest to send us a few details through our contact form and let us know about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Before and after fitting day
People planning alcove units often ask about these. They’re worth knowing before and after fitting:
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
Paint is dry to the touch well before it has fully cured. For the first while, treat the units gently, lifting things rather than sliding them and avoiding any scrubbing.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork.