Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Sutton · London
Roundshaw Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Roundshaw. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
Alcove units for your home in Roundshaw
Alcove units in Roundshaw
We fit alcove units across Sutton and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and discuss the design. Then you receive a quote, and once you are happy the units are built in our workshop and fitted in your home. Typical reasons to get in touch are storage that suits a period room and old alcove cupboards that have seen better days; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
A large number of homes around Roundshaw date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes tend to have open-plan living rooms with no chimney breast. So alcove units often give the room its shape, along a full wall or around the TV. Many internal walls in newer homes are plasterboard on timber or metal studs, so fixings go into the studs or use fixings made for the board.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we’ll tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Place
- Roundshaw (SM6, CR8, CR0)
- Area
- Sutton
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Tips worth knowing
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They’re worth knowing whatever the room:
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Sort out damp patches before fitting
- Measure anything large that must fit inside, such as a record player
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. A full shelf of books is heavier than it looks, so spreading them out helps the shelves stay level.
Now and then, check handles and hinges are still tight and adjust a door before a small rub becomes a mark.
Questions from Roundshaw
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in Roundshaw?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can require listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Roundshaw?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, so the day can be planned around it.
How do I get a quote for alcove units in Roundshaw?
It is easiest to drop us a line using the contact form with some details about the room. After that, we arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
What affects the price of alcove units?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish. We send a quote in writing after the design visit.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It is entirely your choice. 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 make the furniture yourselves?
Each piece is built in our workshop for the room it’s going into, then fitted in your home. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
Is it time for alcove units?
A bedroom’s alcoves are often the best place for a wardrobe. Built into the alcove, a cupboard holds clothes without taking over the room.
People normally get in touch with us about needs like these:
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Shelving for books and records
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
For an older house near St. Paul's, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Choosing a carpenter
- Whether you’ll get a written quote, not just a figure
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- How parking will work on your street
Nearby places to Roundshaw
More for homes in Roundshaw
How fitting works for alcove units
With the carcasses fixed and level, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly, and then we check it all again. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. In a newer development, the lift, the concierge and set working hours may all need checking, so check them with the managing agent before fitting day. Alcove units are made in sections sized for the lift and doors.
- You contact us with some details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square, then discuss the design with you.
- You get a quote in writing for the units, materials and finish.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
How to prepare
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
How to get a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and talk through the design with you. Afterwards, we send a written quote. To arrange the visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Advice
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Off-the-shelf furniture comes in set heights, so there is often wasted space overhead. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, whichever looks right in your room. Big standalone units can dominate a compact room, while fitted furniture, painted in a colour that suits the walls, reads as part of the room.
Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. Size, the number of doors and drawers and the internal fittings make the biggest difference to the price.
Why us?
- Over 300 projects completed
- Finished by spray or by hand
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made or what to look for in a quote.
Alcove units in Roundshaw: local notes
About 40% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Roundshaw went up since 2000, and about 27% between 1973 and 1999, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Near the centre of Roundshaw, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade II), about 0.5 miles north-west, and Church of St Mark (Grade II), about 0.6 miles south. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for instance removing original joinery or fixing into it, can require listed building consent from the council. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. Red routes, run by TfL, have strict rules on stopping and loading. If you live on or close to a main road in Roundshaw, let us know during the design visit. That way we can plan where to load and unload.
Close to Waddon Ponds? Alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. Living in a block of flats near Wallington station? Then it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Roundshaw is in the London Borough of Sutton, about 3 miles west of Sutton. Whether your home in Roundshaw is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Across Sutton, we cover Roundshaw.
In SM6, CR8 and CR0, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. If your home is on a street like Link Lane, Milton Road and Redwing Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. Other places close to Roundshaw include Russell Hill (1 mile east), Bandonhill (1 mile north), Peaks Hill (1 mile south), Waddon (1 mile north-east) and Wallington (1 mile north-west). Across the rest of Sutton, our area takes in Sutton (3 miles west), Carshalton (2 miles north-west), The Wrythe (2 miles north-west), North Cheam (4 miles west), Benhilton (3 miles north-west) and Sutton Common (4 miles north-west).
Around Roundshaw
In Roundshaw, that includes homes near The Whispering Moon pub, Wilson's School and The John Fisher School and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Wallington station, about 0.9 miles north-west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include St George's Walk (2 miles north-east) and Purley War Memorial Hospital (1.2 miles south-east). Green spaces nearby include Duppas Hill and Roundshaw Downs.
Materials and finishes
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting lets the colour be judged in the room itself as it goes on. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Shelves
Shelves can be fixed in place or set on adjustable supports. Fixed shelves help brace the unit, while adjustable ones let you change heights later.