Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Sanderstead Alcove Units
For homes in Sanderstead, we make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Units that sit well with original features
- Alcoves that aren’t square
Need alcove units in Sanderstead?
Alcove units for homes in Sanderstead
We fit alcove units across Croydon and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and go through the design. Then you receive a quote; the units are then made 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 the usual reasons to get in touch are a desk that tucks into an alcove and tired cupboards in the alcoves.
A house from between the wars typically has lower ceilings than a Victorian one, and the proportions of alcove units are set to match. If yours is one of the interwar houses, semis or detached homes that make up much of the housing around Sanderstead, there may be little or no cornice, which lets the furniture run straight up to the ceiling. The skirting is scribed around neatly.
Once you’ve read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is made at our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Place
- Sanderstead (CR2, CR8)
- Area
- Croydon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need alcove units in Sanderstead?
Moving into a period house often prompts it. People who have just moved in want storage that suits the age of the house, and the alcoves are the natural place for it. It is easier to do before the room fills with boxes.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- Room to work in an alcove
- Alcoves that are wasted space
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
Addington Palace, about 2.3 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. 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.
Choosing a carpenter
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
Boards, parts and paint
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting lets the colour be judged in the room itself. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Spray-painted finish
Spraying in the workshop means the units arrive already finished. Give the paint time to cure fully once fitted.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Mansion blocks and purpose-built blocks often have house rules about lifts, entry systems and when trades can come in. Let us know about them at the design visit, so fitting day is planned around them.
If the property is let, we’ll need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. A letting agent can arrange this on a landlord’s behalf, and the written quote can go to whoever needs it.
Fitting day, step by step
There isn’t much for you to do on fitting day. Someone needs to let us in, and it helps to have the room cleared beforehand, as we will have talked about during the design visit. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. In a 1930s house with a converted loft, the stairs to the loft room are often steeper than the main flight, so any section going up there is sized for them. Elsewhere in the house, the route is typically more generous. The pieces are joined and fixed once in place.
- To begin, drop us a line using the 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.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, discuss the design and check the route from the street to the room. 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 made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized to come through your door.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them in the alcoves and scribe them to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Before we arrive
- Tell us about parking near your home
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Arranging a design visit
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. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing for you to look over. To arrange the visit, message us from the contact page.
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Places near Sanderstead
Also in Sanderstead
Built-in living-room furniture in Sanderstead
Homes built between 1919 and 1939 make up about 39% of the housing in the area around Sanderstead, with about 31% built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. Near the centre of Sanderstead, Historic England’s list includes Church of All Saints (Grade I), less than half a mile east, and The White House (Grade II), under half a mile east. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can require listed building consent from the council. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Around a third of the homes in the neighbourhood around Sanderstead (about 31%) were built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Post-war rooms tend to be simple shapes, often without a chimney breast, so a full wall of alcove units is often the answer, with fixings chosen for the wall.
Close to Littleheath Woods? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone. For a flat near Riddlesdown station, the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Sanderstead is in the London Borough of Croydon, about 5 miles north of Thornton Heath. From period terraces to newer flats in Sanderstead, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Sanderstead is one of the places in Croydon where we make alcove units.
Every home in CR2 and CR8 is within our area for alcove units. We cover homes on streets like Hyde Road, Brian Avenue and Sundown Avenue, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around Sanderstead include the A2022. We also cover the places around Sanderstead: Riddlesdown (1 mile south-west), Kenley (1 mile south-west) and South Croydon (1 mile north-west). Elsewhere in Croydon, we also cover Thornton Heath (5 miles north), Croydon (2 miles north), Coulsdon (3 miles south-west), Purley (2 miles west), Broad Green (4 miles north) and Upper Norwood (6 miles north).
Local landmarks in Sanderstead
The streets we cover here include those near Selsdon Park Hotel and Riddlesdown Collegiate, among other places. Sanderstead’s nearest station is Riddlesdown station, roughly 0.8 miles west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Purley War Memorial Hospital (1.4 miles west). Green spaces nearby include Foxley Wood.
FAQs: alcove units in Sanderstead
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Sanderstead?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the design visit.
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 a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not normally. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
How do I get started?
The first step is to get in touch through our contact form. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a written quote.
How tall should alcove units be?
That depends on the room and what you’d like to store. In a tall period room, units can stop under the picture rail or the cornice, or run to the ceiling for a built-in look. We agree the height at the design visit.
Practical tips
Fitted furniture is part of the room, so it’s worth looking after. Here are a few tips worth knowing:
- Note any vent or air brick on the chimney breast
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Let us know about parking and access during the design visit
- Decide whether the units stop at the picture rail or run to the ceiling
Don’t let stored things block the chimney breast vent, even when the cupboards fill up. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry, which protects the units too.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units, because constant heat isn’t kind to a painted finish.