Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Shortlands Alcove Units
We make alcove units for homes in Shortlands, designed around the room you have. We design your alcove unit at a visit to your home, make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Alcove units for your home in Shortlands
Materials and finishes
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting lets the colour be judged in the room itself before the final coat. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Plinths and scribe strips
Most alcoves need scribing on both sides and sometimes at the top. It is the difference between a unit that sits in the alcove and one that belongs there.
Alcove units in Shortlands: what you get
Period alcoves are rarely square. The walls lean, the chimney breast may bow and the floor often slopes, sometimes all in one recess. Each unit is built in our workshop to our measurements and scribed to the walls when we fit it, so the sides meet the wall closely rather than showing a dark line. A plinth or adjustable feet take up any slope in the floor. If you’re living with room to work in an alcove and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove, alcove units made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
Around Shortlands, with interwar houses or semis making up much of the housing, the living room may be a good size but with fewer recesses than a Victorian house. That leaves room for alcove units in the alcoves, along a full wall or around the chimney breast, depending on how you use the room. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable, and the paint finish is agreed with you.
Our quotes are written in plain words, without jargon. You will see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Location
- Shortlands (BR2, BR1, BR3)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Why people ask for alcove units in Shortlands
Many people ask about alcove units because the alcoves are the most obvious wasted space they have. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, so there are gaps at the sides and the top. A fitted unit fills the recess from wall to wall.
Here are some of the needs we are asked about most:
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Room to work in an alcove
Bromley Palace, about 0.8 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Choosing a carpenter
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Real projects you can actually look at
How fitting works for alcove units
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site, so it sits neatly against the room. How long 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. Interwar houses typically have a straight run of stairs and a reasonable hallway, though we still measure the route in not just the room. The furniture comes in sections and is put together where it’s going.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out.
- We make the cupboards and shelves in our workshop, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- The units are fitted in your home and scribed to follow the walls, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
How to prepare
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
Starting with a design visit
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough measurements and some pictures if you have them. To send them, tell us about the room on our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design, then send a written quote.
Advice
FAQs: alcove units in Shortlands
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, changes inside that alter its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Shortlands?
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. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
What are your alcove units made from?
Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, depending on the part and the design. Your quote sets out the materials.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
Any vent in the chimney breast is kept clear when we design the units. A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp, so we never box a vent in.
Can you make alcove units for a home in Shortlands?
Yes. We cover Shortlands and the rest of Bromley, as part of our work across all London boroughs. To get a quote, get in touch through our contact form.
Living-room storage in Shortlands
About 29% of the homes in the streets around Shortlands went up between 1919 and 1939, and about 26% between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). 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. Within a mile of the centre of Shortlands, 7 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Bromley included. Vans bringing furniture to Shortlands fall under it, just as they do across the rest of London. We plan parking and access with you at the measuring visit.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Corner House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. For a family home near Highfield Infants' School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Shortlands is in the London Borough of Bromley, about 4 miles east of Orpington. We cover Shortlands as part of our work across Bromley, and the process is the same everywhere we work. In Bromley, Shortlands is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 49 places on our list.
Every home in BR2, BR1 and BR3 is within our area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Hayes Lane, Stone Road and Hayes Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Close by, we also work in Eden Park (1 mile south-west), Hayes (2 miles south), Bromley Common (2 miles south-east), West Wickham (2 miles south-west) and Southborough (2 miles east). Elsewhere in Bromley, we also cover Orpington (4 miles east), Beckenham (2 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (5 miles east), Chislehurst (3 miles north-east), Penge (3 miles north-west) and Anerley (3 miles west).
Local landmarks in Shortlands
In Shortlands, that includes homes near Holy Trinity College Bromley, Langley Park School for Girls and The Richmal Crompton pub. Shortlands’s nearest station is Shortlands station, roughly 0.5 miles north of the centre. A little further out are Bromley Hospital (0.7 miles east) and Bethlem Museum of the Mind (1.6 miles south-east).
How we price alcove units
To work out the quote, we look at:
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- How big the furniture is
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
Before the design visit
Before the design visit, it helps us to know about:
- Anything in the way, such as radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- How you want to use the space
Rough measurements are fine at the start. We measure everything properly at the design visit. To get started, use our contact form with some details about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Nearby places to Shortlands
Other services in Shortlands
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
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. In an extended or opened-up house, old and new walls often meet slightly out of line, and straight-sided ready-made units make that obvious. Fitted pieces are scribed to both.
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Shortlands
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- More than 300 projects completed
- Built around your room
Take a look at bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what to look for in a quote.