Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Alcove Units in Silvertown
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Silvertown, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Space for a growing book collection
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units for your home in Silvertown
FAQs: alcove units in Silvertown
I live near Custom House station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Newham and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Does a conservation area in or near Silvertown affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
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.
How is the price worked out?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish, along with access and parking. We send a written quote after the design visit.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We talk through both at the design visit.
How tall should alcove units be?
It depends on the room and the look you want. Units can stop just under the picture rail or run up to the cornice. We agree the height during the design visit.
How we make alcove units for Silvertown
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In a bedroom, it can become a small wardrobe or a linen cupboard, and in a dining room a home for china and glass. We ask what you want to store before we plan the inside, so shelves and rails go where they’re needed. Most enquiries start with a place for a small desk and alcoves that aren’t square; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Many homes around Silvertown were built since 2000, and newer homes seldom have fitted storage in the living room. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with routes for cables designed in. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, which is fine for fitted furniture when the fixings are right.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both, depending on the design. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Location
- Silvertown (E16, SE10, SE7)
- Borough
- Newham
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
Getting everything level comes first. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference. Only then is it fixed to the wall, with fixings chosen to suit brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Fitting day starts by covering floors and setting out the sections. Each piece is levelled and fixed to suit plasterboard or block. Hand-painted finishes can be completed once the furniture is in.
- You contact us about the alcoves you want to fill, with a note of the room they’re in.
- We come to measure and talk through cupboards, shelves, heights and doors.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish set out, ready for you to check.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that’s what you chose.
- We bring them to your home and fit them in place.
Getting ready for fitting day
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
How to get a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and talk through the design with you, and the written quote comes after. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To book a design visit, use our contact form.
Related advice
The problems alcove units solve
In bedrooms, the alcoves may be the only place for hanging space. A fitted alcove cupboard holds clothes without filling the floor, which helps in a small bedroom.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Room to work in an alcove
- Alcoves that are wasted space
The wider area includes historic houses like Queen's House, about 1.9 miles south-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
Living-room carpentry in Silvertown: local notes
In the area around Silvertown, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 84%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 13%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. A conservation area lies within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Silvertown, according to Historic England’s records. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Your council can advise if you’re unsure. Purpose-built flats are home to about 89% of households in the area around Silvertown, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Building management rules on lifts, deliveries and working hours are worth checking early.
If you live near Thames Barrier Park, shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. For a flat near Custom House station, the lift, the stair turns and the front door all set the largest piece that can come in.
Silvertown is within the London Borough of Newham, about 2 miles north of Plaistow. Wherever you are in Silvertown, the process is the same: we visit and measure, send a quote in writing, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Our Newham coverage includes Silvertown and the places around it.
Every home in E16, SE10 and SE7 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. You will find streets here like Booth Road, Thames Road and Knights Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Nearby, we also make alcove units in West Silvertown (1 mile north-west), Custom House (1 mile north), Royal Docks (1 mile north-east), Canning Town (1 mile north) and Limmo Peninsula (1 mile north-west). Across the rest of Newham, our area takes in Plaistow (2 miles north), Stratford (3 miles north-west), Forest Gate (4 miles north), East Ham (2 miles north-east), Upton Park (2 miles north) and Greengate (2 miles north).
Near you in Silvertown
Our area takes in the homes around Anchor & Hope pub and The Royal Docks Community School. The closest station to Silvertown is Custom House station, roughly 0.7 miles north. Nearby you’ll also find Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital (0.9 miles north) and Charlton Athletic Museum (1 mile south). Not far away are Gilbert's Pit.
Flat-pack or bespoke?
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder, because scribing and the right fixings start to matter.
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there’s often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
In fairness, standalone furniture comes with you when you move. Fitted alcove units stay with the house and remain when you move on. It depends on how long you expect to stay. Rooms in newer homes are often compact, and standard depths can take too much floor, whereas fitted pieces can be as shallow as the space needs. It still uses the full height.
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. The price depends mainly on the size of the piece, how many doors and drawers it has and what goes inside.
Why us?
- Built around your room
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
Caring for painted furniture
People planning alcove units often ask about these. They help whatever the room:
- Check whether there’s a vent in the chimney breast
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. Books weigh more than most people expect.
Keep heaters and very hot lamps from standing right against the paintwork, as strong heat can mark paint over time.