Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in Single Street
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Single Street. After a design visit and a quote in writing, it’s made at our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Shelving for books and records
Alcove units designed for your room
How we make alcove units for Single Street
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. A plinth can be set to line up with the skirting for a tidy line around the room. We agree these details at the measuring visit. Most enquiries start with tired cupboards in the alcoves and space for a growing book collection; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Many houses from between the wars, and many semis, have been extended or opened up inside, and around Single Street, interwar houses, semis and detached homes make up a large share of the housing. A long through room gives alcove units a whole wall to work with. An extension’s plasterboard walls need different fixings from the original brick or block.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Location
- Single Street (TN16)
- Area
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What prompts alcove units in Single Street
Sometimes there are old units already, worn, badly fitted or the wrong size for how you live. Starting again lets you rethink the layout, from the shelf heights to the doors.
Some of the things we are asked to solve are these:
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Space for a growing book collection
For a family home near Cudham Church of England Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Where they’ll park and unload
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Whether you will get a written quote, not just a figure
Single Street homes and alcove units
About 29% of the homes in the streets around Single Street went up between 1945 and 1972, and about 25% between 1973 and 1999, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Near the centre of Single Street, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Peter and St Paul (Grade II*), under half a mile east, and Bell Cottage (Grade II), less than half a mile north-west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features such as panelling may need listed building consent. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. About 29% of homes in the streets around Single Street were built between 1945 and 1972, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Post-war rooms tend to be simple shapes, often without a chimney breast, so a full wall of alcove units is often the answer, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block.
Down House, about 1 mile north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. Living in a block of flats near Chelsfield station? Then the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Single Street is about 5 miles north of Orpington, within the London Borough of Bromley. We cover Single Street as part of our work across Bromley, and the process is the same everywhere we work. Our Bromley coverage includes Single Street.
Here we cover the TN16 postcode area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets like Berry's Hill and Single Street, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. We also cover the places around Single Street: Berry's Green (1 mile south), Luxted (1 mile north-west) and Aperfield (1 mile south-west). Elsewhere in Bromley, we also cover Orpington (5 miles north), Bromley (6 miles north), Beckenham (7 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (5 miles north), Chislehurst (7 miles north) and Plaistow (7 miles north).
Around Single Street
In Single Street, that includes homes near Charles Darwin School and The Old Jail Public House, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Chelsfield station, about 3.3 miles north-east. Green spaces nearby include Downe Bank.
From workshop to your room
Once the main sections are fixed in place, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly, then checked again. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Clearing the room and the way in beforehand helps the day run well. Fitting day starts with protecting the floors and setting out the pieces. Each piece is levelled, scribed where the wall wanders and fixed to suit the wall.
- You send us some details about the alcoves and what you’d like in them.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- We send a quote in writing for the units, for you to read through at your own pace.
- We make the cupboards and shelves in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit them in your home, scribing them to the walls.
Before we arrive
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
Arranging a design visit
Rough sizes are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, use our contact form with a few details about the room. You receive a quote in writing after the visit.
Advice
How it is made
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done in your home once the units are in. Small marks are easy to touch up, and it suits a period room.
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.
Questions we are often asked
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Chelsfield station?
Yes. We cover all of Bromley and the rest of London. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with a few details about the room.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Single Street?
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. It’s useful to let us know about parking during the design visit.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
It depends on the room and the look you want. 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 measuring visit.
Is it possible to have a desk built into one alcove?
Yes. One alcove can take a desk with shelves above and a drawer or cupboard beneath. We plan the height and depth with you.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Typically not. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. If the building is listed, works affecting its character can require listed building consent, so check with the council first.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Electrical work isn’t something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
Flats, conversions and lettings
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let, as it makes good use of an tricky room. It is made from the same moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood as any of our work, finished by spray or by hand.
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, unloading takes some planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so it is worth raising at the design visit.
Also near Single Street
Other services in Single Street
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job, and it is quick to buy.
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. How much a shelf bends depends on its span, depth and load, and long runs need a thicker shelf, a lip along the front or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.