Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Lambeth · London
Alcove units in South Bank, Lambeth
For homes in South Bank, 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.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Units that sit well with original features
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Need alcove units in South Bank?
Alcove units in South Bank: what you get
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Alcove units turn that space into cupboards and shelves that look as though they belong there. If your home in South Bank has alcoves like these, each alcove gets a unit designed for it, starting with a design visit to measure. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and the usual reasons to get in touch are bare alcoves beside the fireplace and old alcove cupboards that have seen better days.
Most homes around South Bank are purpose-built flats, so the route in is part of the plan. Alcove units are made in sections sized to go up the stairs, into the lift and through the front door, then joined and scribed in the room. If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before anything is fixed to the walls.
The quote comes in writing, so you can read it at your own pace and talk it over at home. It records the design, the materials and the finish we discussed.
- Location
- South Bank (SE1, WC2E, WC2N)
- Area
- Lambeth
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
From workshop to your room
The last stage of the day is the finish. If the furniture was spray painted in the workshop, we fill the fixing holes and touch up on site; hand painting, if that is what you chose, can be done in place once everything is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. Loading near a block of flats can take some planning, so let us know about bays, permits or any loading area during the design visit. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You tell us which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, each one sized to its own alcove.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
Before fitting day
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Ask for a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To arrange a visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Advice
FAQs: alcove units in South Bank
I live in a flat in South Bank. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. Alcove units are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
I live near London Waterloo station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Lambeth and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can use our contact form with a few details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Can you fit a desk into an 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.
Can I send pictures before the visit?
Yes, they help. Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling, give us a good idea of the space. To send them, send us a few details through our contact form.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. We do not treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
We do not do electrical work. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
Also near South Bank
What else we make in South Bank
Why people ask for alcove units in South Bank
For some, it’s about books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with each shelf set to suit it.
A few of the things people ask us to solve include:
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Shelving for books and records
- Clutter with nowhere to go
If your children go to Oasis Academy Johanna or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Choosing a carpenter
- How parking will work on your street
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
When you need someone else
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
- Decorating the rest of the room
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
What affects the price in South Bank
Several things affect the price:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- The overall size of the piece
- Where a van can park, such as a permit bay or a bay suspension
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
The finish affects the cost: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Getting in touch
Ahead of the design visit, we will typically ask about:
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- How you want to use the space
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Pictures of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
The design visit is where every quote starts. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and talk through the design with you. A quote in writing follows the visit for you to look over. To arrange the visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, after measuring the route during the design visit.
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.
South Bank homes and alcove units
Homes built before 1919 make up about 36% of the housing in the area around South Bank, with about 32% built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. South Bank is partly covered by the South Bank Conservation Area, one of the conservation areas recorded by Historic England. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If you want to be certain, ask the council’s planning team. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of inner London. For fitting in South Bank, a van normally needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. We ask about parking at the design visit, so the van can be planned for.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.4 miles north-west. If your own home is a period one, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. For an older house near St John's Church, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
South Bank is about 3 miles south of Stockwell, part of the London Borough of Lambeth. We work across all London boroughs and the City of London, and South Bank is part of that. Our Lambeth coverage includes South Bank.
In SE1, WC2E and WC2N, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street like York Road, Spur Road and Lower Road or on one nearby, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. The A301 and A302 runs close to South Bank; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. Nearby, we also make alcove units in Waterloo (1 mile south-east), Adelphi (1 mile north-west), Charing Cross (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north-east) and Aldwych (1 mile north). Other parts of Lambeth we cover include Stockwell (3 miles south), Kennington (2 miles south), Streatham (5 miles south), West Norwood (5 miles south), North Brixton (2 miles south) and Little Portugal (2 miles south).
Local landmarks in South Bank
We fit furniture in homes around The BFI Reuben Library, St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School and The Hole In The Wall pub, among other places. South Bank has its own railway station: London Waterloo station. Nearby you will also find Baynard's Castle (0.9 miles north-east) and Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women (a few minutes’ walk north-east). Green spaces nearby include Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.