Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Bromley · London
Alcove Units in South Street
Planning alcove units for a home in South Street? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing, before anything is made.
- Alcoves that are not square
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Alcove units in South Street
About our alcove units in South Street
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 sit as part of the room. Where a room in South Street has a pair of alcoves, each alcove gets a unit designed for it, starting with a design visit to measure. Typical reasons to get in touch are old alcove cupboards that have seen better days and empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Ceilings in interwar houses tend to be lower than in Victorian ones, 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 South Street, the cornice may be plain or missing, so the furniture can run straight to the ceiling. Any skirting is cut around neatly.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Place
- South Street (TN16)
- Area
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: it needs a design visit, a quote and time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, not the nearest catalogue size. Bays, box rooms and stair bulkheads are where off-the-shelf furniture struggles most, and interwar homes often have all three. Fitted furniture is made around them.
Every room is priced on its own, 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.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in South Street
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- A design visit, then a written quote
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
Read bespoke vs off-the-shelf or what to look for in a quote.
Places near South Street
More for homes in South Street
How we price alcove units
When we put a quote together, we consider:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- How big the furniture is
- Parking and unloading on your street
The finish affects the cost: spray painting is done in the workshop, while hand painting can be done on site. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
What we need to know
To help us picture the room, please include:
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Where you live, with the postcode
- What the furniture needs to hold
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and discuss the design with you. A quote in writing follows the visit. To arrange the visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Questions from South Street
Will a conservation area stop me having alcove units fitted in South Street?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Do you cover homes near Oxted station?
Yes, homes across Bromley 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.
Do you move sockets for alcove units?
Your electrician handles sockets and wiring. Ideally it is done before fitting, and we can tell you where the units will sit so the sockets end up in the right place. The units are made with cut-outs and cable gaps to suit.
Will alcove units block the chimney vent?
We plan alcove units so any chimney vent stays clear. A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help stop damp and we design around it.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That depends on how you use the room. Alcoves are often different widths anyway. They can match in style while doing different jobs.
Which finishes are there for alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We will help you choose during the design visit.
Living-room carpentry in South Street: local notes
About 29% of the homes in the area around South Street went up between 1945 and 1972, and about 25% between 1973 and 1999, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of South Street include Cottage Orne (Grade II), less than half a mile south-east. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can need listed building consent from the council, for instance removing or fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. A quarter or more of the homes in the neighbourhood around South Street (about 29%) were built between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Rooms from that era are often squarer, with fewer alcoves and sometimes no chimney breast, so alcove units often run along a full wall, fixed to suit the wall, which may be concrete or block.
The wider area includes historic houses such as Titsey Place, about 2.1 miles south-west. For a period home anywhere nearby, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. For an older house near Church of St Mary the Virgin, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place. If you live in a flat close to Oxted station, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room.
South Street is in the London Borough of Bromley, about 6 miles north of Orpington. Design visits and fitting in South Street can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. South Street is one of 49 places on our list for Bromley.
We make alcove units across the TN16 postcode area for alcove units. Elsewhere in Bromley, we also cover Orpington (6 miles north), Bromley (7 miles north), Beckenham (8 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (7 miles north), Chislehurst (8 miles north) and Shortlands (7 miles north).
Landmarks near South Street
For rail, the closest station is Oxted station, roughly 3.7 miles south-west. Open spaces near South Street include Betsom's Hill.
Honest limits
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- Curing damp, which needs the right specialist
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can tell us about the room on our contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
Fitting day, step by step
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Semis and detached houses often have a front path or a side gate, which can make carrying in easier. Gates, paths and steps up to the door are part of the route we measure. Floors are covered from the door to the room, and the sections are assembled in place.
- To begin, fill in our short enquiry form; a brief note on the room and the alcoves is enough.
- At the design visit we measure the alcoves and also the way in: the front door, the hall and any stair turns.
- We then send a written quote for the units.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls.
Preparing the room
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
Arranging a design visit
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if you do not, that’s fine, and we can work it out together. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote then sets it out. To arrange a visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Advice
Flats, leases and landlords
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.
For flats on red routes or busy main roads, unloading takes some planning. TfL runs the red routes, and the stopping rules are strict, so tell us about it during the design visit.