Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Lewisham · London
Alcove Units in St Johns
We make alcove units for homes in St Johns, designed around the room you have. Your alcove unit is designed at a visit to your home and made in our workshop.
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Space for a growing book collection
Alcove units designed for your room
From workshop to your room
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room. Before we leave, we go over the finished piece together and answer any questions. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. On fitting day, the sections are assembled, scribed to the walls and levelled. The fixings suit whatever the walls are made of. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- You get in touch about alcove units and the room they’re for.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, including the paint finish. You can choose a spray-painted finish from our workshop or a hand-painted one done in your home.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in alongside the design and materials.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. If you chose spray painting, that’s done in the workshop too, for a smooth, even surface.
- We fit the units in your home and scribe them to the walls; a hand-painted finish is done on site after fitting and is easy to touch up later.
- New paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat the surfaces gently at first.
Before we arrive
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
Arranging a design visit
Getting a quote starts with a few details: the room, rough sizes and some photos if you have them. When you are ready, use our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a quote in writing.
Related advice
Alcove units in St Johns
We fit alcove units across Lewisham and the rest of London. It starts with a design visit, where we measure the alcoves and discuss the design. Then you receive a quote; the units are then made in our workshop and fitted in your home. We make alcove units from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are toys and paperwork with no proper home and space for a growing book collection.
Some living rooms in London have tall ceilings and cornices, while others have low, plain ceilings. In St Johns, as anywhere, we measure the height as carefully as the width, since it sets how tall alcove units can be. Each section is sized to fit the route into the room.
A written quote follows the design visit. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- St Johns (SE13, SE10, SE8)
- Borough
- Lewisham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What else we make in St Johns
The problems alcove units solve
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. An alcove unit can be shaped around what you own, with shelf heights and depths to suit.
A few of the things people ask us to solve are these:
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
- Shelving for books and records
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
For a family home near Ashmead Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Choosing a carpenter
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
Common questions about alcove units
Does a conservation area in or near St Johns affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with 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 need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Can you make alcove units for a home in St Johns?
Yes, St Johns is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Lewisham and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and talk through the design, followed by a quote.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It is up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but you might want a desk on one side and cupboards on the other. Shared details, like the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
Will alcove units fit if my walls aren’t straight?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so we scribe each unit to follow the wall. A plinth or adjustable feet set it level on a sloping floor.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
Either a spray-painted or a hand-painted finish. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish. We will help you choose at the measuring visit.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Every job is priced for its room: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You’ll get a written quote once we have measured up.
Alcove units in St Johns: local notes
About 36% of the homes in the neighbourhood around St Johns went up before 1919, and about 32% since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of St Johns include Church of the Ascension (Grade II*), about 0.6 miles east, and Church of St John (Grade II), under half a mile south-west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features such as panelling can require listed building consent. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. Red routes, run by TfL, have strict rules on stopping and loading. If your home in St Johns is on or near a main road, tell us at the design visit. We can then plan where the van will stop.
Close to Brookmill Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. If you live in a flat close to St Johns station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
St Johns is about 1 mile west of New Cross, in the London Borough of Lewisham. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, St Johns included. In Lewisham, St Johns is one of the places we cover.
We make alcove units across SE13, SE10 and SE8 for alcove units. We cover homes on streets such as Avon Road, Mill Lane and Clare Road, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Main roads around St Johns include the A2210 and A2211. Close by, we also work in New Cross (1 mile west), Deptford (1 mile north), Lewisham (1 mile south-east), Telegraph Hill (1 mile west) and Ladywell (1 mile south). Elsewhere in Lewisham, we also cover Catford (2 miles south), Surrey Canal (2 miles north-west), Sydenham (3 miles south-west), Hither Green (2 miles south-east), Perry Vale (3 miles south) and Bell Green (3 miles south). St Johns is one of the larger places we cover in Lewisham.
Landmarks near St Johns
The streets we cover here include those near Laban Centre, Wickham Arms and St. Paul's, among other places. There is a railway station in St Johns itself: St Johns station. Other landmarks nearby include Miller General Hospital (within half a mile north) and Greenwich Castle (1.1 miles north-east). Open spaces near St Johns include Brookmill Road Local Nature Reserve.
What affects the cost of alcove units
The price for your room depends on:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- How big the furniture is
- Parking near your home
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying. We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit.
What to send when you get in touch
Some details help us understand the job before we visit. When you contact us, it’s useful to send:
- What the furniture needs to hold
- The type of home and how the room is reached
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
- Approximate measurements of the space
To make a start, use our contact form and tell us which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. We then arrange a design visit to measure and talk through the design, and send you a written quote afterwards.
Looking after your furniture
These points come up often when people plan alcove units. They help whatever the room:
- Plan any new sockets with your electrician before fitting
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
Make a note of the paint colour used for future touch-ups. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
Put coasters or mats under anything that holds water. Dry any spills quickly.
Flats, leases and landlords
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations. We cannot give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants. An agent can arrange access for you.