Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Lambeth · London
Alcove units in Streatham Hill, Lambeth
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. Our work on alcove units in Streatham Hill starts with a design visit, and everything is built in our workshop.
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- Space for a growing book collection
- Units that sit well with original features
Alcove units designed for your room
Alcove units for homes in Streatham Hill
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that look as though they belong there. Where a room in Streatham Hill has a pair of alcoves, each alcove gets a unit designed for it after we have measured them at a design visit. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about somewhere to keep books and records and worn or badly fitted alcove units.
Homes in an area like Streatham Hill can come from many different periods, and a wall might be brick, lath and plaster, blockwork or plasterboard. We check what the walls are made of during the design visit, then choose the fixings. If your room has a chimney breast, the alcoves are an obvious place for alcove units; if not, a full wall works well.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the alcove unit designed for your room, its materials and its finish, and the workshop works from it.
- Where
- Streatham Hill (SW2, SW16, SW12)
- Area
- Lambeth
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and lift the floor protection. Before we go, we look over the finished furniture with you and explain how to look after the paint. How long the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. We measure the hall, stairs, doors and any lift not just the room, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route. We cover floors and doorways on the way in.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas.
- We visit to measure, look at how the walls run and note the skirting, picture rail and any vent.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level.
How to prepare
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Getting a quote
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough measurements and some pictures if you have them. To send them, fill in our short enquiry form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Related advice
What it is made from
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish suits alcove units in a period room. The colour is agreed with you, and touch-ups are simple if the units get marked later.
Shelves
How thick a shelf needs to be depends on how wide the alcove is and what it holds. For a wide span or heavy books, we use a thicker shelf, a lip on the front or a support.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Shelves in some flat-pack furniture are thin and can bow under books. Shelves in a bespoke unit are sized for the span and the load. That said, if you are renting or moving soon, a good off-the-shelf unit may make more sense. A standard unit is the same in every home, whatever the room is like, while fitted furniture is drawn for the room it goes into. It can be painted in a colour chosen for that room.
There’s no price list, because each job is designed for a single room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote. To start, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Why choose us
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Over 300 projects completed
- Saturday work by arrangement
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf or what to look for in a quote.
Neighbourhoods near Streatham Hill
More for homes in Streatham Hill
How we price alcove units
Several things affect the price:
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- The internal fittings
- The width and height of the space
- Spray painting or hand painting
In London, parking can affect the price. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. Tell us about parking during the design visit, so we can plan for it.
Helping us understand the room
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. When you get in touch, it is useful to send:
- How you want to use the space
- Approximate measurements of the space
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
To get a quote, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a written quote afterwards.
Streatham Hill homes and alcove units
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Streatham Hill were built before 1919 (about 36%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 23%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. The National Heritage List has 21 entries within half a mile of the centre of Streatham Hill. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and alcove units can be designed to work around them. Parking on many inner London streets is controlled, with zones run by each borough. A van working in Streatham Hill will normally need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension arranged through the council, which often needs notice. It is useful to tell us about parking during the design visit.
If you live near Streatham Common, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. Near listed buildings like Christ Church, under half a mile north of the centre of Streatham Hill, older homes may keep original joinery that alcove units can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. The wider area includes historic houses like Kingswood House, about 1.9 miles east. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at.
Streatham Hill is about 2 miles north of Stockwell, part of the London Borough of Lambeth. We can visit homes in Streatham Hill on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our work takes in places right across Lambeth.
We cover every part of SW2, SW16 and SW12 for alcove units. You will find streets here like Keymer Road, Romeyn Road and Palace Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. The A205 runs close to Streatham Hill; on busy main roads, unloading alcove units takes a little planning. If you’re just outside Streatham Hill, we also cover Tulse Hill (1 mile north-east), Hyde farm estate (1 mile west), Streatham (1 mile south), Grange Mills (1 mile west) and Clapham Park (1 mile north-west). Other parts of Lambeth we cover include Stockwell (2 miles north), Kennington (3 miles north), West Norwood (2 miles south-east), North Brixton (2 miles north), Little Portugal (2 miles north) and Clapham (2 miles north).
Around Streatham Hill
Our area takes in the homes around The Holland Tringham pub, City Heights E-ACT Academy and Tulse Hill School. Streatham Hill has its own railway station: Streatham Hill station. A little further out are Tooting Bec Hospital (1.4 miles south-west) and Clockworks Museum (1 mile south-east). Green spaces nearby include Knight's Hill.
What alcove units can’t fix
It helps to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Scribed side panels
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
FAQs: alcove units in Streatham Hill
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Streatham Hill?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking during the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Is Streatham Hill in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Streatham Hill is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Lambeth and London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details.
Do photos help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit, along with rough measurements. Show anything the furniture has to work around, like radiators or sockets.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so we allow for ventilation behind and inside the furniture to avoid condensation. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
How do I get started?
The first step is to tell us about the room on our contact form. We then arrange a design visit, measure up and send a written quote.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do.