Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Wandsworth · London
Streatham Park Alcove Units
Walls in older London homes are rarely straight, so we scribe the furniture to follow them. We make alcove units for homes in Streatham Park, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Room to work in an alcove
Alcove units in Streatham Park
Streatham Park homes and alcove units
About 63% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Streatham Park went up before 1919, and about 12% between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. We take that into account at the measuring visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Streatham Park include Roman Catholic Church of the English Martyrs (Grade II*), under half a mile east, and Yew Tree Lodge (Grade II), less than half a mile north-west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features like panelling can require listed building consent. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. More than half of the homes in the streets around Streatham Park (about 63%) were built before 1919, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Most London houses of that age have chimney breasts with an alcove either side in the main rooms, the classic place for alcove units, scribed to walls that are rarely straight.
If you live near Streatham Common, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it. If your home is one of the older houses near Parish Church of St Alban, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Streatham Park is in the London Borough of Wandsworth, about 3 miles north-west of Clapham Junction. Anywhere in Streatham Park, the process is the same: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. We list Streatham Park among 15 places we cover in Wandsworth.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: SW16, SW17 and SW12. You will find streets here like Lewin Road, Rydal Road and Natal Road, and we cover homes on all of them for alcove units. If you are just outside Streatham Park, we also cover Furzedown (1 mile south-west), Streatham (1 mile east), Tooting (1 mile west), Tooting Bec (1 mile west) and Hyde farm estate (1 mile north). We also make alcove units in nearby places like Clapham Junction (3 miles north-west), Battersea (3 miles north-west), Putney (4 miles north-west), Wandsworth (3 miles north-west), Southfields (3 miles north-west) and Earlsfield (2 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Streatham Park
We fit furniture in homes around Graveney School, The Holland Tringham pub and Furzedown Secondary School. The nearest railway station is Streatham station, roughly 0.5 miles east. Nearby you will also find Tooting Bec Hospital (a few minutes’ walk north-west) and London Sewing Machine Museum (0.9 miles north-west). Open spaces near Streatham Park include Oakleigh Way.
How we make alcove units for Streatham Park
A capped or blocked chimney should still be ventilated to help keep damp out of the breast. Units are planned so any vent stays clear. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting, as cupboards fitted over damp walls can suffer. If you’re living with units that sit well with original features and clutter with nowhere to go, that is what alcove units are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Picture rails, deep skirting boards and plaster cornices are part of the character of older houses, and they set the lines that alcove units have to meet. Homes built before 1919 make up a large share of the housing around Streatham Park, so those details are worth looking at closely at the measuring visit. The top line can stop at the rail or run on to the cornice, depending on the room.
Our quotes are written in plain words, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, all taken from the design visit.
- Where
- Streatham Park (SW16, SW17, SW12)
- Area
- Wandsworth
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Neighbourhoods near Streatham Park
What else we make in Streatham Park
When you need someone else
Electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering and structural work are not part of what we do. Please bear these in mind too:
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can tell us about the room on our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it is made from
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Panelled or flat doors
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Landlords furnishing a let use fitted furniture too, as it makes good use of an awkward room. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. If there’s a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Mention it when you get in touch.
Common questions about alcove units
Is Streatham Park in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes, Streatham Park is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Wandsworth and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, followed by a quote.
My home in Streatham Park is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
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. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it’s worth checking those early.
How long will the fitting take?
The fitting depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. We will talk you through what fitting day involves before we start.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need someone to let us in at the start of the day. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Will alcove units fit if my walls aren’t straight?
Yes. Few alcoves in older houses are truly square, so each unit is scribed to the wall on site. Adjustable feet or a plinth take care of a floor that slopes.
Can the two alcove units be different?
That depends on how you use the room. Alcoves are often different widths anyway, so each unit is made to its own measurements. They can share a style while doing different things.
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’s what you chose, can be done in place once everything is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. Hallways in period houses are often narrow, and the stairs turn sharply, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route in. Floors and stair carpets are protected on the way in and out, and the sections are joined and scribed in the room.
- You get in touch and let us know about the room and the alcoves, and we arrange a design visit at a time that suits you.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- You receive a written quote setting out the units, materials and finish, so you can look it over in your own time.
- Each unit is built in our workshop to the measurements we took, ready for a spray-painted finish or for hand painting on site.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves. Then we go through the doors and shelves with you.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Empty the space we will be working in
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Let us know about parking near your home
Getting a quote
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and discuss the design with you, and the written quote comes after. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Read more
Why people ask for alcove units in Streatham Park
A bedroom’s alcoves are often the best place for a wardrobe. Built into the alcove, a cupboard holds clothes without taking over the room, which matters in a smaller room.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Somewhere to keep books and records
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
- Everyday clutter left on show
If your children go to St Leonard's Church of England Primary School or a school nearby, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- A written quote that sets out the job
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
Materials and finishes
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.
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish often suits alcove units in older houses. You choose the colour, and touch-ups are simple if the units get marked later.