Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Southwark · London
Alcove units in Surrey Quays, Southwark
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Surrey Quays. Every piece is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Storage that suits a period room
- Standard units leaving gaps at the sides
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
Ask about alcove units in Surrey Quays
Tips worth knowing
Getting the most from alcove units starts with the planning and carries on after fitting day. Here are some things worth bearing in mind:
- Move things out of the alcoves so we can measure properly
- Note the sizes of large things you want to store
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
Keep any chimney vent clear once the units are in. Ventilation helps keep the chimney breast dry.
Avoid placing a heater hard up against the units, as strong heat can mark paint over time.
About our alcove units in Surrey Quays
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. If your home in Surrey Quays has alcoves like these, we design a unit for each one. People usually come to us about a desk that tucks into an alcove and cupboards in keeping with an older house; the furniture is made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
A large share of the homes around Surrey Quays date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes rarely come with any built-in shelving or media storage. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with cable routes built in. Plasterboard on studs takes fitted furniture well, as long as the fixings suit it.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish.
- Place
- Surrey Quays (SE16, SE8, SE15)
- Area
- Southwark
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions about alcove units
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Surrey Quays?
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. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
How do you fit alcove units in a flat in Surrey Quays?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Are alcove units spray painted or hand painted?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. A sprayed finish is very smooth and even. We talk through both during the design visit.
Can alcove units be fitted to uneven walls?
Yes. Each alcove is measured during the design visit, make the units in our workshop and trim the edges on site to meet the wall, so there are no awkward gaps.
Do both alcove units have to match?
It’s up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. Shared details, such as the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
It is a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a written quote.
Living-room carpentry in Surrey Quays: local notes
In the area around Surrey Quays, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 42%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 26%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Near the centre of Surrey Quays, Historic England’s list includes The Terrace (Grade II), about 0.5 miles east, and Tide Gauge House on South Quay of Greenland Lock (Grade II), about 0.6 miles north-east. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can require listed building consent from the council. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. The Ultra Low Emission Zone has covered all of London since it reached the outer boroughs on 29 August 2023. That includes the vans that bring and fit furniture in Surrey Quays. Parking and access are planned at the design visit.
For families living near Rotherhithe Primary School, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. If you live in a flat close to Surrey Quays station, it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day. If you live near Deptford Park, alcove units can be planned to frame a window with a view rather than block it.
Surrey Quays is in the London Borough of Southwark, about 3 miles south-west of East Dulwich. Anywhere in Surrey Quays, the process is the same: a design visit, a quote in writing, furniture made at our workshop and fitting in your home. We list Surrey Quays among 21 places we cover in Southwark.
Every home in SE16, SE8 and SE15 is covered for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. We cover homes on streets like Bush Road, Gomm Road and Lower Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Surrey Quays sits close to the A200 and A2208, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. We also cover the places around Surrey Quays: Rotherhithe (1 mile north), Surrey Canal (1 mile south-west), South Bermondsey (1 mile south-west), Millwall (1 mile east) and North Greenwich (1 mile east). Elsewhere in Southwark, we also cover East Dulwich (3 miles south-west), Herne Hill (3 miles south-west), Elephant and Castle (2 miles west), Bankside (3 miles north-west), Southwark (2 miles west) and St George's Fields (3 miles west).
What’s near Surrey Quays
Our area takes in the homes around Spa School, The Surrey Docks pub and Bacon's College. Surrey Quays has its own railway station: Surrey Quays station. Well-known places in the area include Brunel Museum (0.8 miles north-west) and Tower of London (1.8 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Lavender Pond.
From workshop to your room
Once the main sections are fixed in place, we hang any doors and fit any drawers or lids. We adjust each one so the gaps line up and it closes cleanly, and then we check it all again. The time the fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Before fixing into a stud wall, we check for pipes and cables, and heavy pieces are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor. Any new sockets or plumbing are for your electrician or plumber.
- You contact us about the alcoves you want to fill.
- A design visit follows, where we measure up and agree the layout with you. If one alcove needs a desk or a TV space, this is when we plan it.
- A written quote follows, with the finish set out.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. A spray-painted finish is applied there too, if that is what you chose.
- The units are fitted in your home, ready to fill. Any scribing to the walls is done on the day.
Preparing the room
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician beforehand
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
How to get a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Surrey Quays, use our contact form. Let us know which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, with sizes if you have them. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
Related advice
Is bespoke worth it?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: there is a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove. In a newer flat, big flat-pack units can be hard to get into the lift or through the door, whereas fitted furniture is made in sections that fit. The sections are joined and fixed once inside.
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
Why choose us
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Over 300 projects completed
- Fitted tight to walls that are not straight
Read bespoke vs off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
What it’s made from
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, which makes it a good choice for shelves and carcasses. You can paint its layered edge or leave it on show.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting lets the colour be judged in the room itself. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
What affects the price in Surrey Quays
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. The things that affect it are:
- Awkward walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- The width and height of the space
- The finish: spray painted or hand painted
- The internal fittings
Rooms that are not square take more work: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. That is reflected in the quote, written once we have measured up.
What we need to know
To help us picture the room, please include:
- A few pictures of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
- Examples of the look you are after
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Approximate measurements of the space
We quote once we have seen the room. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and discuss the design with you, then send a written quote. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To book a design visit, get in touch through our contact form.