Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Wandsworth · London
Alcove Units in Tooting Bec
Planning alcove units for a home in Tooting Bec? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing, before anything is made.
- Shop-bought shelving that does not fill the recess
- A place for a small desk
- Shelving for books and records
Ask about alcove units in Tooting Bec
Caring for painted furniture
The finish lasts best with a little care, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. These practical tips help:
- Clear the alcoves before the design visit if you can
- Book your electrician first if sockets need moving
- Bring the sizes of anything that has to fit in the cupboards
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
Load the shelves evenly rather than piling weight in the middle. Books weigh more than most people expect.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. The cause is a job for the right trade, not something paint will hide.
Alcove units in Tooting Bec
In a typical Victorian or Edwardian terrace, the chimney breast leaves an alcove on either side of it. Built-in alcove units put that space to work as cupboards and shelving that sit as part of the room. If your home in Tooting Bec has alcoves like these, each alcove gets a unit designed for it. Typical reasons to get in touch are bare alcoves beside the fireplace and shelving for books and records; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
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. A large share of the housing around Tooting Bec went up before 1919, 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.
The written quote puts the design visit in writing: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If something isn’t quite right, tell us before anything is made.
- Location
- Tooting Bec (SW17, SW19, CR4)
- Area
- Wandsworth
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Fitting day, step by step
You’re welcome to ask questions while we work. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so the day itself is about careful fitting. How long fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Original hallway tiles and old floorboards are worth protecting, so they’re covered before anything comes in. Fixings into older walls are made carefully, as lath and plaster can crack if treated roughly. Any decorating around the new pieces is for your decorator.
- You send us some details about the alcoves and what you’d like in them.
- We visit to measure the alcoves and discuss the design, checking how far the walls are out of square.
- You receive a quote in writing setting out the units, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves, so they sit tight to the chimney breast.
Before we arrive
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Tell us about parking near your home
Starting with a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. At the visit, we measure, look at the walls and floors and discuss the design with you, then send a quote in writing. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To book a design visit, use our contact form.
Read more
Alcove units in Tooting Bec: local notes
In the streets around Tooting Bec, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 64%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 11%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. That matters for alcove units, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. 4 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of the centre of Tooting Bec. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of inner London. So a van fitting furniture in Tooting Bec usually needs a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension arranged through the council. Parking is worth mentioning at the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
If your children go to St Boniface RC Primary School or a school nearby, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room. If you live in a flat close to Tooting station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Tooting Bec is about 2 miles north of Clapham Junction, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. We cover Tooting Bec as part of our work across Wandsworth. Our Wandsworth coverage includes Tooting Bec and the places around it.
In SW17, SW19 and CR4, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street such as Vant Road, Byton Road and Avarn Road or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for alcove units. We also cover the places around Tooting Bec: Tooting (1 mile south-east), Colliers Wood (1 mile south), Furzedown (1 mile east), Summerstown (1 mile north-west) and Streatham Park (1 mile east). Across the rest of Wandsworth, our area takes in Clapham Junction (2 miles north), Battersea (2 miles north), Putney (3 miles north-west), Wandsworth (2 miles north-west), Southfields (2 miles north-west) and Roehampton (4 miles north-west).
Around Tooting Bec
Around Tooting Bec, we cover homes near Ensham School, King's Head pub and Ernest Bevin College, among other places. Tooting Bec’s nearest station is Tooting station, roughly 0.6 miles south of the centre. Nearby you will also find Grove Hospital (within half a mile south-west) and London Sewing Machine Museum (0.6 miles north-east). Open spaces near Tooting Bec include Myrna Close.
Why people ask for alcove units in Tooting Bec
Often the alcoves are simply the biggest unused space in the room. Off-the-shelf furniture rarely fits them, leaving gaps at the sides and above. A fitted unit fills the recess up to the ceiling if you want.
Alcove units can help with:
- Everyday clutter left on show
- A place for a small desk
- Bowed walls and sloping floors
- Shelving for books and records
Close to Wandle Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- Whether they can show you real projects they’ve done
Questions from Tooting Bec
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Tooting Bec?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. It is useful to let us know about parking during the design visit, so we can plan the day around it.
My home in Tooting Bec is a period house with walls that are not straight. Is that a problem?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Should both alcoves have the same units?
It’s entirely your choice. The two alcoves are often slightly different sizes. They can share a style while doing different things.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. We don’t treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. You do not need to watch us work, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. Height and depth are agreed with you, with a way planned for cables to reach the sockets.
Neighbourhoods near Tooting Bec
More for homes in Tooting Bec
How it is made
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is stiff, strong and grips screws firmly, so it’s ideal for shelves and the boxes behind the doors. You can paint its layered edge or leave it on show.
Hand-painted finish
With a hand-painted finish, you see the colour in your own light before the final coat. It also means any filling around scribed edges is painted in one go.
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
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, so fitting day is planned around them.
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, and that often means a shared hallway and a tight turn on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind.