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Bromley · London
Alcove units in Upper Ruxley, Bromley
Thinking about alcove units in Upper Ruxley? We start with a design visit and a written quote.
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Bare alcoves beside the fireplace
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
Alcove units in Upper Ruxley
Alcove units for homes in Upper Ruxley
One alcove can be given over to a desk, with shelving overhead and storage underneath. It is a neat way to work from home without giving up a whole room. We plan the desk height and depth with you. People normally come to us about units that sit well with original features and room to work in an alcove, and the answer is made at our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
A good share of the homes around Upper Ruxley were built in the post-war years, between 1945 and the early 1970s. Rooms from that era are often squarer than in older houses, and many have no chimney breast at all. So alcove units often run along a whole wall, or create their own recesses around the screen or a window. Walls may be concrete, block or brick, so fixings are chosen for the wall.
Where other trades are needed, for example an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Upper Ruxley (DA14)
- Area
- Bromley
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What alcove units can’t fix
We make and fit furniture, and we do not do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Redecorating, which is for your decorator
- Electrical work, such as new sockets or switches, which is for your electrician
- Replastering, which is a plasterer’s job
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can drop us a line using the contact form and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Materials and parts
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
- Spray-painted finish
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
Tips worth knowing
The finish lasts best with a little care, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Mention parking and access when we visit
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
- Make the alcoves easy to reach for measuring
- Make a rough list of what the cupboards need to hold
Paint is dry to the touch well before it has fully cured. For the first while, treat the units gently, lifting things rather than sliding them and avoiding any scrubbing.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade.
FAQs: alcove units in Upper Ruxley
Do you cover homes near Swanley station?
Yes. We cover all of Bromley and the rest of London. You can drop us a line using the contact form to arrange a design visit, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Do you make alcove units for homes in Upper Ruxley?
Yes, we work across Bromley, Upper Ruxley included, and across the rest of London. To get started, you can drop us a line using the contact form with a few details.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
We offer spray painting in the workshop and hand painting on site. Spray painting gives a smooth, factory-like finish, while hand painting suits a softer, traditional look and is simple to touch up. We’ll help you choose during the design visit.
What affects the price of alcove units?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how tricky the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, by arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you contact us.
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work is not something we do. If you want sockets moved or added, your electrician should do that before we fit, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We plan the units around the sockets, with cut-outs where needed.
Alcove units in Upper Ruxley: local notes
In the area around Upper Ruxley, the largest groups of homes date from between 1945 and 1972 (about 51%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 20%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Upper Ruxley include Old Church of St Botolph (Grade II), less than half a mile west, and Ruxley Farmhouse (Grade II), less than half a mile west. If your own home is listed, changes inside that alter its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, can require listed building consent. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Many London boroughs run controlled parking zones, and Bromley sets its own rules. If parking near you is controlled, a visitor permit or a bay suspension may be needed, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit.
Hall Place and Gardens, about 2.7 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. If you live in a flat close to Swanley station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. For a family home near Hope Community School, low doors that small hands can open, with books and ornaments higher up, suit a busy family room.
Upper Ruxley is part of the London Borough of Bromley, about 2 miles south-west of Orpington. From period terraces to newer flats in Upper Ruxley, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Upper Ruxley is one of the places in Bromley where we make alcove units.
Every address in DA14 is covered for alcove units. You will find streets here like Maidstone Road and Old Maidstone Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Close by, we also work in Ruxley (1 mile north-west), Foots Cray (1 mile west) and North Cray (1 mile north). Across the rest of Bromley, our area takes in Orpington (2 miles south-west), Bromley (5 miles west), Beckenham (7 miles west), St Mary Cray (2 miles south-west), Chislehurst (3 miles west) and Biggin Hill (8 miles south-west).
Near you in Upper Ruxley
The streets we cover here include those near Kemnal Technology College. For rail, the closest station is Swanley station, roughly 1.7 miles south-east of the centre. Nearby you will also find Queen Mary's Hospital (1.8 miles west). For a walk, there’s The Warren.
Fitting day, step by step
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. Most of the decisions were made during the design visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Parking near post-war estates can depend on residents’ bays and estate rules, so it helps to tell us at the design visit. Fitting day is the sections coming in, being joined and fixed in place. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You contact us with a few details about the chimney breast and alcoves.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square. Then we go through the design together.
- You get a written quote for the units, materials and finish.
- The units are built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- At fitting, we set each unit level on a plinth or feet and trim that edge to follow the wall. Spray-painted units arrive finished; hand-painted ones are painted once fitted.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
Arranging a design visit
Rough measurements are fine at the start. We measure everything properly at the design visit, along with the walls, floor and ceiling. To get started, send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room. The written quote follows the visit.
Read more
Also near Upper Ruxley
Also in Upper Ruxley
What it is made from
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribe strips are the edges we trim on site to follow the wall. It’s how a straight unit meets a wall that is not straight.
Shelves
Shelf thickness depends on the span and the load. Wider alcoves and heavy books need a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support.
Is bespoke worth it?
A bespoke unit takes longer to arrive than something from a shop: there’s a design visit, a quote and making time in the workshop. What you get is a unit planned for your alcove, not the nearest catalogue size. A ready-made unit pushed back to the wall leaves a gap above the skirting, and that gap catches dust and wastes depth. Built-in pieces sit tight to the wall, scribed over the skirting.
The inside of the furniture affects the price as well: drawers take more making than shelves, and each rail, divider or pull-out adds to the work. At the design visit, we work out what you need inside, and the quote follows.
What you get with us
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- More than 300 projects completed
- Designed for the room you have
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and what a quote should include.