Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Newham · London
Alcove Units in Upton Park
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. Our work on alcove units in Upton Park starts with a design visit, and everything is built in our workshop.
- Units that sit well with original features
- A desk that tucks into an alcove
- Everyday clutter left on show
Alcove units in Upton Park
From workshop to your room
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so neighbours may appreciate a note before fitting day. Each section is sized for the tightest door or turn. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind.
- We come to measure the alcoves, look at the walls and agree the design with you.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out, for you to read through at your own pace.
- The units are built in our workshop.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
Preparing the room
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
Ask for a quote
To get a quote for alcove units in Upton Park, drop us a line using the contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, plus any rough measurements. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
Read more
Alcove units in Upton Park
Most Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses have a chimney breast in the main rooms, with an alcove on each side. Alcove units turn that space into cupboards and shelves that sit as part of the room. Where a room in Upton Park has a pair of alcoves, each alcove gets a unit designed for it. We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand, and the usual reasons to get in touch are somewhere to keep books and records and empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast.
In a house from the Victorian or Edwardian years, the front room typically keeps its chimney breast even where the fireplace has gone. That matters around Upton Park, as a large share of the homes there were built before 1919. Alcove units built into the recesses either side are scribed to the plaster and cut around the skirting.
Once you’ve read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is made at our workshop. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so you can check every detail beforehand.
- Where
- Upton Park (E13, E6, E7)
- Borough
- Newham
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after fitting day
New paint needs time to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. Beyond that, these tips help:
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Check whether there is a vent in the chimney breast
- Tell us about parking and access during the design visit
Paint is dry to the touch well before it has fully cured. At first, go gently with the new paintwork: lift things onto the shelves rather than sliding them, and don’t scrub the surfaces.
Use a mat under plants, vases and drinks, since standing water can mark painted shelves. Dry any spills quickly.
Is bespoke worth it?
Alcoves vary in depth, and the chimney breast decides how far a unit can come out. Standard cabinets can stand proud of the breast or sit too far back. We set the depth to suit the room, whether that is flush with the breast or a little shallower. Chimney breasts in older houses stand out by different amounts, so the recesses either side are rarely the same, which means a matching pair of ready-made units seldom fits both. Fitted furniture is made to each one separately.
Rooms that are not square take more work: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Upton Park
- Built around your room
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Every London borough and the City of London covered
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Read our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and what a quote should include.
When you need someone else
We’d rather be clear about where our work stops:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Removing or altering a chimney breast, which is structural work
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
Not sure whether your space suits alcove units? You can tell us about the room on our contact form and we’ll tell you before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What it is made from
- Birch plywood
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Adjustable shelves
- Panelled or flat doors
How it’s made
Spray-painted finish
A sprayed coat covers edges and corners evenly and leaves no brush marks. You choose the colour at the design stage.
Plinths and scribe strips
Most alcoves need scribing on both sides and sometimes at the top. It’s what makes a fitted unit look fitted.
Other services in Upton Park
Built-in living-room furniture in Upton Park
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Upton Park were built before 1919 (about 69%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 11%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Near the centre of Upton Park, Historic England’s list includes Boleyn Public House (Grade II), less than half a mile south, and Passmore Edwards Library (Grade II), about 0.5 miles south-west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features such as panelling can require listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. The share of homes built before 1919 around Upton Park, about 69%, is well above the figure for Newham as a whole, about 37%, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). That makes period details like uneven walls, alcoves and picture rails more likely to shape the design.
If you live near West Ham Park, alcove units can be arranged to keep the window and the light clear. If your home is one of the older houses near St Martin's Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If you live in a flat close to Woodgrange Park station, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, landings and lift, so measuring the route matters as much as measuring the room.
Upton Park is in the London Borough of Newham, about 1 mile south-west of Plaistow. Design visits and fitting in Upton Park can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. Across Newham, we cover Upton Park.
Every home in E13, E6 and E7 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. We cover homes on streets such as May Road, Fry Road and Cave Road, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. If you are just outside Upton Park, we also cover Greengate (1 mile south-west), Upton (1 mile north-west), Plaistow (1 mile south-west), Plashet (1 mile north-east) and East Ham (1 mile east). We also make alcove units in nearby places such as Stratford (2 miles west), Maryland (2 miles west), East Village (2 miles north-west), Three Mills (2 miles west), Mill Meads (2 miles west) and Custom House (2 miles south).
Local landmarks in Upton Park
The streets we cover here include those near Lister Community School, The Service for Deaf and Partially Hearing Children and Boleyn Tavern, among other places. For rail, the closest station is Woodgrange Park station, about 1.2 miles north of the centre. A little further out are Newham University Hospital (0.7 miles south) and West Ham United Football Club Museum (close by, under half a mile east).
Questions from Upton Park
Do you make alcove units for homes in Upton Park?
Yes, Upton Park is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Newham and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
My home in Upton Park 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. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
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. If there is damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.
How is the price worked out?
Every job is priced for its room: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. The written quote follows the design visit.
How tall should alcove units be?
That’s your choice. Some people take the units right to the ceiling for the most storage, while a low cupboard with shelves above keeps the room feeling lighter. We will go through what suits your room when we visit.
How long will the fitting take?
It depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. We’ll talk you through what fitting day involves before we start.