Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Waddon Alcove Units
Planning alcove units for a home in Waddon? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Worn or badly fitted alcove units
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Clutter with nowhere to go
Alcove units for your home in Waddon
Flats, conversions and lettings
If the property is let, we will need access agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you.
Blocks of flats often have their own rules on lift bookings, entry systems and times for trades. Let us know about them at the design visit.
Alcove units for homes in Waddon
We make alcove units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, chosen part by part. MDF gives smooth doors and panels that take paint well, while birch plywood is strong and holds screws well. The finish is spray painted in the workshop or hand painted on site, in the colour you choose. Most enquiries start with toys and paperwork with no proper home and furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Wherever your home in Waddon sits in London’s mix of housing, the furniture is designed around your room rather than a standard size. Period rooms bring sloping floors and mouldings; newer rooms bring stud walls and service boxing. We measure for whichever you have, and the pieces are made to suit.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both, depending on the design. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Place
- Waddon (CR0, CR2, SM6)
- Area
- Croydon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Do you need alcove units in Waddon?
Sometimes it’s the clutter of a busy living room. Toys, games, post and chargers all need a home, and cupboards with doors keep them out of sight. Open shelves above are left for the things you like to see.
Alcove units can help with:
- Clutter with nowhere to go
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Furniture that does not fit the alcove
- Alcoves that aren’t square
If your children go to Aerodrome Primary Academy or a school nearby, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
What to check before you book
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Who does any electrics, plumbing or gas work
- How parking will work on your street
Tips worth knowing
A few practical points help before and after fitting day. These are worth keeping in mind:
- Talk to your electrician early if you want new sockets
- Have any damp looked at before the units are made
- Look for a chimney vent that needs to stay clear
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
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.
Every so often, check that hinges and handles haven’t worked loose and adjust a door before a small rub becomes a mark.
Questions from Waddon
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Waddon?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. 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 tell us about parking at the measuring visit.
I live near Waddon station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Croydon and the rest of London. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
What happens to the chimney vent when alcove units go in?
Any vent is kept clear in the design. Ventilation helps keep a capped chimney dry, which protects the units as well as the wall. If there’s damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that are not square?
Yes. Each alcove is measured at the measuring visit, make the units in our workshop and trim the edges on site to meet the wall, which closes the gaps you’d see with standard furniture.
How long will the fitting take?
The time on site depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. The units are built in our workshop first, so the time in your home is mostly fitting, scribing and finishing.
How is the price worked out?
It depends on the size, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish, along with access and parking. The price comes in a quote in writing after the design visit.
Other services in Waddon
Built-in living-room furniture in Waddon
Homes built before 1919 make up about 29% of the housing in the neighbourhood around Waddon, with about 25% built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how alcove units are fixed and fitted. The National Heritage List records 7 entries within half a mile of the centre of Waddon. You can check whether a particular building is listed on Historic England’s list. A quarter or more of the homes in the streets around Waddon (about 25%) were built since 2000, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). In homes built since 2000, living rooms are often open-plan with stud walls, so alcove units are fixed into the studs or stand on the floor.
Close to Duppas Hill? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green. If you live in a period home close to Church of St George, walls that bow and floors that slope are why alcove units are scribed to fit rather than pushed into place.
Waddon is about 2 miles north of Thornton Heath, in the London Borough of Croydon. We design and make alcove units for homes in Waddon. Our work takes in places right across Croydon, large and small.
Here we cover the CR0, CR2 and SM6 postcode area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Abbey Road, Alton Road and Epsom Road, along with the roads around them, for alcove units and any of our other fitted furniture. Other places close to Waddon include Old Town (1 mile north-east), Bandonhill (1 mile west), Beddington (1 mile north-west), Russell Hill (1 mile south-west) and Roundshaw (1 mile south-west). Other parts of Croydon we cover include Thornton Heath (2 miles north), Coulsdon (4 miles south), Purley (2 miles south), Upper Norwood (4 miles north), Selhurst (3 miles north-east) and South Norwood (3 miles north-east).
What’s near Waddon
Our area takes in the homes around The Waddon Hotel, Rutherford School and St Andrew's CofE School. Waddon has its own railway station: Waddon station. Well-known places in the area include Croydon Airport Visitor Centre (0.6 miles south-west) and Purley War Memorial Hospital (1.7 miles south). For a walk, there’s Roundshaw Downs.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
It’s worth being honest about cost: flat-pack is usually cheaper to buy. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is awkward, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. That is something we plan for in the design.
What happens on fitting day
You will not need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and it helps to have the room cleared beforehand. From there, we protect the floors, bring the furniture in and get on with the fitting. How long fitting takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. London parking ranges from controlled zones to driveways and private bays, so tell us what applies during the design visit. For a flat, building rules on lifts and working hours are worth checking.
- You let us know which room it is and roughly what you’d like in the alcoves.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail. We also talk through heights, doors and shelves.
- We send a written quote setting out the layout, materials and finish. If anything needs changing, just tell us.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop.
- Fitting day: the units go in, are scribed to the alcoves and levelled on a plinth or feet.
How to prepare
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
How to get a quote
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, when we’ve measured up and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.