Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Sutton · London
Wallington Alcove Units
Cupboards and shelves built into the alcoves beside a chimney breast, for homes in Wallington. After a design visit and a quote in writing, it is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- A place for a small desk
- Alcoves that are not square
Alcove units designed for your room
Where other trades come in
As carpenters, we leave some work to other trades. These are worth knowing before you plan:
- New sockets or wiring (your electrician handles those)
- Finding and fixing the cause of damp
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can fill in our short enquiry form and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
What it’s made from
- Birch plywood
- Adjustable shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Scribed side panels
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
Alcove units for homes in Wallington
Some alcoves suit a full-height unit, with doors from floor to ceiling. In bedrooms, this often becomes a compact wardrobe or a place for bedding, while in a dining room it can keep china, glass and table linen. At the design visit we ask what you plan to keep there, and set out the shelves and rails around it. If you are living with furniture that doesn’t fit the alcove and a place for a small desk, that is what alcove units are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Homes in an area like Wallington can come from many different periods, so the walls behind alcove units could be solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. We check what the walls are made of at the measuring visit, then choose the fixings. With a chimney breast, alcove units usually fill the alcoves; without one, they can run along a whole wall.
Where other trades are needed, for example an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Where
- Wallington (SM6, SM5)
- Area
- Sutton
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Alcove units for homes in Wallington
About 30% of the homes in the area around Wallington went up before 1919, and about 29% between 1919 and 1939, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. It is 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 Wallington include Church of All Saints (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles west, and Church of the Holy Trinity (Grade II), less than half a mile west. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features such as panelling may need listed building consent. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Parking controls in London are set borough by borough, so Sutton has its own. Where a street in Wallington is controlled, a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension from the council. Parking near your home is worth mentioning during the design visit.
Close to Carshalton Park? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone. If your home is one of the older houses near Church of the Holy Trinity, picture rails and cornices give alcove units a line to finish at. If you live in a flat close to Wallington station, it helps to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Wallington is about 2 miles west of Sutton, in the London Borough of Sutton. We can visit homes in Wallington on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Our work takes in places right across Sutton.
We make alcove units across the SM6 and SM5 postcode area for alcove units. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Wallington Square, London Road and Maldon Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want alcove units or another piece made for the room. Wallington is near the A237 and B271, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. Close by, we also work in Bandonhill (1 mile east), Carshalton (1 mile west), Beddington (1 mile north-east), The Wrythe (1 mile north-west) and Roundshaw (1 mile south-east). Across the rest of Sutton, our area takes in Sutton (2 miles west), North Cheam (3 miles west), Benhilton (2 miles west), Sutton Common (2 miles north-west), Rosehill (2 miles north-west) and St Helier (2 miles north-west). Wallington is one of the larger places we cover in Sutton.
Landmarks near Wallington
In Wallington, that includes homes near Wallington County Grammar School and Dukes Head Public House, among other places. There’s a railway station in Wallington itself: Wallington station. Nearby you will also find Queen Mary's Hospital For Children (1.4 miles south-west) and Honeywood Museum (0.6 miles west). For a walk, there is Sutton Ecology Centre Grounds.
Places near Wallington
What else we make in Wallington
Practical tips
Looking after painted furniture is simple. These habits help most:
- Consider whether the units should reach the ceiling
- Think about what you will store before we meet
- Let us know about stairs, parking and access early
- Deal with any damp on the chimney breast first
Keep a record of the colour so any touch-ups match. Hand-painted finishes are the easiest to touch up in place.
If a damp patch appears near a unit, look into it early. Damp needs its cause fixing by the right trade.
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. How much a shelf bends depends on its span, depth and load, and long runs need a thicker shelf, a lip along the front or a support. That is something we plan for in the design.
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
How fitting works for alcove units
You are welcome to ask questions while we work. 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 fitting takes depends on the size and number of units, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. Parking varies a lot across London, from permit zones to private bays, so let us know what applies at the design visit. If you live in a flat, any lift or building rules are worth checking too.
- To begin, fill in our short enquiry form; a brief note on the alcoves is plenty.
- We visit to measure the alcoves, discuss the design and check the route from the street to the room. Parking is worth mentioning too, since a van often needs a permit or a paid bay in London.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- In our workshop we build the units from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, sized so each piece gets up the stairs and round the corners.
- On fitting day the sections come in, are joined in place and scribed to the walls. A spray-painted finish arrives done; a hand-painted one is applied once the units are in.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if you do not, that is fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote that follows sets it out. To arrange a visit, tell us about the room on our contact form.
Related advice
Flats, conversions and leaseholders
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. We choose fixings to suit the wall, which we check at the design visit.
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 measuring visit.
Your questions about alcove units in Wallington
Can you fit furniture in a home close to Wallington station?
Yes. We cover all of Sutton and the rest of London. To get started, you can tell us about the room on our contact form with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
How much will my alcove unit cost?
Each room is quoted on its own: size, internal fittings, the finish and how awkward the walls are all play a part. The written quote follows the design visit.
Can you build alcove units for alcoves that are not square?
Yes. We measure each alcove carefully during the design visit, make the units in our workshop and trim the edges on site to meet the wall.
What paint finish can I have on alcove units?
There are two options: a spray-painted finish done in our workshop, or a hand-painted finish done on site. Either way, the colour is agreed with you. Spray painting is smooth and even, while hand painting is easy to touch up.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
External walls can be colder and damper than internal ones, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps, which helps avoid condensation and mould. If there’s damp, it should be sorted before anything is fitted.