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Newham · London
Alcove units in West Silvertown, Newham
Thinking about alcove units in West Silvertown? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Shelving for books and records
- Room to work in an alcove
- Toys and paperwork with no proper home
Alcove units designed for your room
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 measuring visit.
In a managed block, the building manager or concierge may need notice before we arrive. Lifts sometimes need to be booked, and the lift size helps decide how big each section can be. Mention it when you get in touch.
How we make alcove units for West Silvertown
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 look as though they belong there. If your home in West Silvertown has alcoves like these, each alcove gets a unit designed for it, starting with a design visit to measure. We make alcove units from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are worn or badly fitted alcove units and clutter with nowhere to go.
A large share of the homes around West Silvertown date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes rarely come with any built-in shelving or media storage. Alcove units can be planned around where the sockets and aerial points already are, with routes for cables designed in. Plasterboard on studs takes fitted furniture well, as long as the fixings suit it.
The furniture is made in our workshop after you’ve had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- West Silvertown (E16, SE10)
- Area
- Newham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from West Silvertown
Can you make alcove units for a home in West Silvertown?
Yes. We cover all of Newham and the rest of London, and West Silvertown is part of that. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, and then we send a quote.
My home in West Silvertown is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in along with the room itself: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Alcove units are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
Should alcove units go up to the ceiling?
It’s up to you. Full-height units give the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We talk through the options at the measuring visit.
What happens at the measuring visit?
It’s a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, then send a written quote.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not normally. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. If the building is listed, works affecting its character can require listed building consent, so check with the council first.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by prior arrangement. Let us know when you first get in touch.
Nearby places to West Silvertown
What else we make in West Silvertown
What we do not do
It is worth being clear about where our work stops:
- Any structural work on the chimney breast
- Moving sockets or switches, which needs an electrician
- Making good damaged walls before fitting
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. How it works.
What goes into it
- Adjustable shelves
- Scribed side panels
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Panelled or flat doors
- Birch plywood
What happens on fitting day
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and fitting day is where that happens. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Walls in newer homes are often plasterboard on studs, so on fitting day heavy pieces go into the studs or stand on the floor. Floors are protected throughout, as many newer homes have finished floors that mark easily.
- You get in touch and describe the alcoves you want to fill.
- At the design visit we measure each alcove at several heights, because period walls are rarely flat or square.
- We send the design, materials and finish in a quote in writing.
- The units are made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, leaving a scribing allowance where they meet the walls.
- On fitting day we level the units and scribe the edges so they follow the line of the plaster.
Before we arrive
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
How to get a quote
A quote begins with some details from you: the room, rough measurements and some pictures if you have them. When you’re ready, get in touch through our contact form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Advice
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Shop-bought shelving and cabinets can go in an alcove, and they’re typically cheaper. The catch is the fit: standard sizes seldom match the alcove, and walls that aren’t straight show up every gap. A bespoke alcove unit is made to your measurements and scribed to the plaster. Separate ready-made pieces can make an open-plan room feel unplanned, while fitted furniture can give the space structure.
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. We will talk through what you need inside during the design visit, then set it out in the quote.
Why work with us in West Silvertown
- Built around your room
- Saturday work by prior arrangement
- Every quote follows a design visit
- More than 300 projects completed
Is it time for alcove units?
Some homes already have alcove cupboards, but they’ve seen better days. New units are a chance to rethink how the space works, from the shelf heights to the doors.
These come up often when people first get in touch:
- Empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast
- Tired cupboards in the alcoves
- Cupboards in keeping with an older house
- Alcoves that aren’t square
For a family home near Britannia Village Primary School, shelving with deep cupboards below keeps books, games and school things in one place.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
Built-in living-room furniture in West Silvertown
Homes built since 2000 make up about 69% of the housing in the area around West Silvertown, with about 14% built between 1973 and 1999, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of West Silvertown include Warehouse W (Grade II), under half a mile north, and Warehouse K (Grade II), under half a mile north. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can need listed building consent from the council. It is worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. Purpose-built flats are more common around West Silvertown than across Newham: about 76% of households, against about 44%, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. So the route in, from stairs to lifts, is part of the design.
Close to Thames Barrier Park? A room that looks out on trees deserves a design that leaves the window alone. Queen's House, about 2 miles south-west, 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.
West Silvertown is about 1 mile north of Plaistow, in the London Borough of Newham. We design and make alcove units for homes in West Silvertown and the rest of Newham, as part of our work in every London borough. Across Newham, we cover West Silvertown.
Postcode districts we cover here for alcove units: E16 and SE10. You will find streets here such as Bell Lane, Knights Road and Bradfield Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for alcove units. Other places close to West Silvertown include Silvertown (1 mile south-east), Custom House (1 mile north-east), Royal Docks (1 mile east), Canning Town (1 mile north) and Limmo Peninsula (1 mile north-west). Other parts of Newham we cover include Stratford (3 miles north-west), Forest Gate (3 miles north), East Ham (2 miles north-east), Upton Park (2 miles north), Greengate (2 miles north) and Maryland (3 miles north-west).
Near you in West Silvertown
Around West Silvertown, we cover homes near The Royal Docks Community School, The Tidal Basin Tavern and Royal Docks Academy and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Custom House station, roughly 0.5 miles north. Well-known places in the area include Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital (0.8 miles north-east) and Charlton Athletic Museum (1.2 miles south). Not far away are Gilbert's Pit.