Example photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Alcove Units in Woodside
We make alcove units in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Woodside. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Units that sit well with original features
- Space for a growing book collection
- Walls too uneven for standard furniture
Ask about alcove units in Woodside
How we make alcove units for Woodside
Skirting boards, picture rails and coving are common in older rooms. We can cut units around these details, stop beneath them or run up to meet them, depending on the look you want. A plinth can be set to line up with the skirting for a tidy line around the room. We agree these details during the design visit, before anything is made. Most enquiries start with walls too uneven for standard furniture and empty alcoves either side of the chimney breast; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Whether your home in Woodside is a period house, an interwar semi, a post-war flat or a newer build, 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. Each is measured, and the pieces are made to fit it.
A quote in writing follows the design visit. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Woodside (CR0, SE25, CR9)
- Area
- Croydon
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Boards, parts and paint
Birch plywood
For alcove shelves that carry books, birch plywood helps keep them straight across a broad recess. Thickness is chosen to suit the span and the weight.
Plinths and scribe strips
Scribe strips are the edges we trim on site to follow the wall. It is how a straight unit meets a wall that isn’t straight.
Neighbourhoods near Woodside
What else we make in Woodside
How fitting day works
In older rooms, the furniture typically has to meet skirting, picture rails, cornice or coving. We cut and scribe the furniture around them on site, so it looks as though it was always there. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. For a flat, building rules and lift booking are worth checking early; if you live in a house, let us know about steps, paths and parking. We plan the details of the day at the measuring visit. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You get in touch with a short description of the alcoves and your ideas.
- At the design visit, we measure both alcoves, check the walls and look at the skirting and picture rail.
- You receive a quote with the design, the materials and the paint finish.
- The cupboards and shelves are then built in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the units, scribe them to the walls and set them level. The finish is sprayed in our workshop or hand-painted on site, as agreed.
How to prepare
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space. To share them, get in touch through our contact form, and we will suggest a time for a design visit.
Related advice
Your questions about alcove units in Woodside
Is parking a problem for fitting in Woodside?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. It helps to tell us about parking at the design visit, and we’ll plan around it.
Is Woodside in the area you cover for alcove units?
Yes. Woodside is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Croydon and London. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with a few details.
Can the two alcove units be different?
It’s up to you. Matching units give a balanced, formal look around the chimney breast, but many people put a desk or a TV in one alcove and cupboards in the other. Shared details, like the plinth and paint colour, keep them looking related.
How long will the fitting take?
The fitting depends on how many alcoves there are and how tall the units go, and the fitting days are set out in your quote. We’ll explain what to expect before we arrive.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. You can have a desk in one alcove and cupboards in the other. We will plan the desk around how you work.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house does not normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
What prompts alcove units in Woodside
Others want a proper home for books, records or a TV. We can plan an alcove unit around exactly what you have, with each shelf set to suit it.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- Old alcove cupboards that have seen better days
- Everyday clutter left on show
- Alcoves that aren’t square
- Somewhere to keep books and records
Close to Ashburton Park? Shelving that stops short of the window keeps the view of the green.
Choosing a carpenter
- Real projects you can actually look at
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
Could you do it yourself?
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. 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. We design shelves with that in mind.
It’s worth being honest about cost: flat-pack is normally 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.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Bought units stop at standard heights, which normally leaves a gap above. A bespoke unit can run up to the ceiling or finish just under the picture rail, depending on the room. Ready-made pieces come with a fixed inside layout, which may not suit what you need to store. Fitted furniture is laid out inside around your things.
Awkward rooms take more time: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. The quote allows for it.
Why choose us
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- We visit, measure and discuss the design before we quote
Woodside homes and alcove units
About 44% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Woodside went up before 1919, and about 26% between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Woodside include Church of St Luke (Grade II), under half a mile north-east, and Woodside Cottage (Grade II), under half a mile north. If your own home is listed, works inside that affect its character, such as fixing into or removing original joinery, can need listed building consent. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Each London borough runs its own parking controls, and Croydon is no exception. If your street in Woodside is in a controlled parking zone, a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay through the council may be needed. It helps to let us know about parking during the design visit.
If your children go to St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School or a school nearby, alcove units can be planned with low cupboards for toys and higher shelves for everything else. Living in a block of flats near Norwood Junction station? Then the route in is measured not just the room, and the sections are sized to fit it.
Woodside is in the London Borough of Croydon, about 2 miles north-west of Thornton Heath. We cover Woodside as part of our work across Croydon. Woodside is one of 32 places on our list for Croydon.
Every home in CR0, SE25 and CR9 is within our area for alcove units, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street like Long Lane, Tudor Road and Coe Avenue, or close by, we can visit to measure up for alcove units. Neighbouring places we cover for alcove units include Ashburton (1 mile south), Addiscombe (1 mile south), Shirley Oaks (1 mile south-east), Monks Orchard (1 mile south-east) and Shirley (1 mile south-east). Other parts of Croydon we cover include Thornton Heath (2 miles north-west), Croydon (2 miles south-west), Coulsdon (6 miles south-west), Purley (4 miles south-west), Broad Green (2 miles west) and Upper Norwood (2 miles north).
What’s near Woodside
The streets we cover here include those near The Beehive pub and Oasis Academy Shirley Park. For rail, the closest station is Norwood Junction station, roughly 0.7 miles north-west of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find National Psychosis Unit (1.7 miles east) and Whitgift Centre (1.7 miles south-west).