Wandsworth · London
Alcove Units in Wandsworth
From one end of Wandsworth to the other, we can design, make and fit alcove units. Every job starts with a design visit, then a written quote.
Alcove Units across Wandsworth
Alcove units across Wandsworth
The furniture is made in our workshop, then fitted. Find your neighbourhood in the lists below for local details, or get in touch to arrange a design visit.
Biggest places in Wandsworth
Alcove units across Wandsworth: what to expect
Even a chimney that is been blocked or capped needs some ventilation to help stop damp. Units are planned so any vent stays clear, rather than boxing it in. If there are signs of damp on the chimney breast or in the alcoves, they’re best sorted before fitting, as cupboards fitted over damp walls can suffer. 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 a desk that tucks into an alcove and toys and paperwork with no proper home.
Every fitting follows the same order: we protect the floors, bring the sections in, set them level, scribe them to the walls, fix them and finish them. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the alcoves and what goes in them, and your quote sets out the fitting days.
- You contact us with a short note about the room and the units you have in mind.
- At the design visit, we measure each alcove and go through the layout with you, noting the skirting, picture rail and any chimney vent.
- Your quote follows, with the design, materials and finish set out, so you can look it over in your own time.
- The units are made at our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We install the units, set them level and scribe them to the alcoves.
How our quotes work
In London, parking can affect the price. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension. Let us know about parking at the measuring visit.
Why work with us
- Work across the whole of London
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- A spray or hand-painted finish
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
Getting a quote
Getting a quote starts with some details: the room, rough sizes and some pictures if you have them. When you are ready, send us a few details through our contact form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Landmarks near Clapham Junction
Our area takes in the homes around Christ Church CofE Primary School, Imperial Park and Clapham Welsh Presbyterian Church and the streets around them. Other local landmarks include Emanuel School (0.6 miles south-west), Thames Christian College (a few minutes’ walk north-west) and The Falcon pub (close by, under half a mile south-west). Clapham Junction has its own railway station: Clapham Junction station. Well-known places in the area include Battersea General Hospital (0.8 miles north) and Southside Wandsworth (1.3 miles south-west). Open spaces near Clapham Junction include Battersea Park Lake.
Alcove units across Wandsworth: local notes
Homes across Wandsworth, Clapham Junction, Battersea and Putney included, have living rooms of every shape. The design for alcove units includes cable routes and ventilation where there is a TV, with any new sockets left to your electrician. Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood keep the pieces stable.
Homes built before 1919 make up about 44% of the housing in Wandsworth, with about 21% built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock 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. More than a third of the homes in Wandsworth (about 44%) were built before 1919, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). Houses of that age normally have a chimney breast with an alcove each side, and alcove units are built to those exact widths, scribed to walls that are rarely straight. Purpose-built flats are home to about 48% of households in Wandsworth, based on Census 2021. For a flat, alcove units are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Many blocks have rules on lift booking and working hours, so check with the managing agent before fitting day.
Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones run by the boroughs, and depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed. Let us know about parking during the design visit.
Clapham Junction: If your home is one of the older houses near Clapham Welsh Presbyterian Church, the alcoves beside a chimney breast are the natural place for alcove units. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Church of St Mark, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent.
Where other trades come in
Damp treatment and building work are for other specialists, and there are a few other limits too:
- Plastering or repairing loose plaster in the alcoves
- Taking out a chimney breast or opening up a fireplace
- Painting the walls, ceiling and woodwork around the units
Bespoke alcove units or ready-made?
Off-the-shelf furniture comes in set heights, so there’s often wasted space overhead. We can take a bespoke unit to the ceiling or stop it at the picture rail, whichever looks right in your room.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- How parking will work on your street
- How they handle walls that aren’t straight
Flat-pack or bespoke?
If you are handy, a simple shelf or a standard wardrobe in a square room is a reasonable DIY job. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, because scribing and the right fixings start to matter.
The real difference is in the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. In an older room, standard units rarely manage that.
Flats, leases and landlords
In a flat, the route in matters as much as the room. We measure the stairs, landings, lift and doorways not just the room, so each section is sized to get through without a struggle.
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, and that often means a shared hallway and a tight turn on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we’ve measured the way in.
What it costs
Every room is different, so every job is quoted on its own. These are the things that affect it:
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- The internal fittings
- Spray painting or hand painting
- How big the furniture is
There is no price list, because every piece is designed for one room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a written quote, with the materials and finish set out. To arrange a design visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Helping us understand the room
To help us picture the room, please include:
- Your postcode and the borough
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
To get a quote, drop us a line using the contact form and tell us a little about the room and roughly what you’d like. We then arrange a design visit to measure and talk through the design, and a written quote follows.
Your questions about alcove units in Wandsworth
Can you add sockets inside the units?
Electrical work is not something we do. New or moved sockets are a job for your electrician, ideally before fitting, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We can plan cut-outs and cable routes in the units around them.
How tall should alcove units be?
That’s your choice. Full-height units give the most storage, while others stop them at the picture rail or leave open shelves above a low cupboard. We go through the options at the measuring visit.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It can be done with some care: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
What happens to the chimney vent when alcove units go in?
Any vent is kept clear in the design. Air moving through a capped chimney helps stop damp. If there’s damp on the breast already, it’s best sorted before fitting.
What happens at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and discuss the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too.
Can an alcove unit include a desk?
Yes. A desk in one alcove, with shelves above and storage below, works well in many rooms. We plan the height and depth with you.