Example photo by Kirsten Miles on Unsplash, not our project
Islington · London
Canonbury Loft Storage
We make loft storage in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Canonbury. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Clothes with nowhere to go in a loft bedroom
- Needing storage in a loft office
- Wasted space behind the knee walls
Loft storage for your home in Canonbury
Loft storage in Canonbury: what you get
A dormer can take shelves, a desk or a window seat. Their sides are often angled, and their walls rarely straight. Each piece is scribed to the dormer. It uses space that might otherwise be wasted. At the design visit in Canonbury, we’ll look at what fits. People usually come to us about a boarded loft with no proper shelving and standard furniture that won’t go up the loft stairs; the furniture is made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
Walls in a block of flats can be concrete, brick, block or plasterboard, sometimes all in one flat. Since most households around Canonbury live in purpose-built flats, each wall is checked before fixings are chosen. Storage on a lightweight wall stands on the floor and is fixed back for stability.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, taken from what we agreed at the visit.
- Place
- Canonbury (N1, N1P, E8)
- Borough
- Islington
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
The problems loft storage solve
Most people get in touch because the eaves are going to waste. Behind the knee walls, there’s space nobody can reach. Cupboards and drawers built into the knee wall put it to work.
Most of the enquiries we get are about needs like these:
- Wasted space behind the knee walls
- A new loft conversion that needs storage
- Seasonal things cluttering the loft room
- Boxes piled on loft boards
If you live near Shoreditch Park, eaves cupboards can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Whether the quote says what the furniture is made from
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Will the quote be in writing?
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
How it’s made
Doors and drawer fronts
We make the fronts from moisture-resistant MDF and finish them in the colour you choose. Angled fronts are cut to follow the slope, keeping the lines neat.
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is made in layers, which makes it strong and stable. It goes into the carcasses, the shelves and the drawers, and its edge can be left visible or painted.
Storage in Canonbury homes: local notes
Homes built before 1919 make up about 36% of the housing in the area around Canonbury, with about 24% built between 1945 and 1972, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. There are 161 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of Canonbury. Original fireplaces, shutters and panelling are worth keeping where they survive, and eaves cupboards can be designed to work around them. On TfL’s red routes, the rules on stopping and loading are strict. If you live on or close to a main road in Canonbury, let us know at the measuring visit. That way we can plan where to load and unload.
Sutton House, about 1.7 miles east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the knee walls of a converted loft can take drawers as well as cupboards. For an older house near St Paul's Church, the low eaves and slopes of a converted loft are worth using.
Canonbury is about 1 mile north-west of Highbury, part of the London Borough of Islington. Whether your home in Canonbury is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. Across Islington, we cover Canonbury and the places around it.
Design visits and fitting in N1, N1P and E8 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Dove Road, Essex Road and Clare Lane, whether you want loft storage or another piece made for the room. Canonbury is near the A1199 and A1200; on busy main roads, unloading eaves cupboards takes a little planning. If you are just outside Canonbury, we also cover De Beauvoir Town (1 mile east), Mildmay (1 mile north-east), Kingsland (1 mile east), Newington Green (1 mile north) and Highbury (1 mile north-west). Elsewhere in Islington, we also cover Farringdon (2 miles south-west), Holloway (2 miles north-west), Upper Holloway (2 miles north-west), Nag's Head (2 miles north-west) and Tufnell Park (2 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Canonbury
Around Canonbury, we cover homes near Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, City of London Academy Highbury Grove and New Crown pub. There is a railway station in Canonbury itself: Canonbury station. Well-known places in the area include Hackney Walk (1.6 miles east) and Clowns Gallery-Museum (0.7 miles east). Open spaces near Canonbury include Barnsbury Wood.
What affects the cost of loft storage
The price reflects the time and materials the job needs. That depends on:
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Spray painting or hand painting
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. A larger piece means more material and more time. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
What to send when you get in touch
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- Where you live, with the postcode
- How you want to use the space
- Pictures of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
For a quote for loft storage in Canonbury, tell us about the room on our contact form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind, with sizes if you have them. We will arrange a design visit, then send a quote in writing.
Nearby places to Canonbury
What else we make in Canonbury
Practical tips
The finish lasts best with a little care. These practical tips help:
- Consider drawers for the deep, low spaces
- Count the clothes you will need to hang
- Let us know about parking at the measuring visit
- Choose a calm colour for the loft
Do not pack things so tightly that air cannot move behind the knee wall. The storage is planned to keep airflow, so leave that space open. It helps prevent damp behind the storage.
Every so often, look at the handles and hinges. A loose screw is easy to tighten before it works loose. If a door drops or a drawer catches, use our contact form and tell us.
Fitting day, step by step
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so each edge that meets a wall is scribed to follow it. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the shape of the room and the number of cupboards and drawers, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Where there is no lift, each section is sized to be carried up the stairs safely. The tightest landing sets the largest piece. The pieces are assembled in the flat.
- You get in touch and let us know about your converted or boarded loft, and how you get up to it.
- We come to measure the room and the way up to it, and go through the design.
- You receive a quote in writing for the storage we have discussed, for you to look over.
- Your storage is made in our workshop and painted to your chosen colour. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The storage is fitted in the loft and checked, door by door, with the finish sprayed beforehand or painted by hand on site.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
Starting with a design visit
A quote begins with a few details from you: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of pictures if you can take them. To send them, drop us a line using the contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a quote in writing.
Related advice
Your questions about loft storage in Canonbury
My home in Canonbury is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Normally not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
Who chooses the colour?
You do. We agree the colour with you, and it’s set out in the quote.
Can you fit furniture to uneven walls?
That is normal in older homes, and it is what scribing is for. Edges are scribed to the wall, and adjustable feet or a plinth bring the furniture up to level.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room.
Which materials go into your loft storage?
Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. Both are stable, which matters in a loft room. The materials and finish are agreed in your quote.