Islington · London
Under-Stairs Storage in Angel
Planning under-stairs storage for a home in Angel? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a written quote, before anything is made.
- Cleaning things with no proper home
- Coats and shoes piling up in the hall
- A dark, wasted space under the stairs
Need under-stairs storage in Angel?
How fitting day works
You will not need to do much on the day. We need someone to let us in at the start, and it’s useful to have the room cleared beforehand. After that, it’s over to us: the floors are covered, the sections come in and the fitting begins. How long fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. In a block of flats, the stairs, landings, lift and doors matter as much as the room: the furniture is made in sections that fit through all of them. Some older blocks have small lifts or none, which the design allows for.
- You get in touch and tell us what’s under the stairs now, including any gas meter, electricity meter or fuse board.
- We visit to measure the slope and the floor, and agree a design that keeps any meter or fuse board accessible.
- You receive a quote in writing for the storage.
- We make it in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a door or panel left where the meters need access.
- We fit it in your home, scribed to the stairs and the walls, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Point out meters, boilers and fuse boards near the furniture
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Ask for a quote
If you already have something in mind, tell us; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. 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, message us from the contact page.
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How we make under-stairs storage for Angel
The space under a staircase is often the hardest-working spot in a house, and the least organised. We design under-stairs storage around the things you actually want to keep there, whether that’s pull-out drawers, a run of cupboards or a mix of both. For a home in Angel, it starts with a design visit to measure the space and talk it through. If you’re living with a sloping corner nobody can reach and open space under the stairs that collects clutter, that’s what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Purpose-built flats are home to most households around Angel, and many blocks have rules on lift booking, deliveries and working hours. It’s useful to check them with the managing agent before fitting day. If the flat is leasehold, the lease may need checking before under-stairs cupboards are fixed to the walls.
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
- Angel (N1, N1P, EC1V)
- Area
- Islington
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Flats, leases and landlords
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We cannot give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. Fixings are chosen to suit whatever the wall is made of.
Is bespoke worth it?
Standard storage is built for a level floor and a square space, but the space under a staircase rarely offers either. A ready-made unit tends to leave gaps at the slope and wasted space at the back. Storage made for the space follows the angle of the stairs and uses its full depth. It is a bigger investment than a flat-pack unit, and the return is in the space it uses. Off-the-shelf furniture is sized for an average room, and flats are rarely average, so it can waste space or block a door or radiator. Built-in pieces are designed around them.
Rooms that aren’t square take more work: uneven walls, sloping floors and angled ceilings all add scribing and cutting on site. The quote allows for it.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Angel
- Work across the whole of London
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
- Scribed to uneven walls
- Saturday work by arrangement
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and what a quote should include.
Neighbourhoods near Angel
Other services in Angel
Fitted storage in Angel
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Angel were built before 1919 (about 39%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 23%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax 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. Part of Angel is in a conservation area, according to Historic England’s records. Planning controls in conservation areas are mainly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitting furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need permission. The council can confirm if you are not sure. Red routes, run by TfL, have strict rules on stopping and loading. If your home is on or just off a main road, it helps to mention it. We will plan where the van can stop.
If your children go to St John Evangelist RC Primary School or a school nearby, a place for each person’s coat and shoes stops the hallway filling up. If you live in a flat close to London Kings Cross station, each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room. Dr Johnson's House, about 1.2 miles south, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight.
Angel is in the London Borough of Islington, about 1 mile north of Highbury. We can visit homes in Angel on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. Angel is one of 17 places on our list for Islington.
Design visits and fitting in N1, N1P and EC1V work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Streets in the area include City Road, Noel Road and Dewey Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for under-stairs storage. Angel is near the A501, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. If you are just outside Angel, we also cover Pentonville (1 mile north-east), Clerkenwell (1 mile south), Islington (1 mile north), St Pancras (1 mile south-west) and Kings Cross (1 mile west). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places like Holloway (2 miles north), Mildmay (2 miles north-east), Upper Holloway (3 miles north-west), Nag's Head (2 miles north), Newington Green (2 miles north-east) and Tufnell Park (2 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Angel
The streets we cover here include those near Pilsudski Institute of London, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School and The Angel pub, among other places. Angel’s nearest station is London Kings Cross station, about 0.7 miles west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Brunswick Centre (0.9 miles south-west) and Finsbury Health Centre (0.5 miles south). Open spaces near Angel include Barnsbury Wood and Ludgate Hill.
Materials and finishes
Plinths and scribe strips
Walls are rarely flat and floors rarely level, in older homes particularly. We use scribe strips at the walls and a plinth at the floor to take up the difference. That keeps the lines neat all round.
Spray-painted finish
For a crisp, even look, many people choose a spray-painted finish. We apply it in our workshop, and the paint needs time to cure fully once it’s fitted.
Questions from Angel
Do you cover homes near London Kings Cross station?
Yes, homes across Islington and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details about the room, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Angel?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by 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. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need someone to let us in. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Which works best under the stairs, drawers or cupboards?
Often a mix works best. Drawers make the most of the low, deep end of the space, and a cupboard at the tall end handles taller things. We will suggest a layout when we visit.
How much does under-stairs storage cost?
Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured. Drawers usually involve more work than plain shelving, and the finish makes a difference too. We set it all out in a written quote.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Usually not. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings can require listed building consent for works that affect their character, so ask the council’s conservation officer.
When is bespoke worth it?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well, and it’s quick to buy.
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. It gets harder with sloping ceilings, out-of-level floors and lath-and-plaster walls, where scribing and fixings that suit the wall are important.