Barnet · London
Barnet Under-Stairs Storage
Thinking about under-stairs storage in Barnet? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Wanting a quiet corner for paperwork
- Nowhere to put coats, shoes and bags
- Space under the stairs that is hard to use
Under-stairs storage in Barnet
About our under-stairs storage in Barnet
No two staircases are quite the same. The soffit slopes, the stringer sets its own line, and floors are often a little out of level. We scribe the storage to the stairs and the walls, so it looks as though it has always been there. That is something a standard unit can’t do, in Barnet or anywhere else. If you are living with a sloping corner nobody can reach and no room for a small desk or a place to work, that is what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
In a part of London with mixed housing, like much of the city, floors, walls and ceilings vary from one home to the next. Under-stairs cupboards are scribed and levelled on site, so they look straight even where the room is not. You choose the paint colour, and whether it’s spray-painted or hand-painted.
We write quotes in plain English, without jargon. They say what will be made, what it’s made from and how it will be finished, all taken from the design visit.
- Where
- Barnet (EN5, EN4, N20, N11)
- Borough
- Barnet
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Before and after fitting day
A little care keeps the finish looking good, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Find out what sits in the space now, from meters to pipes
- Mention any decorating plans so the work can be timed well
- Count the coats and pairs of shoes in daily use
- Think about handles and how the fronts will look from the hall
If you chose a hand-painted finish, small marks can be touched in. Keep a little of the paint, or a note of the colour, for later. Spray-painted fronts have a smooth, even finish that wipes clean.
Keep the doors and drawers closed when the space is not in use. Overfilled drawers put strain on the runners, so it pays to sort them now and then. Deal with any wet shoes or umbrellas before they mark the base.
Questions from Barnet
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Barnet?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit.
Do you cover homes near New Barnet station?
Yes. We cover the whole of London. To get started, you can get in touch through our contact form with some details about the room.
Can you match the storage to my hallway?
Yes. You choose the colour, and we agree it before the work starts. We can spray it in the workshop or hand-paint it in your home. Both can be matched to a colour you already have.
Do you do the electrics?
No. Any new wiring, sockets or lights need an electrician. We plan the furniture around where they’ll go.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not normally. Inside a house, fitted furniture does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings can require listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
How long will the fitting take?
How long fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Because everything is made in our workshop, the work in your home is the fitting itself. We keep the hallway as clear as we can while we work.
What affects the price in Barnet
When we put a quote together, we consider:
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- The number of doors and drawers
There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. A larger piece means more material and more time. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
What to send when you get in touch
A little information at the start saves time later. Where you can, include:
- Rough measurements, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and talk through the design with you. A written quote follows the visit for you to look over. To arrange the visit, message us from the contact page.
Do you need under-stairs storage in Barnet?
In a smaller home, every bit of space counts. Turned into proper storage, it can hold the everyday things that would otherwise fill the hallway. It often eases the load on every other cupboard too.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
- An under-stairs cupboard full of clutter
- Cleaning things with no proper home
If you live near Highlands Gardens, living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and under-stairs cupboards can give those things a place.
What to check before you book
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- How they deal with uneven walls and floors
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
Where other trades come in
Not everything around under-stairs storage is carpentry, from an electrician to a plumber or a Gas Safe engineer. Here is what to bear in mind:
- Gas pipework, which needs a Gas Safe engineer
- Making good the walls and ceiling, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Structural changes to the staircase itself
Not sure whether your space suits under-stairs storage? You can get in touch through our contact form and we will tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Pull-out drawers
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
Barnet homes and under-stairs storage
The biggest shares of homes in the area around Barnet were built between 1919 and 1939 (about 27%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 26%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. The age of a home tells us a lot about its walls, floors and ceilings, and so about how under-stairs cupboards are fixed and fitted. 3 conservation areas have at least part of their area within a mile of central Barnet. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. About 43% of households in the area around Barnet live in detached or semi-detached houses, based on Census 2021. In a semi or detached house, a driveway, where there is one, can make unloading easier.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Odeon Cinema, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. For an older house near St John's United Reformed Church, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks.
Barnet is in the London Borough of Barnet, about 3 miles south of Finchley. Whether your home in Barnet is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, we measure the room as it is and design around it. We cover places right across the rest of London, from the busiest high streets to quiet residential roads.
Here we cover the EN5, EN4, N20 and N11 postcode area for under-stairs storage. Streets in the area include Station Road, High Street and Sambroke Square, and we cover homes on all of them for under-stairs storage. Barnet sits close to the B193 and A1081, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Other places close to Barnet include Underhill (1 mile west), New Barnet (1 mile east), Monken Hadley (1 mile north-west), Hadley Wood (1 mile north-east) and Cockfosters (1 mile east). Elsewhere in the rest of London, we also cover Finchley (3 miles south), Burnt Oak (4 miles south-west), East Finchley (4 miles south), Hendon (5 miles south), Whetstone (2 miles south-east) and Edgware (4 miles south-west).
Near you in Barnet
In Barnet, that includes homes near Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School and The Railway Tavern and the streets around them. Barnet’s nearest station is New Barnet station, roughly 0.6 miles east of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Barnet General Hospital (1.2 miles west) and Spires Shopping Centre (0.9 miles north-west). Green spaces nearby include Greenhill Gardens.
Nearby places to Barnet
What else we make in Barnet
From workshop to your room
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. 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 space and the design, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Clearing the room and the way in beforehand makes the day easier, including pictures on nearby walls. We cover floors and doorways first. Then the sections come in and are joined in place.
- You tell us about the space under the stairs.
- We come to measure and go through the design.
- A quote in writing follows.
- We make the drawers and cupboards in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The storage is fitted and finished, and we check each pull-out with you before we leave.
- New paint needs time to cure fully, so open and close things gently at first.
Before fitting day
- Empty the space we will be working in
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
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 are ready, use our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and go through the design, then send a quote in writing.