Kensington and Chelsea · London
Chelsea Under-Stairs Storage
In Chelsea, we design under-stairs storage around the room you actually have. Your under-stairs cupboard is designed at a visit to your home and made in our workshop.
- An old cupboard door that does not suit the hall
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- Coats and shoes piling up in the hall
Under-stairs storage designed for your room
Under-stairs storage in Chelsea
Where the space under the stairs opens onto a room, a compact desk can fit beneath it. We can build a desk with shelves above and a drawer or two below. Any new socket or light there is for your electrician, and we leave room and a route for the cable. We’ll look at whether it suits your stairs when we visit in Chelsea. If you’re living with a dark, wasted space under the stairs and coats and shoes piling up in the hall, that is what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Ceilings and floors in homes built before 1919 are rarely level, and a large share of homes around Chelsea are that old. Under-stairs cupboards are scribed to the walls and levelled on site so doors, lids and drawers run true. Original skirting and mouldings are met neatly.
Our quotes are written in plain words, without jargon. You will see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, all taken from the design visit.
- Where
- Chelsea (SW3, SW10, SW1X, SW1W)
- Area
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Honest limits
We’d rather be clear about where our work stops:
- Making good the walls and ceiling, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- New sockets, lights or wiring, which are for your electrician
- Moving gas pipes under the stairs
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can fill in our short enquiry form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How it works.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Pull-out drawers
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
Is it time for under-stairs storage?
Sometimes the reason is a meter reading or an engineer’s visit, and the struggle to reach the meter. Good storage can keep these in clear reach behind their own door, while the rest of the space is put to proper use.
Common reasons to get in touch include:
- The low end of the space going to waste
- Storage that does not match the hallway
- Wanting a quiet corner for paperwork
- A fuse board that is hard to get to
If you live in a flat close to London Victoria station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Before you choose who makes it
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Where they’ll park and unload
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
Places near Chelsea
What else we make in Chelsea
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
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. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Where a period house has been split into flats, the way in often goes through shared parts, so it helps to let neighbours know about fitting day. Each section is sized for the tightest door or turn. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- First we hear what’s under your stairs now and what you need, such as coats, shoes or the vacuum cleaner.
- We measure the space, the slope and the floor, and note any meters or fuse boards, because they must stay accessible.
- The design is agreed and a written quote follows, with the finish set out.
- The storage is made in our workshop and painted in your colour. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The storage is fitted, scribed to the stairs and checked with you. The way to any meters is left clear.
Before fitting day
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Get any new sockets or wiring done by your electrician before fitting day
Starting with a design visit
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough measurements and some pictures if you have them. To send them, fill in our short enquiry form. We’ll then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.
Related advice
Chelsea homes and under-stairs storage
In the area around Chelsea, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 68%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 13%), according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). That matters for under-stairs cupboards, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Chelsea include Church of St Luke (Grade I), less than half a mile west, and Church of Holy Trinity (Grade I), under half a mile north-east. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for example removing original joinery or fixing into it, can require listed building consent from the council. Check with the council’s conservation officer first. Purpose-built flats are home to about 56% of households in the streets around Chelsea, according to Census 2021. For a flat, under-stairs cupboards are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Building management rules on lifts, deliveries and working hours are worth checking early.
If you live in a period home close to Former Welsh Congregational Church, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them. The wider area includes historic houses such as Carlyle's House, about 0.4 miles south-west. If your own home is a period one, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight.
Chelsea is part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, about 2 miles north-west of Kensington. From period terraces to newer flats in Chelsea, we measure the room as it is and design around it. We cover places right across Kensington and Chelsea, large and small.
Postcode districts we cover here for under-stairs storage: SW3, SW10, SW1X and SW1W. We cover homes on streets such as Markham Square, Wellington Square and Tedworth Square, along with the roads around them, whether you want under-stairs storage or another piece made for the room. Chelsea is near the B302 and B304, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. If you are just outside Chelsea, we also cover Brompton (1 mile north), South Kensington (1 mile west), Little Chelsea (1 mile south-west), Belgravia (1 mile north-east) and World's End (1 mile south-west). Elsewhere in Kensington and Chelsea, we also cover Kensington (2 miles north-west), Notting Hill (2 miles north-west), Notting Dale (3 miles north-west), Holland Park (2 miles north-west), Bayswater (2 miles north-west) and Kensal Town (3 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Chelsea
Our area takes in the homes around Hellenic College of London, Markham Arms Public House and Natural History Museum Library and Archives, among other places. Chelsea’s nearest station is London Victoria station, roughly 1 mile north-east. Nearby you’ll also find Harrods (0.7 miles north) and Berkshire & Westminster Dragoons Museum (less than half a mile east). For a walk, there is Battersea Park Lake.
How it is made
Pull-out drawers
The back of an under-stairs space is hard to reach, so drawers that slide out are often the answer. You see everything at once, without reaching into the dark. They can hold shoes, the vacuum or cleaning things.
Moisture-resistant MDF
We use moisture-resistant MDF because it stays stable and gives a smooth surface for paint. It is used for the doors, fronts and side panels, where a smooth, even finish matters most.
Before and after fitting day
Fresh paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so treat it gently at first. After that, a few simple habits help:
- Measure your vacuum cleaner and ironing board
- Plan decorating around the fitting
- Think about what you will keep in each drawer
- Consider the colour of the hall, the stairs and the skirting
Heavy items are best kept in the lower drawers. That keeps the drawers running smoothly and the load where the carcass is strongest. We size the shelves for what you said you’d store, so stick to that and they’ll stay straight.
Keep the way to the meter or fuse board clear. You may need to reach them yourself in a hurry, so leave the path open. With its own door, the meter stays in reach without much effort.
Questions from Chelsea
Do you cover homes near London Victoria station?
Yes, homes across Kensington and Chelsea and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can send us a few details through our contact form with some details about the room, and let us know about parking and access at the same time.
Can you fit under-stairs storage to the uneven walls of an older house in Chelsea?
Yes, that is normal in older houses: each piece is scribed to the wall and levelled at the base. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We take full measurements, look at the walls and floors and work through the design together. We will also ask about access and parking, and a quote in writing follows.
How much does under-stairs storage cost?
The price comes in a written quote, worked out from the measurements and the design you choose. The size of the space, the number of drawers and doors, and the finish all shape the price. For a quote, get in touch through our contact form to arrange a design visit.
What is under-stairs storage made from?
Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. Drawer boxes are birch plywood, as it’s strong and holds screws firmly. Your quote confirms the materials and finish.
How long will the fitting take?
How long the fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Because everything is built in our workshop, the work in your home is the fitting itself. We keep the hallway as clear as we can while we work.