Bromley · London
Under-stairs storage in Downe, Bromley
Pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs, for homes in Downe. Every piece is built in our workshop and fitted in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Coats and shoes piling up in the hall
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
- A dark, wasted space under the stairs
Under-stairs storage designed for your room
Storage in Downe homes: local notes
About 31% of the homes in the area around Downe went up between 1973 and 1999, and about 27% between 1945 and 1972, according to Valuation Office Agency council tax figures (2025). We take that into account during the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. The centre of Downe is within about a quarter of a mile of the Downe Conservation Area. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If in doubt, the council’s planning team can confirm. On TfL’s red routes, the rules on stopping and loading are strict. If your home in Downe is on or near a main road, tell us at the design visit. We’ll plan where the van can stop.
For an older house near St Mary's Church, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Down House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can require listed building consent. If your children go to Downe Primary School or a school nearby, under-stairs cupboards can be planned around what a family needs to keep, from coats and bags to sports kit.
Downe is about 4 miles north-east of Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley. Wherever you are in Downe, the process is the same: we visit and measure, send a written quote, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it. Downe is one of the places in Bromley where we make under-stairs storage, and the borough has 49 places on our list.
We make under-stairs storage across the BR6 postcode area. Our area takes in homes on streets such as High Street, North End Lane and Belle Vue Road, for under-stairs storage and any of our other fitted furniture. Neighbouring places we cover for under-stairs storage include Farthing Street (1 mile north-west), Luxted (1 mile south), Leaves Green (1 mile west), Single Street (2 miles south) and Farnborough (2 miles north-east). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places like Orpington (4 miles north-east), Bromley (5 miles north), Beckenham (6 miles north-west), St Mary Cray (4 miles north-east), Chislehurst (5 miles north) and Penge (7 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Downe
The streets we cover here include those near Charles Darwin School and The Queens Head pub. The nearest railway station is Chelsfield station, about 2.6 miles north-east. Well-known places in the area include Princess Royal University Hospital (1.8 miles north). Not far away are Downe Bank Nature Reserve.
How we make under-stairs storage for Downe
Under-stairs cupboards often hold a gas meter, an electricity meter or the fuse board. These must stay easy to reach for meter readers and engineers. We plan the storage around them, usually with a door that leaves them in clear reach, so the space works hard without hiding anything that matters. At the design visit in Downe, we note what’s there and design around it. We make under-stairs cupboards from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and the things people most often want solved are a tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out and wanting a quiet corner for paperwork.
Walls in houses from between the wars are usually straighter than in older ones, but seldom perfect. Much of the housing around Downe is interwar, semi-detached or detached, and every piece is still scribed where it meets the wall. Each piece is levelled on site, so doors, lids and drawers line up.
A quote in writing is the clearest record of what we have agreed. It describes the under-stairs cupboard we’ve designed for the room, what it’s made from and how it is finished, and it’s what the workshop builds to.
- Place
- Downe (BR6)
- Borough
- Bromley
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Where it’s made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Materials and finishes
Doors and drawer fronts
A door for the meter or fuse board can match the rest of the fronts. It opens fully so the meter stays easy to read. Around it, the other fronts can be drawers, doors or a mix.
Plinths and scribe strips
We trim scribe strips to the exact line of the wall. They’re one reason fitted storage looks built in. The plinth at the bottom does the same job at the floor.
Your questions about under-stairs storage in Downe
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Downe?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. 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, so the day can be planned around it.
Do you make under-stairs storage for homes in Downe?
Yes. Downe is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Bromley and London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with a few details.
Do pictures help?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot. You can send them when you tell us about the room on our contact form.
Do you move sockets or add lighting?
No. Sockets, switches and lighting are for your electrician. We plan the furniture around where they’ll go.
How long does it take to fit under-stairs storage?
How long the fitting takes depends on the shape of the space and the number of drawers and doors, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Drawers, doors and carcasses are all made in the workshop before we arrive. If you’d like the fitting on a Saturday, that can be arranged.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Let us know when you first get in touch, and we will see what we can do.
Neighbourhoods near Downe
More for homes in Downe
Honest limits
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- Moving a gas or electricity meter, which is arranged through your energy supplier
- Plastering and decorating around the new storage
- Any wiring or new lights, which need an electrician
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can tell us about the room on our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Spray-painted finish
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Pull-out drawers
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Hand-painted finish
Before and after fitting day
None of this takes much effort. Here’s what we suggest:
- Think about handles and how the fronts will look from the hall
- Mention any decorating plans so the work can be timed well
- Note the size of anything tall you want to store
- Find out what sits in the space now, from meters to pipes
When you load the drawers, put the heaviest things low and towards the front. That keeps the drawers running smoothly and the load where the carcass is strongest. Shelves are made for the things you told us about at the measuring visit, so stick to that and they’ll stay straight.
Every so often, look at the handles and hinges. Tightening a screw early stops a small looseness becoming a problem. If a door drops or a drawer starts to catch, message us from the contact page and let us know what’s happening.
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
Period rooms often have skirting boards, picture rails, cornices or coving for the furniture to meet. On fitting day, we cut and scribe the furniture around these details, so it looks as though it was always there. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Some interwar and suburban streets have driveways, which can make unloading easier, so let us know at the measuring visit. Otherwise, details of permits or nearby bays help. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- 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.
- We talk through drawers, cupboards and coat storage, and send a quote in writing.
- 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.
Preparing the room
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Tell us about parking near your home
How to get a quote
A quote begins with some details from you: the room, rough sizes and some pictures if you have them. When you’re ready, message us from the contact page. We will then arrange a design visit and follow it with a quote in writing.
Related advice
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. That’s something we plan for in the design.
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly 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.