Kensington and Chelsea · London
Earl's Court Under-Stairs Storage
Under-stairs storage in Earl's Court: pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs. We visit to measure and go through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
- Wanting a quiet corner for paperwork
- A staircase with untidy space beneath it
Under-stairs storage in Earl's Court
How we make under-stairs storage for Earl's Court
Under the stairs is where so much ends up, from coats and shoes to the vacuum cleaner. Our under-stairs storage is planned around what you need to store, with pull-out drawers, cupboards or a combination of the two. For a home in Earl's Court, it starts with a design visit to measure the space and talk it through. Most enquiries start with a tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out and space under the stairs that’s hard to use; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
Original features like shutters, cupboard doors and panelling are worth keeping where they survive. With a large share of the homes around Earl's Court built before 1919, fitted storage can be designed to sit alongside them. Door styles can be chosen to suit the age of the house, and painted to match. For a listed home, fixing into original joinery can need consent, so check first.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF, birch plywood or both, depending on the design. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- Earl's Court (W14, W8, SW5)
- Area
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Looking after your furniture
A little care keeps the finish looking good, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. These practical tips help:
- Count the coats and pairs of shoes in daily use
- Make room so the whole space can be measured
- Let us know if the hall is being decorated
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
A soft, damp cloth is the best way to keep the fronts clean. Dry them afterwards, and avoid abrasive pads and strong solvents. Handles and the edges of drawers are touched most, so give them a wipe now and then.
Check now and then that handles and hinges are tight. Tightening a screw early stops a small looseness becoming a problem. If a drawer stops running smoothly, get in touch through our contact form and describe it.
The problems under-stairs storage solve
Others are looking for a small place to work. Where the space is open to a room, a built-in desk with shelves can fit there neatly. It’s a modest workspace, well suited to a laptop and the household paperwork.
We are often asked to help with:
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- Storage that does not match the hallway
- Space under the stairs that’s hard to use
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
Close to Gwendwr Garden? 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
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- How they’ll get the furniture into the room
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
Neighbourhoods near Earl's Court
What else we make in Earl's Court
What affects the price in Earl's Court
What it costs comes down to the materials and the time involved. That depends on:
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- How big the furniture is
- Parking near your home
- How square the room is
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
What to send when you get in touch
A little information at the start saves time later. If you can, send:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
- Any ideas or images you have saved
We quote once we have seen the room. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, then send a written quote. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit. To book a design visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
From workshop to your room
Before anything is fixed, we set the furniture level. Where the floor slopes, we bring the furniture up to level on adjustable feet or a plinth. After that, it’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. If your hall still has its original tiles or boards, they’re covered before any carrying starts. Drilling into lath and plaster is done with care, so the plaster around stays sound. Decorating around the furniture afterwards is for your decorator.
- 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 quote in writing follows, with the finish set out.
- The storage is made at our workshop and painted in your colour.
- The storage is fitted, scribed to the stairs and checked with you.
Before we arrive
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Ask for a quote
Getting a quote starts with a few details: which room it is, rough measurements and a couple of pictures if you can take them. To send them, message us from the contact page. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, then send a quote in writing.
Related advice
FAQs: under-stairs storage in Earl's Court
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, works inside that affect its character may need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
My home in Earl's Court is a period house with walls that are not straight. Is that a problem?
Yes. Walls in older houses are rarely flat or square, and floors are often out of level, so each piece is scribed to follow the wall and set level on a plinth or adjustable feet. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
Can you match the storage to my hallway?
Yes. We paint the storage in the colour you choose, by spray or by hand. You can match it to the walls, the banisters or the skirting, so it sits quietly in the hall.
Do you cover areas outside London?
No. Our work is in London only: all 32 boroughs and the City of London.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It needs a little planning: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Which works best under the stairs, drawers or cupboards?
It depends on the shape of the space and what you want to store. Pull-out drawers suit the low, deep end, as they bring the back within reach. At the tall end, a cupboard is often better for coats and the vacuum.
Under-stairs storage for homes in Earl's Court
In the neighbourhood around Earl's Court, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 72%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 9%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. Within a mile of the centre of Earl's Court, 23 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. The ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) now covers the whole of London, Kensington and Chelsea included. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Earl's Court. Parking and access are planned at the measuring visit.
Garden Lodge, about 0.3 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them. For a family home near St Cuthbert with St Matthias CofE Primary School, under-stairs cupboards can give school bags, shoes and sports kit a proper home.
Earl's Court is about 1 mile north-west of Kensington, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Design visits and fitting in Earl's Court can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. Across Kensington and Chelsea, we cover Earl's Court, along with the rest of the borough.
Every address in W14, W8 and SW5 is covered for under-stairs storage, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street such as Sun Road, Star Road and Rich Lane, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for under-stairs storage. Main roads around Earl's Court include the A3218 and A3220. Other places close to Earl's Court include West Brompton (1 mile south), South Kensington (1 mile east), Little Chelsea (1 mile south-east), World's End (1 mile south-east) and Walham Green (1 mile south). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places such as Notting Dale (2 miles north), Kensal Town (2 miles north) and North Kensington (3 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Earl's Court
In Earl's Court, that includes homes near Collingham College, Abdus Salam Library and The Fulham Boys School. There is a railway station in Earl's Court itself: West Brompton station. Well-known places in the area include Chelsea Stadium Tour And Museum (0.7 miles south) and Kensington Arcade (0.7 miles north). Not far away are Campden Hill and The Long Water.
What it is made from
Pull-out drawers
Some pull-outs are tall, with a rail for coats or room for a vacuum. Lower drawers suit shoes, bags and boxes. The design visit is where we agree the mix.
Hand-painted finish
Some people prefer a hand-painted finish for its softer look. It can be applied on site, in a colour agreed with you. If it’s ever chipped, it can be touched up.