Barnet · London
Under-stairs storage in East Finchley, Barnet
Pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs, for homes in East Finchley. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Coats and shoes piling up in the hall
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
- Open space under the stairs that collects clutter
Ask about under-stairs storage in East Finchley
Making use of awkward spaces in East Finchley
Homes built before 1919 make up about 35% of the housing in the area around East Finchley, with about 29% built between 1919 and 1939, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. There are 21 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of East Finchley. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. Since the zone was extended to the outer boroughs in August 2023, the whole of London has been inside the ULEZ. Vans bringing furniture to East Finchley fall under it, just as they do across the rest of London. How the van gets to your door is planned during the design visit.
For families living near Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, deep drawers suit the bulky things families collect, from scooters to swimming kit. If you live in a period home close to Church of the Holy Trinity, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks. Living in a block of flats near New Southgate station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
East Finchley is in the London Borough of Barnet, about 1 mile north of Finchley. Design visits and fitting in East Finchley can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. In Barnet, East Finchley is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 41 places on our list.
We make under-stairs storage across the N2, N3 and NW11 postcode area for under-stairs storage. We cover homes on streets like Oak Lane, Maya Road and High Road, along with the roads around them, for under-stairs storage and any of our other fitted furniture. East Finchley is near the A1; on busy main roads, unloading under-stairs cupboards takes a little planning. Close by, we also work in Hampstead Garden Suburb (1 mile south-west), Fortis Green (1 mile east), Temple Fortune (1 mile south-west), Muswell Hill (1 mile east) and Golders Green (2 miles south-west). Across the rest of Barnet, our area takes in Barnet (4 miles north), Burnt Oak (4 miles west), Hendon (2 miles west), Whetstone (2 miles north), Edgware (5 miles north-west) and Friern Barnet (2 miles north-east). East Finchley is one of the larger places we cover in Barnet.
Landmarks near East Finchley
Our area takes in the homes around Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, Tollington School and Bishop Douglass School Finchley, among other places. The closest station to East Finchley is New Southgate station, about 2.2 miles north-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find Finchley Memorial Hospital (1.1 miles north) and Jewish Museum - Finchley (0.7 miles north-west). Open spaces near East Finchley include Long Lane Pasture.
Under-stairs storage in East Finchley
Where the space under the stairs opens onto a room, a compact desk can fit beneath it. A built-in desk with shelving and drawers can turn the space into a quiet corner for paperwork. If you’d like a socket or a light, your electrician fits it and we plan the furniture around it. It is worth talking through during the design visit in East Finchley. If you’re living with no room for a small desk or a place to work and an under-stairs cupboard full of clutter, that’s what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Some homes have eaves, some have bays and some have neither, but almost every home has somewhere storage could go. For a home in East Finchley, the design visit is where the options are worked out. The storage is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
Our quotes are written in plain words, without jargon. You’ll see what will be made, the boards used and the finish, all taken from the design visit.
- Where
- East Finchley (N2, N3, NW11)
- Borough
- Barnet
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
How it’s made
Birch plywood
We use birch plywood where strength matters, as it is strong and holds screws firmly. It’s a good choice for drawer boxes and carcasses that carry weight. The layered edge can be left on show or painted.
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting gives a slightly softer look than spraying. It is done on site, in the colour you choose. If it’s ever chipped, it can be touched up.
Flats, leases and landlords
If your building is on a red route or a busy main road, unloading takes some planning. Red routes are run by TfL and have strict stopping rules, so it is worth raising at the measuring visit.
Conversions and newer flats often have stud walls rather than solid brick. We choose fixings to suit the wall, which we check during the design visit.
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
Every fitting follows the same order: we protect the floors, bring the sections in, set them level, scribe them to the walls, fix them and finish them. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. How long the fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Before fitting day, we check the route in as well as the room, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route. Floors and doorways are protected while the pieces come in.
- You get in touch and let us know what’s under the stairs now, including any gas meter, electricity meter or fuse board.
- At the design visit we measure the space and plan the storage around the meters, so readers and engineers can still reach them.
- You receive a quote in writing for the storage.
- The storage is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with access to the meters planned in.
- The storage is fitted and set level, and the meter access is checked with you.
Preparing the room
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
Arranging a design visit
To get a quote, send us a few details through our contact form and tell us a little about the room and what you want the furniture to do. We then arrange a design visit to measure and discuss the design, and a quote in writing follows.
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Before and after fitting day
Most of what helps is simple. What we’d suggest:
- Check whether your meters or fuse board are under the stairs
- Note the size of anything tall you want to store
- Decide whether you’d like coats on hooks or on a rail
- Note the things that need a home under the stairs
A hand-painted finish is easy to touch up if it gets marked. It is worth keeping a note of the colour so any touch-ups match. Spray-painted fronts have a smooth, even finish that wipes clean.
Sharp tools and heavy boxes can chip a painted edge. Put tools in a case so they don’t knock the paint. Minor chips can be touched up with the matching colour.
Places near East Finchley
What else we make in East Finchley
Questions we are often asked
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 doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in East Finchley?
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, and we’ll plan around it.
How is under-stairs storage priced?
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. Drawers usually involve more work than plain shelving, and the finish makes a difference too. We set it all out in a quote in writing.
Is it possible to have a desk built under the stairs?
Often, yes, where the space opens onto a room and there’s enough height at one end. A built-in desk with shelves above and drawers below can work well. New sockets or lights are for your electrician, and we leave a route for the cables.
Which materials go into your under-stairs cupboards?
The storage is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. MDF is stable and takes paint well, so it suits the doors and fronts, while birch plywood gives strength to the drawers and carcasses. The finish is spray-painted or hand-painted.
Do you do the electrics?
No. Sockets, switches and lighting are for your electrician. We plan the furniture around where they’ll go.
What it costs
Not every room costs the same, and it comes down to:
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- How many doors and drawers there are
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
Every room is priced on its own, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
What we need to know
The more you can tell us at the start, the better the design visit goes. It’s useful to include:
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- Anything in the way, like radiators, sockets, switches, a boiler or meters
- How you want to use the space
It helps to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line tell us a lot about the space, along with rough sizes. To share them, get in touch through our contact form, and we will suggest a time for a design visit.