Newham · London
Under-stairs storage in Forest Gate, Newham
Pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs, for homes in Forest Gate. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- A vacuum cleaner that has nowhere to go
- A staircase with untidy space beneath it
- An old cupboard door that doesn’t suit the hall
Need under-stairs storage in Forest Gate?
Honest limits
We make and fit furniture, and we don’t do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. Please bear these in mind too:
- Making good the walls and ceiling, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Gas pipework, which needs an engineer on the Gas Safe Register
- Relocating meters, which your energy supplier deals with
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we’ll give you a straight answer. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it’s made from
- Pull-out drawers
- Hand-painted finish
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
About our under-stairs storage in Forest Gate
Each under-stairs cupboard is made in our workshop, using moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Birch plywood is strong and holds screws well, which suits drawer boxes that carry weight, and MDF gives the doors and fronts a smooth surface for paint. Once painted, by spray or by hand, it’s brought to your home in Forest Gate and fitted. If you’re living with nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board and coats and shoes piling up in the hall, that’s what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish.
In streets where many homes were built before 1919, as they were around Forest Gate, the space under the stairs in a terraced house often holds the gas meter, the electricity meter or the fuse board. Meter readers and engineers need to get to them, so the design keeps them accessible. Sash and bay windows are common in houses of that age too, and good places for seating with storage below.
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
- Forest Gate (E7, E15, E11)
- Borough
- Newham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Nearby places to Forest Gate
What else we make in Forest Gate
What happens on fitting day
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and that happens on fitting day. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, until the line is tight. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Parking on terraced streets can be tight, especially in a controlled parking zone, so details of permits, bays and any loading restrictions help. Unloading is kept short, with sections taken straight inside. Saturday fitting can be arranged.
- You let us know about the stairs and what you’d like to store, such as coats, shoes or the vacuum cleaner.
- At the design visit, the space is measured and any meters are noted.
- 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.
- We fit it in your home and check every drawer and door with you.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
- Take down pictures, mirrors and shelves from the wall
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Arranging a design visit
To get a quote, tell us about the room on our contact form and let us know which room you have in mind and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and a quote in writing follows.
Read more
Flats, blocks and rented homes
Many London terraces have been converted into flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, once we’ve measured the way in.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that is best sorted before fitting day. We cannot advise on your lease, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Questions we’re often asked
Can you fit under-stairs storage to the uneven walls of an older house in Forest Gate?
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. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Is Forest Gate in the area you cover for under-stairs storage?
Yes. Forest Gate is one of the places we work, along with the rest of Newham and London. To get started, you can message us from the contact page with some details.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
An outside wall can be colder and damper than an inside one, so ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps, which helps avoid condensation and mould. Any damp needs sorting by the right specialist before fitting.
Can you match the storage to my hallway?
Yes. We paint the storage in the colour you choose, by spray or by hand. It can match the walls, the stairs or the woodwork, so it looks like part of the house.
What is under-stairs storage made from?
Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. Birch plywood holds screws well, which matters for drawers that carry weight. Your quote confirms the materials and finish.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and talk through the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and afterwards we send a quote in writing.
Fitted storage in Forest Gate
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around Forest Gate were built before 1919 (about 68%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 11%), on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. It is a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Within a mile of the centre of Forest Gate, 5 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are mainly about the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. All of London, Newham included, is inside the ULEZ. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Forest Gate. How the van gets to your door is planned during the design visit.
For an older house near A Radical Church, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them. Valentines Mansion, about 2.2 miles north-east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight.
Forest Gate is part of the London Borough of Newham, about 2 miles south of Plaistow. Design visits and fitting in Forest Gate can be on a Saturday, by prior arrangement. Our Newham coverage includes Forest Gate and the places around it.
We work across E7, E15 and E11 for under-stairs storage. If your home is on a street such as Elm Road, Ash Road and Cary Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for under-stairs storage. Forest Gate sits close to the A114 and A116, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Neighbouring places we cover for under-stairs storage include Upton (1 mile south), Aldersbrook (1 mile north), Holloway Down (1 mile west), Plashet (1 mile south-east) and Little Ilford (1 mile east). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places like Plaistow (2 miles south), Canning Town (2 miles south), East Ham (2 miles south-east), Greengate (2 miles south), East Village (2 miles west) and Wallend (2 miles south-east). Forest Gate is among the bigger places we cover in Newham.
Landmarks near Forest Gate
The streets we cover here include those near Forest Gate Community School, The Hudson Bay pub and Tyndale Academy, among other places. Forest Gate has its own railway station: Wanstead Park station. Other landmarks nearby include Passmore Edwards Museum (0.9 miles south-west) and Stratford Centre (1.3 miles south-west).
What prompts under-stairs storage in Forest Gate
When a home is short on storage, the space under the stairs is too useful to waste. A well-designed under-stairs cupboard can take the coats, shoes, cleaning things and bags that would otherwise crowd the hall. It often eases the load on every other cupboard too.
Typical reasons people contact us include:
- Space under the stairs that is hard to use
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- A fuse board that is hard to get to
For a flat near Wanstead Park 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
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- How they handle walls that are not straight
- Will the quote be in writing?
What it is made from
Hand-painted finish
A hand-painted finish can be applied once the storage is in place. It is easy to touch up later. Paint needs time to cure fully, so it’s best treated gently at first.
Pull-out drawers
A tall pull-out drawer can hold coats on a rail or a vacuum cleaner standing up. Shorter drawers lower down suit shoes and bags. The design visit is where we agree the mix.