Islington · London
Under-stairs storage in Islington
For homes in Islington, we make under-stairs storage from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
- A sloping corner nobody can reach
- An old cupboard door that does not suit the hall
Ask about under-stairs storage in Islington
How we make under-stairs storage for Islington
Deep pull-out drawers bring the back of the space within reach. Rather than reaching into the dark, you pull the drawer towards you and see what’s inside. At the tall end, a cupboard works well for coats, an ironing board or the vacuum. A mix of drawers and cupboards is often the best use of the space. People typically come to us about the low end of the space going to waste and coats and shoes piling up in the hall, and the answer is made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Where original shutters, doors or panelling survive, they’re worth designing around. Around Islington, where homes from before 1919 make up a large share, fitted storage can be designed to sit alongside them. Panel details can be drawn to suit the house, and painted to match. If your home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original joinery.
The written quote is your record of the job. It describes the under-stairs cupboard we’ve designed for the room, its materials and its finish, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Place
- Islington (N1, N7, NW1, EC1V)
- Area
- Islington
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Your questions about under-stairs storage in Islington
Is parking a problem for fitting in Islington?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Can you make under-stairs storage for a home in Islington?
Yes, Islington is within the area we cover, which takes in all of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
Can the under-stairs storage be painted to match the hall?
Yes. The colour is your choice and is agreed in the quote. We can spray it in the workshop or hand-paint it in your home. Either finish can follow a colour already in the hall.
What is under-stairs storage made from?
The storage is made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The doors and fronts are MDF, which is stable and paints well, and birch plywood is strong, so it suits drawer boxes and carcasses. The finish is spray-painted or hand-painted.
Is it possible to have a desk built under the stairs?
It depends on the height and how open the space is. We look at it at the measuring visit and tell you honestly whether it will work. Where it works, it makes a neat spot for a laptop and paperwork.
Do pictures help?
Yes, they help. Pictures of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling, give us a good idea of the space, particularly with rough sizes. You can send them when you fill in our short enquiry form.
Pricing under-stairs storage in Islington
We quote each job after the design visit, because no two rooms are the same. This is what makes the difference:
- Walls and floors that are out of level or out of square
- The internal fittings
- The overall size of the piece
- Spray painting or hand painting
In London, parking can affect the price. Much of London is covered by controlled parking zones, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. It helps to talk about parking during the design visit, so it can be planned.
Before the design visit
Ahead of the design visit, we will usually ask about:
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- Approximate measurements of the space
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
Getting a quote starts with a few details: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of pictures if you can take them. To send them, use our contact form. After that, we arrange a visit to measure and discuss the design, then send a written quote.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. We plan the size of each section around it, once we have measured the way in.
If your flat is leasehold, check your lease before fixing furniture to the walls. Some leases need the building owner’s consent for alterations, which is worth sorting early. We can’t give advice on leases.
What we do not do
We make and fit furniture, and we don’t do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Gas pipework, which needs a Gas Safe registered engineer
- Making good the walls and ceiling, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Reshaping or rebuilding the staircase
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Hand-painted finish
- Pull-out drawers
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. The design, materials and finish were settled before anything was made, so fitting day is about putting it in place carefully. 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. On fitting day in an older house, the main job is scribing to walls and levelling on floors that slope, so there is some trimming and adjusting on site. Floors are protected, and dust is kept down as far as possible. It is useful to let us know about parking at the measuring visit, as terraced streets are often busy.
- To begin, fill in our short enquiry form; a brief note on the space and what it holds now is plenty.
- We visit to measure the slope and the floor, and agree a design that keeps any meter or fuse board accessible.
- You receive a written quote 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.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Mention any parking restrictions on your street
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
How to get a quote
If you know what you want, say so; if not, we can work it out together at the visit. At the design visit, we measure up and talk the design through with you, and the written quote then sets it out. To start, message us from the contact page.
Related advice
Islington homes and under-stairs storage
In the streets around Islington, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 49%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 16%), 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. Part of Islington is in a conservation area, going by Historic England’s data. The controls in a conservation area are mostly about the outside of buildings, so furniture fitted inside a house does not normally need planning permission. The council can confirm if you’re not sure. Much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones run by the boroughs. For fitting in Islington, a van usually needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the design visit.
For families living near Islington Proprietary School, a place for each person’s coat and shoes stops the hallway filling up. For an older house near St Mary's Church, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight. Close to Barnard Park? Under-stairs cupboards can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things.
Islington is part of the London Borough of Islington, about 1 mile north of Highbury. Wherever you are in Islington, it works the same way: a design visit, a quote in writing, furniture built in our workshop and fitting in your home. Our work takes in places right across the rest of London, large and small.
In N1, N7, NW1 and EC1V, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Whether you live on a street like Gibson Square, Old Royal Free Square and Cloudesley Square or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for under-stairs storage. Islington sits close to the B515 and A5203, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. If you’re just outside Islington, we also cover Pentonville (1 mile south), Angel (1 mile south), Barnsbury (1 mile north-west), Clerkenwell (1 mile south) and Lower Holloway (1 mile north-west).
Around Islington
Our area takes in the homes around The King's Head Public House, Islington Green School and St Mary's CofE Primary School. Islington has its own railway station: Essex Road station. Other landmarks nearby include Montfichet's Tower (1.7 miles south) and Queer Britain (0.8 miles west). For a walk, there is Barnsbury Wood.
Neighbourhoods near Islington
Other services in Islington
Practical tips
The finish lasts best with a little care. These practical tips help:
- Look for meters, a fuse board or pipes before we visit
- Think about what you will keep in each drawer
- Count the coats and pairs of shoes in daily use
- Plan decorating around the fitting
When we have finished fitting, the drawers and doors are ready to use. New paintwork takes time to cure fully, so go easy on it to begin with. Avoid sticky tape, heavy knocks and harsh cleaners while it hardens.
Check now and then that handles and hinges are tight. A loose handle is easy to tighten before it works its way out. If a door drops or a drawer starts to catch, get in touch through our contact form and tell us what’s happening.