Islington · London
Under-Stairs Storage in Mildmay
We make under-stairs storage in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood for homes in Mildmay. The finish is spray painted or hand painted, in a colour agreed with you.
- Cleaning things with no proper home
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
- A fuse board that is hard to get to
Under-stairs storage for your home in Mildmay
Under-stairs storage in Mildmay
Where the space under the stairs opens onto a room, a compact desk can fit beneath it. We can build a desk with shelves above and a drawer or two below. Any new socket or light there is for your electrician, and we leave room and a route for the cable. It’s worth talking through during the design visit in Mildmay. We make under-stairs cupboards from moisture-resistant MDF and strong birch plywood, with a painted finish, and people most often get in touch about the low end of the space going to waste and cleaning things with no proper home.
Outside walls in houses from before 1919 are normally solid brick, which can be cold, so storage against it is designed with ventilation behind. That matters around Mildmay, where a large share of the homes are that old. Any damp is dealt with before storage goes in.
Where other trades are needed, for example an electrician to move a socket, we point that out. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Location
- Mildmay (N1, N16, E8)
- Borough
- Islington
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Flat-pack or bespoke?
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture normally costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that aren’t square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths.
Your questions about under-stairs storage in Mildmay
Do you cover homes near Dalston Kingsland station?
Yes, homes across Islington and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can send us a few details through our contact form to arrange a design visit, and tell us about parking and access at the same time.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Mildmay?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by 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 at the measuring visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different: check with the council’s conservation officer first.
How long does it take to fit under-stairs storage?
The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and your quote sets out the fitting days. We make every part in our workshop, so the time at your home is spent fitting. If you’d like the fitting on a Saturday, that can be arranged.
Can you build storage around a gas meter or fuse board?
Yes. It is common to find a meter or fuse board under the stairs, and access has to be kept. At the design visit we measure around them and leave a clear way in. We don’t move meters, so the storage works around their current position.
Do I need to be in when you fit?
We need someone to let us in. It also helps to have someone around at the end, so we can go over the finished furniture together.
Pricing under-stairs storage in Mildmay
Several things affect the price:
- Where a van can park, like a permit bay or a bay suspension
- What goes inside: rails, shelves, drawers and dividers
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- Tricky walls, sloping ceilings and uneven floors
In London, parking can affect the price. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of the city, so a van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension near your home. Let us know about parking during the design visit, so we can plan for it.
What to send when you contact us
Ahead of the design visit, we will usually ask about:
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Any ideas or images you’ve saved
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- A few photos of the space, taken from the doorway and from each corner
To get a quote for under-stairs storage in Mildmay, use our contact form. Tell us which room it is and roughly what you have in mind. We’ll arrange a design visit, then send a written quote.
What prompts under-stairs storage in Mildmay
Many people get in touch after digging through clutter to reach a meter or the fuse board. Good storage can keep these in clear reach behind their own door, and the rest of the space can still work hard.
A few of the things people ask us to solve are these:
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
- The low end of the space going to waste
- Open space under the stairs that collects clutter
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
Living in a block of flats near Dalston Kingsland station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Before you choose who makes it
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Which parts of the job need an electrician or a plumber
- Is it spray painted or hand painted?
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
The last stage of the day is the finish. With a spray finish from the workshop, there’s normally only filling and touching up to do in the room; if you chose hand painting, that can be done in the room once the furniture is fitted. Either way, the finish is the one set out in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so a clear area to work in near the room helps. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Hand painting, if that’s your finish, can follow the fitting.
- You get in touch with a few details and, if you like, a sketch.
- At the design visit, we look at the stairs, the hall and what you need to store, and check where the meters and fuse board sit.
- A quote in writing follows, with the fitting days agreed. Take your time to look through it.
- Your storage is built in our workshop, cut to the angle of your stairs.
- We fit it in your home and leave it ready to use.
Before fitting day
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
Getting a quote
The design visit is where every quote starts. We take full measurements, see how true the walls and floors are and work through the design together. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing for you to look over. To arrange the visit, use our contact form.
Advice
Caring for painted furniture
A little care keeps the finish looking good. These practical tips help:
- Count the coats and pairs of shoes in daily use
- Consider the colour of the hall, the stairs and the skirting
- Make room so the whole space can be measured
- Look for meters, a fuse board or pipes before we visit
Decorating around the storage is for your decorator, and it is best to protect the new paintwork while they work. Masking tape can lift fresh paint, so it shouldn’t go on the new finish. Should you have a question about the storage, drop us a line using the contact form and we will help.
Damp coats and shoes put moisture into a closed space. It’s best to let them dry before closing the door on them, and leave the door open for a while after a wet day if the cupboard feels damp.
Also near Mildmay
Other services in Mildmay
Making use of tricky spaces in Mildmay
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Mildmay were built before 1919 (about 48%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 22%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. It’s 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 Mildmay, 13 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. Much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones run by the boroughs. In Mildmay, a van will normally need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. We ask about parking during the design visit, so the van can be planned for.
If you live in a period home close to Church of St Jude and St Paul, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks. Sutton House, about 1.4 miles 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.
Mildmay is in the London Borough of Islington, about 1 mile west of Highbury. We can visit homes in Mildmay on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Mildmay is one of the places in Islington where we make under-stairs storage, and the borough has 17 places on our list.
Every address in N1, N16 and E8 is within our area for under-stairs storage, from the main roads to the quieter streets. If your home is on a street such as Dove Road, Essex Road and Burma Road, or close by, we can visit to measure up for under-stairs storage. Mildmay sits close to the A1199. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the measuring visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. If you’re just outside Mildmay, we also cover Newington Green (1 mile north), De Beauvoir Town (1 mile south), Canonbury (1 mile south-west), Kingsland (1 mile south-east) and Highbury (1 mile west). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places like Farringdon (2 miles south-west), Clerkenwell (2 miles south-west), Finsbury (2 miles south), St Luke's (2 miles south), Angel (2 miles south-west) and Holloway (2 miles west).
Local landmarks in Mildmay
Our area takes in the homes around City of London Academy Highbury Grove, Army and Navy pub and Kingsland Secondary School and the streets around them. Mildmay has its own railway station: Dalston Kingsland station. Other landmarks nearby include Hackney Walk (1.5 miles east) and Clowns Gallery-Museum (0.6 miles south-east). For a walk, there is Gillespie Park.