Newham · London
Under-stairs storage in Plashet, Newham
Thinking about under-stairs storage in Plashet? We start with a design visit and a quote in writing.
- A staircase with untidy space beneath it
- Nowhere to put coats, shoes and bags
- Cleaning things with no proper home
Need under-stairs storage in Plashet?
How we make under-stairs storage for Plashet
Some under-stairs spaces are open enough for a small desk. 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. We’ll look at whether it suits your stairs when we visit in Plashet. Typical reasons to get in touch are a tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out and wanting a quiet corner for paperwork; the furniture is made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
With a large share of homes around Plashet built before 1919, under-stairs cupboards in older terraces often house the meters or the fuse board. Those have to stay reachable, so any storage is designed around them. Sash and bay windows are common in houses of that age too, and good places for seating with storage below.
The written quote puts the design visit in writing: the layout and internal fittings, the materials and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it is easier before the furniture is made.
- Location
- Plashet (E6, E12, E7)
- Area
- Newham
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
How fitting day works
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. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, 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’s some trimming and adjusting on site. We protect the floors and keep dust to a minimum. Parking can be tight on terraced streets, so tell us about permits and bays during the design visit.
- 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.
- We talk through drawers, cupboards and coat storage, and send a quote in writing, with the finish set out.
- Every part is made at our workshop, ready for a spray-painted or hand-painted finish. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- The storage is fitted, scribed to the stairs and checked with you.
Before fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
- Tell us about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
Arranging a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. To arrange a visit, send us a few details through our contact form.
Advice
Questions we’re often asked
Can you fit under-stairs storage to the uneven walls of an older house in Plashet?
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. We also work around skirting boards, picture rails and cornices. Older walls can be solid brick or lath and plaster, and the fixings are chosen to suit.
Can you make under-stairs storage for a home in Plashet?
Yes, Plashet is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Newham and the rest of London. We start with a design visit to measure the room and talk through what you need, followed by a quote.
What happens at the measuring visit?
We measure the room, check how level the walls and floors are and go through the design with you. Access and parking are worth talking about too, and a quote in writing follows.
Can I send pictures before the visit?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot, particularly with rough sizes. You can send them when you fill in our short enquiry form.
Can you fit a small desk under the stairs?
That depends on the shape of your stairs and the room beside them. At the design visit we’ll say whether a desk makes sense there. If it does, a compact desk with shelving can suit paperwork and a laptop.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Typically not. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings can need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
What under-stairs storage cannot fix
We’d rather be clear about where our work stops:
- Altering or cutting into the stairs
- Painting the hallway walls and ceiling
- Any work on gas pipes or appliances
Not sure whether your space suits under-stairs storage? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
What it’s made from
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Pull-out drawers
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
Storage in Plashet homes: local notes
About 71% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Plashet went up before 1919, and about 13% between 1945 and 1972, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. That matters for under-stairs cupboards, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Near the centre of Plashet, Historic England’s list includes Passmore Edwards Library (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west, and East Ham Underground Station (Grade II), under half a mile south-east. If you live in a listed building, fixing into or taking out original features like panelling can require listed building consent. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. London’s red routes are run by TfL, and stopping on them is tightly controlled. If you live on or close to a main road in Plashet, let us know at the design visit. Then we can work out where to load and unload.
If you live in a flat close to Woodgrange Park station, check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in. For an older house near Church of St Barnabas, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them.
Plashet is in the London Borough of Newham, about 2 miles south-west of Plaistow. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Plashet included. Plashet is one of 26 places on our list for Newham.
Every home in E6, E12 and E7 is within our area for under-stairs storage, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Our area takes in homes on streets like Fry Road, Edith Road and Hilda Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want under-stairs storage or another piece made for the room. We also cover the places around Plashet: Manor Park (1 mile north-east), Little Ilford (1 mile north-east), Upton Park (1 mile south-west), Upton (1 mile west) and Wallend (1 mile south-east). Across the rest of Newham, our area takes in Plaistow (2 miles south-west), Stratford (2 miles west), Canning Town (2 miles south-west), Maryland (2 miles west), East Village (3 miles west) and Three Mills (3 miles south-west).
Around Plashet
We fit furniture in homes around The Overdraft Tavern, Monega Primary School and Tyndale Academy and the streets around them. For rail, the closest station is Woodgrange Park station, roughly 0.5 miles north. A little further out are Newham University Hospital (1.5 miles south) and The Who Shop Museum (0.7 miles south-east).
Looking after your furniture
These points come up often when people plan under-stairs storage. They’re worth knowing before and after fitting:
- Think about what you’ll keep in each drawer
- Measure your vacuum cleaner and ironing board
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
- Mention any parking rules on your street
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.
Don’t store things in front of the meter or fuse board. You may need to reach them yourself in a hurry, so leave the path open. A dedicated door makes this easy to keep up.
Neighbourhoods near Plashet
More for homes in Plashet
What prompts under-stairs storage in Plashet
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 will not replace a full home office, but it suits paperwork and a laptop.
Under-stairs storage can help with:
- Space under the stairs that’s hard to use
- A hallway crowded with coats and shoes
- Needing a compact spot for a laptop
- An old cupboard door that doesn’t suit the hall
The wider area includes historic houses like Valentines Mansion, about 2.2 miles north. If your own home is a period one, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks.
Before you choose who makes it
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
- Are the boards named, such as MDF or plywood?
- Will the quote be in writing?
Is bespoke worth it?
A standard unit knows nothing about your meter or fuse board. Put in the wrong place, it can block the access meter readers and engineers need. A design made for the space keeps them in clear reach from the start. Standard furniture is drawn for modern rooms, so its proportions can look odd in a tall period room, whereas fitted pieces can pick up the room’s height and mouldings.
Access to the room makes a difference too. Narrow halls, tight stairs or a small lift may mean the furniture is made in more sections, which the quote allows for. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit.
What you get with us
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- 300+ projects completed
- Built in our workshop and fitted in your home
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.