Tower Hamlets · London
Under-stairs storage in Ratcliff, Tower Hamlets
For homes in Ratcliff, 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.
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
- A dark, wasted space under the stairs
- A meter or fuse board buried behind clutter
Under-stairs storage for your home in Ratcliff
About our under-stairs storage in Ratcliff
Some under-stairs spaces are open enough for a small desk. 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 is worth talking through at the design visit in Ratcliff. We make under-stairs cupboards from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are a fuse board that’s hard to get to and open space under the stairs that collects clutter.
With most households around Ratcliff in purpose-built flats, mansion blocks and modern developments are both possible. Mansion block flats often have long hallways, bays and high ceilings that suit fitted storage, while newer flats tend to have compact halls and boxed-in services. In a maisonette, the space under the internal stairs is worth using.
If the job needs another trade, such as an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. The quote itself covers our work, from the design to the materials and finish.
- Location
- Ratcliff (E1, E14, SE16)
- Borough
- Tower Hamlets
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
When is bespoke worth it?
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can use the full height and width.
Flat-pack and off-the-shelf furniture has its place. If the walls are straight and the space suits standard sizes, it often does the job.
Neighbourhoods near Ratcliff
What else we make in Ratcliff
Questions from Ratcliff
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Ratcliff?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. 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 at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
My home in Ratcliff is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
At the design visit, we measure the way in along with the room itself. Under-stairs cupboards are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It helps to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Do I need planning permission for fitted furniture?
Not typically. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need it. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
My walls are not straight. Is that a problem?
Walls and floors that aren’t true are part of the job in older homes. We trim the edges to follow the wall and level the base.
How many days does the fitting take?
It depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and your quote sets out the fitting days. It’s something we discuss at the design visit.
Do you do the electrics?
No. Electrical work is not something we do; it’s a job for your electrician. We can allow for cable routes in the design.
Ratcliff homes and under-stairs storage
About 33% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Ratcliff went up between 1973 and 1999, and about 29% since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. That matters for under-stairs cupboards, as the build era decides whether a wall is solid brick, lath and plaster, block or plasterboard. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Ratcliff include Church of St Paul (Grade II*), less than half a mile west, and London Hydraulic Power Company Station (Grade II*), less than half a mile south-west. For a listed home, changes inside that alter its character can require listed building consent from the council, for example removing or fixing into original panelling. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. In inner London, a large part of the street parking sits inside borough-run controlled parking zones. In Ratcliff, a van will normally need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a suspended bay, and the council arranges suspensions, often with notice. It’s useful to tell us about parking during the design visit.
Close to Stepney Green Park? Living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and under-stairs cupboards can give those things a place. Mansion House, about 1.9 miles west, 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. For a family home near Marion Richardson Primary School, under-stairs cupboards can give school bags, shoes and sports kit a proper home.
Ratcliff is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, about 1 mile west of Whitechapel. We can visit homes in Ratcliff on weekdays, or on a Saturday by prior arrangement. Our Tower Hamlets coverage includes Ratcliff, along with the rest of the borough.
We make under-stairs storage across E1, E14 and SE16 for under-stairs storage. Streets in the area include Wharf Lane, Glamis Road and Salter Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for under-stairs storage. The A101 and A126 runs close to Ratcliff, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. If you’re just outside Ratcliff, we also cover Shadwell (1 mile south), East End of London (1 mile north-west), Limehouse (1 mile north-east), Stepney (1 mile north) and Wapping (1 mile west). Elsewhere in Tower Hamlets, we also cover Cambridge Heath (2 miles north), Bromley (2 miles north-east), Old Ford (2 miles north-east), Donnybrook Quarter (2 miles north), Bow (2 miles north-east) and Isle of Dogs (2 miles south-east).
Landmarks near Ratcliff
Our area takes in the homes around Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, Stepney Jewish School and The British Prince Public House and the streets around them. Ratcliff has its own railway station: Limehouse station. Nearby you will also find The Royal London Hospital (0.8 miles north-west) and Tower of London (1.4 miles west). Open spaces near Ratcliff include Tower Hill and Lavender Pond.
What it costs
There’s no set price, because there’s no set room. What affects it comes down to:
- Parking and unloading on your street
- The internal fittings
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- How big the furniture is
Parking is part of the price picture in London. 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. It is useful to talk about parking at the design visit.
Helping us understand the room
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- What kind of home it is, and which floor the room is on
- Any ideas or images you have saved
- Rough measurements, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
- How you want to use the space
To get a quote for under-stairs storage in Ratcliff, tell us about the room on our contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, plus any rough sizes. Next comes a design visit, followed by a quote in writing.
Fitting day, step by step
You will not need to do much on the day. Someone needs to let us in, and the room should already be cleared, as agreed during the design visit. After that, it’s over to us: the floors are covered, the sections come in and the fitting begins. The time the fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Loading near a block of flats can take some planning, so tell us about bays, permits or any loading area at the measuring visit. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You contact us about the space under your stairs.
- At the design visit we measure the underside of the stairs and the floor, then talk through drawers, cupboards and coat storage.
- Your written quote sets out the design, materials and finish.
- The drawers, doors and carcasses are made at our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, cut to the angle of the stairs.
- On fitting day the units are set level and scribed to follow the stairs and walls.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Tell us about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
Ask for a quote
You don’t need exact measurements to get started. Everything is measured properly when we visit. To get started, fill in our short enquiry form and let us know about the room. The written quote follows the visit.
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Practical tips
Fresh paintwork takes a while to cure fully, so go gently with it for a while. Beyond that, these tips help:
- Think about what you’ll keep in each drawer
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
- Find out what sits in the space now, from meters to pipes
- Tell us if the hall is being decorated
A hand-painted finish is easy to touch up if it gets marked. It’s worth keeping a note of the colour so any touch-ups match. A spray-painted finish is smooth and even, and small marks often clean off with a damp cloth.
Keep sharp or very heavy items away from the painted fronts. Put tools in a case so they do not knock the paint. A small chip on a hand-painted finish is easy to touch in.
Where other trades come in
Some parts of a job need another trade, from an electrician to a plumber or a Gas Safe registered engineer. Here’s what to know:
- Plastering and decorating around the new storage
- Any wiring or new lights, which need an electrician
- Altering or cutting into the stairs
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can message us from the contact page and we’ll give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Pull-out drawers
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF