Tower Hamlets · London
Under-stairs storage in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets
Pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs, for homes in Shadwell. Every piece is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- Struggling to reach the gas or electricity meter
- Needing a compact spot for a laptop
Under-stairs storage for your home in Shadwell
What it costs
To work out the quote, we look at:
- How square the room is
- Parking and unloading on your street
- Whether you choose a spray or hand-painted finish
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because the size, the layout and the finish all vary. Spray painting and hand painting are different processes, which affects the cost. The figure comes in your written quote after the design visit.
What we need to know
There is no need for exact sizes or plans. It is enough to send:
- Pictures of styles you like, if you have any
- Photos of the whole wall or room, including the floor and ceiling
- What you’d like to store or use the space for
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space, particularly with rough measurements. To send them over, drop us a line using the contact form, and we’ll arrange a design visit.
Under-stairs storage in Shadwell
No two staircases are quite the same. The soffit slopes, the stringer sets its own line, and floors are often a little out of level. We scribe the storage to the stairs and the walls, so it looks as though it has always been there. It’s the part of the job a boxed unit simply can’t manage. If you’re living with a hallway crowded with coats and shoes and open space under the stairs that collects clutter, that’s what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
In a block, the lift, the corridors and the door to the flat set the size of each section. Around Shadwell, most households are in purpose-built flats, so under-stairs cupboards are drawn in sections from the start. Floors in the corridor and the flat are covered on the way in.
The furniture is built in our workshop after you’ve had the quote and decided to go ahead. The quote sets out the agreed design, materials and finish, so every detail can be checked first.
- Location
- Shadwell (SE16, E1, E1W)
- Area
- Tower Hamlets
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Under-stairs storage in Shadwell: local notes
Homes built between 1973 and 1999 make up about 35% of the housing in the area around Shadwell, with about 28% built since 2000, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Shadwell include Church of St Peter (Grade I), about 0.5 miles west, and Church of St George in the East (Grade I), about 0.6 miles west. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, like fixing into original panelling. The council’s conservation officer is the person to ask before work starts. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so Tower Hamlets is inside it. It applies to the vans that deliver and fit furniture in Shadwell, as it does anywhere else in London. We plan parking and access with you at the measuring visit.
If you live in a period home close to St Paul's Church, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks. Living in a block of flats near Wapping station? Then each piece is planned so it can be carried up and joined together in the room.
Shadwell is part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, about 1 mile north-west of Whitechapel. We design and make under-stairs storage for homes in Shadwell and across Tower Hamlets, as part of our work in every London borough. Across Tower Hamlets, we cover Shadwell, along with the rest of the borough.
Every address in SE16, E1 and E1W is within our area for under-stairs storage, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Streets in the area include Swan Road, Thame Road and Brunel Road, and homes on each of them are within our area for under-stairs storage. Shadwell is near the A101 and A126; on busy main roads, unloading under-stairs cupboards takes a little planning. We also cover Ratcliff (1 mile north), East End of London (1 mile north-west), Wapping (1 mile west), St George in the East (1 mile west) and Limehouse (1 mile north-east). Other parts of Tower Hamlets we cover include Bethnal Green (2 miles north), Cambridge Heath (2 miles north), Bromley (2 miles north-east), Old Ford (2 miles north-east), Donnybrook Quarter (2 miles north) and Bow (2 miles north-east).
Around Shadwell
Around Shadwell, we cover homes near Prospect of Whitby pub, Bacon's College and Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives, among other places. Shadwell has its own railway station: Wapping station. Other landmarks nearby include The Pumphouse Educational Museum (under half a mile east) and Tower of London (1.3 miles west). Not far away are Tower Hill and Lavender Pond.
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
Shop-bought shelves can sag over a long span. Span, depth and the weight on it decide whether a shelf sags, so a long run needs a thicker shelf, a stiffening lip or a support. We design shelves with that in mind.
The problems under-stairs storage solve
With more people working from home, some want a desk tucked under the stairs. If the space opens onto a room, a compact desk with shelves above can sit beneath the stairs. It will not replace a full home office, but it suits paperwork and a laptop.
Here’s what under-stairs storage can help with:
- Space under the stairs that’s hard to use
- A vacuum cleaner that has nowhere to go
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
If you live near Russia Dock Woodland, living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and under-stairs cupboards can give those things a place.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Will they visit to measure before quoting?
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
Neighbourhoods near Shadwell
Other services in Shadwell
Questions from Shadwell
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are mostly concerned with the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
I live in a flat in Shadwell. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it’s worth checking those early.
How long does the fitting take?
It depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. It is something we discuss at the design visit.
Can you fit furniture to uneven walls?
It’s something we deal with all the time. We trim the edges to follow the wall and level the base.
Can I send photos ahead of the visit?
Yes. Pictures help us understand the room before the design visit, along with rough sizes. Show anything the furniture has to work around, like radiators or sockets.
What happens when you come to measure?
It is a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, then send a quote in writing.
How fitting works for under-stairs storage
Once the main sections are fixed in place, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. We adjust each one so the gaps line up and it closes cleanly. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Where there’s no lift, each section is sized to be carried up the stairs safely. The tightest landing sets the largest piece. The pieces are assembled in the flat.
- It starts when you contact us with a few details about the space.
- At the design visit we measure under the stairs and plan the drawers and doors with you, keeping the meters and fuse board easy to reach.
- A written quote follows, with the design, finish and fitting days set out.
- Your storage is made at our workshop and painted to the colour you chose. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We bring it to your home, fit it and leave it ready to use.
Before fitting day
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Starting with a design visit
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. Each room is different, so we quote after seeing it, when we have measured up and talked through the design. To arrange a visit, drop us a line using the contact form.
Read more
Materials and finishes
Hand-painted finish
Hand painting can be done on site after fitting. It’s easy to touch up if it gets marked, which helps in a well-used hall.
Plinths and scribe strips
Walls are rarely flat and floors rarely level, in older homes particularly. We use scribe strips at the walls and a plinth at the floor to take up the difference. The result is neat, even lines all round.