City of London · London
Smithfield Under-Stairs Storage
For homes in Smithfield, we make under-stairs storage from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- Struggling to reach the gas or electricity meter
- Open space under the stairs that collects clutter
- Cleaning things with no proper home
Under-stairs storage in Smithfield
Under-stairs storage in Smithfield: what you get
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. We’ll look at whether it suits your stairs when we visit in Smithfield. People usually come to us about a hallway crowded with coats and shoes and cleaning things with no proper home; the furniture is made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Purpose-built flats are home to most households around Smithfield, and blocks often have rules on lifts, deliveries and when work can happen. It is useful to check them with the managing agent before fitting day. If the flat is leasehold, the lease may need checking before under-stairs cupboards are fixed to the walls.
Once you’ve read the quote and decided to go ahead, the furniture is built in our workshop. It describes the design, the materials and the finish agreed at the visit, so every detail can be checked first.
- Place
- Smithfield (EC1V, EC1P, EC1R)
- Area
- City of London
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
Under-stairs storage for homes in Smithfield
In the streets around Smithfield, the largest groups of homes date from the years since 2000 (about 32%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 28%), going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. 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 Smithfield, Historic England’s list includes Church of St Sepulchre (Grade I), under half a mile south, and Church of St Bartholomew the Great (Grade I), under half a mile east. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, such as fixing into original panelling. It’s worth speaking to the council’s conservation officer before the design is final. About 32% of homes in the streets around Smithfield were built since 2000, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Homes built since 2000 rarely have much storage, and they tend to have stud walls, so under-stairs cupboards are designed with fixings to suit.
Close to Postman's Park? Living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and under-stairs cupboards can give those things a place. If your children go to Charterhouse Square School or a school nearby, deep drawers suit the bulky things families collect, from scooters to swimming kit.
Smithfield is part of the City of London, about 1 mile south-east of City of London. From period terraces to newer flats in Smithfield, we measure the room as it is and design around it. We list Smithfield among 8 places we cover in the City of London.
Design visits and fitting in EC1V, EC1P and EC1R work the same way as everywhere else we cover. Whether you live on a street like Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for under-stairs storage. Main roads around Smithfield include the A1 and A4. We also cover the places around Smithfield: Farringdon (1 mile north), Blackfriars (1 mile south), Holborn (1 mile west), Temple Bar (1 mile south-west) and Clerkenwell (1 mile north).
Around Smithfield
In Smithfield, that includes homes near St Alban's Church of England Primary School, London Nautical School and Barts Health Archives. You’ll also find Oriole pub (close by, under half a mile south-west) and St Mary-at-Hill (1 mile south-east). There is a railway station in Smithfield itself: Farringdon station. Other landmarks nearby include Montfichet's Tower (a few minutes’ walk south) and Gabriel's Wharf (0.8 miles south). Not far away are Ludgate Hill.
Questions we’re often asked
Can you make under-stairs storage for a home in Smithfield?
Yes, Smithfield is within the area we cover, which takes in all of the City of London 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.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Smithfield?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit. The City is inside the Congestion Charge zone too, and the ULEZ covers all of London.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, by prior arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you get in touch.
Should I choose drawers or cupboards under the stairs?
The answer depends on your stairs and what you’ll keep there. Pull-out drawers suit the low, deep end, as they bring the back within reach. Cupboards suit the tall end, for coats or a vacuum cleaner.
Do photos help?
Yes. They give us a feel for the space before we visit. It helps to show radiators, sockets and anything else on the wall.
Is bespoke worth it?
If you only need a hook or two and a basic shelf, an off-the-shelf option may be enough. Bespoke work earns its place when you want to use the whole space, from the tall end to the lowest corner. At the design visit, we can talk honestly about which approach suits your stairs. Ready-made furniture stops at a set height, whatever the ceiling, which wastes the space above. Built-in pieces use the full height.
There is no price list, because each job is designed for a single room. We measure up, discuss the design and send a quote in writing. To arrange a design visit, get in touch through our contact form.
Why us?
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Work across the whole of London
- Fitted tight to walls that aren’t straight
Neighbourhoods near Smithfield
More for homes in Smithfield
Do you need under-stairs storage in Smithfield?
A hallway full of shoes and coats is a common reason to get in touch. With a rail, hooks and shoe drawers under the stairs, the hall stays clear, and the family has an obvious place to put things.
Here are some of the needs we’re asked about most:
- A low corner too deep to reach into
- Nowhere to put coats, shoes and bags
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
- Needing a compact spot for a laptop
The wider area includes historic houses such as Dr Johnson's House, about 0.3 miles south-west. If your own home is a period one, the triangle under an old staircase is often deeper than it looks.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- How doors and drawers are fitted
- Have they thought about parking near you?
- Whether they measure the room themselves
What affects the cost of under-stairs storage
Not every room costs the same, and it comes down to:
- The width and height of the space
- Hanging rails, shelves, drawers and other fittings inside
- How many doors and drawers there are
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. The price depends mainly on the size of the piece, how many doors and drawers it has and what goes inside.
What to send when you get in touch
Here’s what helps us most when you contact us:
- Radiators, sockets, pipes or meters on or near the wall
- Pictures showing the full wall, from floor to ceiling
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Rough sizes, even if they’re only to the nearest few centimetres
Pictures help us understand the room before we visit. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line tell us a lot about the space, along with rough sizes. To send them over, drop us a line using the contact form, and we’ll suggest a time for a design visit.
Looking after your furniture
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. Here are a few tips worth knowing:
- Note the size of anything tall you want to store
- Empty the cupboard so we can measure every corner
- Make a list of what you want to store before the design visit
- Find out what sits in the space now, from meters to pipes
When we’ve finished fitting, the drawers and doors are ready to use. Paint needs time to cure fully, so treat the new finish gently at first. Keep tape, sharp knocks and strong cleaners away from it while it settles.
Wet coats and shoes can mark paint and leave damp in a closed cupboard. It is 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.
How fitting day works
With the carcasses fixed and level, any doors go on and any drawers or lids are fitted. Each one is adjusted until the gaps are even and it closes cleanly, then checked again. How long fitting takes depends on the size of the space and the design, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. For a flat, the stairs, landings, lift and doors are measured as well as the room: under-stairs cupboards are made in sections sized for each of them. Some older blocks have small lifts or none, which the design allows for.
- You get in touch and tell us what’s under the stairs now, including any gas meter, electricity meter or fuse board.
- We visit to measure the slope and the floor, and agree a design that keeps any meter or fuse board accessible.
- A quote in writing follows, setting out the design, materials and finish.
- 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.
Before we arrive
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician ahead of time
- Move anything in the hall or on the stairs out of the way
Starting with a design visit
If you already have something in mind, tell us; 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, drop us a line using the contact form.