Lambeth · London
South Bank Under-Stairs Storage
Under-stairs storage for your home in South Bank: pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs. We visit to measure and discuss the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- Struggling to reach the gas or electricity meter
- Nowhere to keep the vacuum and ironing board
- Open space under the stairs that collects clutter
Ask about under-stairs storage in South Bank
When is bespoke worth it?
What you pay for with bespoke is mainly the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture cannot typically do that in an older room.
Cost matters, and it’s fair to say so: flat-pack is typically cheaper to buy. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is tricky, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.
Under-stairs storage in South Bank: what you get
Under-stairs cupboards often hold a gas meter, an electricity meter or the fuse board. They need to stay accessible, so readings and safety checks can still be made. Our designs keep a clear way to them, often behind their own door, so you gain storage without losing access. If you are not sure what’s under your stairs in South Bank, we’ll look when we visit. If your home has open space under the stairs that collects clutter and an old cupboard door that doesn’t suit the hall, that’s what under-stairs cupboards are for, made from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed.
Most households around South Bank live in purpose-built flats, and in a flat, the hall, the recesses and the windows are where extra storage usually goes. Each piece is built in sections sized for the route into the flat. If a boiler or consumer unit sits in a cupboard, it keeps its clearances and access.
The written quote is your record of the job. It sets out the under-stairs cupboard designed for your room, its materials and its finish.
- Location
- South Bank (SE1, WC2E, WC2N)
- Area
- Lambeth
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a written quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near South Bank
More for homes in South Bank
What we do not do
We’re carpenters, so some jobs belong to other trades. These are worth knowing before you plan:
- Changing where a meter sits, which isn’t carpentry
- Altering or cutting into the stairs
- New sockets, lights or wiring, which are for your electrician
Not sure whether your space suits under-stairs storage? You can tell us about the room on our contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Pull-out drawers
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
Storage in South Bank homes: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around South Bank were built before 1919 (about 36%) and since 2000 (about 32%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. For carpentry, the era of a house is a useful clue to how square its rooms are and what its walls are made of. There are 243 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of South Bank. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and the furniture can be designed around them rather than over them. Purpose-built flats are home to about 78% of households in the neighbourhood around South Bank, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. For a flat, under-stairs cupboards are made in sections sized for the stairs, the lift and the doors. Building management rules on lifts, deliveries and working hours are worth checking early.
Close to Jubilee Gardens? Living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and under-stairs cupboards can give those things a place. For an older house near St John's Church, pull-out drawers can reach right to the back of a deep under-stairs space. Benjamin Franklin House, about 0.4 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. For a period home anywhere nearby, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them.
South Bank is about 3 miles south of Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. Homes in South Bank are part of the area we cover for under-stairs storage, as part of our work in every London borough. Across Lambeth, we cover South Bank.
Every address in SE1, WC2E and WC2N 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 York Road, Spur Road and Lower Road, or close by, we can arrange a design visit for under-stairs storage. South Bank is near the A301 and A302, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you contact us. Close by, we also work in Waterloo (1 mile south-east), Adelphi (1 mile north-west), Charing Cross (1 mile north-west), Temple (1 mile north-east) and Aldwych (1 mile north). We also make under-stairs storage in nearby places such as Stockwell (3 miles south), Kennington (2 miles south), Streatham (5 miles south), West Norwood (5 miles south), North Brixton (2 miles south) and Little Portugal (2 miles south).
What’s near South Bank
We fit furniture in homes around The BFI Reuben Library, St Andrew's and St John's Church of England Primary School and The Hole In The Wall pub. There is a railway station in South Bank itself: London Waterloo station. A little further out are Baynard's Castle (0.9 miles north-east) and Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women (close by, under half a mile north-east). Not far away are Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
Standard storage is built for a level floor and a square space, and the space under a staircase is neither. A ready-made unit tends to leave gaps at the slope and wasted space at the back. Storage made for the space follows the angle of the stairs and uses its full depth. It is a bigger investment than a flat-pack unit, and the return is in the space it uses. Ready-made units can’t follow the boxing and risers found in many flats, leaving gaps or blocking access. Built-in pieces are designed around them, with access kept.
Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size is the starting point. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Why us?
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Built around your room
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
Take a look at our comparison of bespoke and off-the-shelf and how to compare quotes.
Questions from South Bank
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
I live near London Waterloo station. Is that in your area?
Yes. We cover all of Lambeth and the rest of London. To get started, you can get in touch through our contact form with some details about the room.
Can you come on a Saturday?
Yes, we can arrange Saturdays. Just mention it when you contact us.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you don’t need to stay in the room.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Is it possible to match the colour of my hallway?
Yes. We paint the storage in the colour you choose, by spray or by hand. It can match the walls, the stairs or the woodwork, so it looks like part of the house.
From workshop to your room
Getting everything level comes first. Floors are often out of level, so adjustable feet or a plinth take up the difference. After that, it’s fixed to the wall using fixings that suit the wall, whether that is solid brick, lath and plaster or plasterboard. Parking near blocks of flats can be limited, and loading may need planning, so details of bays, permits or a loading area help. Once inside, the sections are joined and fixed with fixings that suit the wall. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
- To begin, send us a few details through our contact form; a brief note on the space and what it holds now is plenty.
- At the design visit we measure the space and plan the storage around the meters, so readers and engineers can still reach them.
- A quote in writing follows, setting out the design, materials and finish.
- We make it in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with a door or panel left where the meters need access.
- The storage is fitted and set level, and the meter access is checked with you.
Before fitting day
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
- Take anything hanging off the wall we’re fitting to
How to get a quote
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. Because every room is different, the quote comes after the design visit, when we have measured up and talked through the design. For a quote, get in touch through our contact form.
Read more
What affects the price in South Bank
Each piece is designed for one room, so each price is too. What affects it comes down to:
- Stairs, lifts and the route to the room
- How many doors and drawers there are
- The internal fittings
- Parking near your home
Tricky rooms take more time: walls that lean, floors that slope and sloping ceilings all mean more scribing and cutting. That is reflected in the quote, written once we have measured up.
What we need to know
What helps most when you first contact us:
- Whether it is a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- Your postcode and the borough
- Examples of the look you’re after
- Anything fixed to the wall that the furniture needs to work around
Getting a quote starts with some details: which room it is, rough sizes and a couple of photos if you can take them. When you’re ready, drop us a line using the contact form. We will then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.