Southwark · London
Southwark Under-Stairs Storage
Pull-out drawers, cupboards and coat storage under the stairs, for homes in Southwark. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- Struggling to reach the gas or electricity meter
- Storage that doesn’t match the hallway
- An under-stairs cupboard full of clutter
Ask about under-stairs storage in Southwark
Under-stairs storage in Southwark: local notes
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Southwark were built since 2000 (about 46%) and before 1919 (about 17%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. The National Heritage List has 171 entries within half a mile of the centre of Southwark. Original fireplaces, shutters and panelling are worth keeping where they survive, and under-stairs cupboards can be designed to work around them. The ULEZ, run by TfL, takes in all of London, so the rest of London is inside it. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Southwark. Access and parking are talked through during the design visit.
Mansion House, about 0.9 miles north, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, the space under the stairs may hold the meters or the fuse board, and the cupboards are planned around them. If your home is one of the older houses near Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel, under-stairs cupboards are scribed to walls and stair strings that are rarely straight.
Southwark is about 3 miles south of East Dulwich, part of the London Borough of Southwark. Whether your home in Southwark is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Our work takes in places right across the rest of London, large and small.
We cover every part of SE1 and SE11. Streets in the area include Borough Square, Trinity Church Square and Merrick Square, and homes on each of them are within our area for under-stairs storage. Main roads around Southwark include the A300 and B240. We also cover Tower Hill (1 mile north-east), City of London (1 mile north), Aldgate (1 mile north-east), Bishopsgate (1 mile north-east) and Barbican Estate (1 mile north). Other parts of the rest of London we cover include East Dulwich (3 miles south), Herne Hill (3 miles south), Camberwell (2 miles south), Peckham (3 miles south-east), Rotherhithe (2 miles east) and Surrey Quays (2 miles east).
Local landmarks in Southwark
We fit furniture in homes around The BFI Reuben Library, The Gladstone Arms and London School of Musical Theatre and the streets around them. Other local landmarks include St Mary-at-Hill (0.9 miles north-east) and Ark Globe Academy (a few minutes’ walk south-east). The nearest railway station is Elephant & Castle station, about 0.5 miles south. Other landmarks nearby include Surrey Dispensary (close by, under half a mile south-east) and Baynard's Castle (0.8 miles north). Not far away are Ludgate Hill.
Under-stairs storage in Southwark
Not every staircase is in a house. Maisonettes, split-level flats and homes with stairs down to a lower floor often have usable space beneath the steps. The parts we make in our workshop are sized to get through the doors and hallways on the way in. Wherever your home is in Southwark, the process is the same. We make under-stairs cupboards from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted, and people most often get in touch about a meter or fuse board buried behind clutter and an under-stairs cupboard full of clutter.
Newer homes often have plain spaces left as they are: a recess beside the stairs, a gap by a window, an empty cupboard. Around Southwark, many homes were built since 2000, so spaces like that are worth a second look. Drawers and shelves can make use of the full depth.
A written quote is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It describes the under-stairs cupboard we’ve designed for the room, its materials and its finish, and it is what the workshop builds to.
- Place
- Southwark (SE1, SE11)
- Area
- Southwark
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by arrangement
- Contact
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Common questions about under-stairs storage
How do you fit under-stairs storage in a flat in Southwark?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. Under-stairs cupboards are built in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It’s useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Do I need permission for fitted furniture in a conservation area?
Normally not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t 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.
Do you work on Saturdays?
Yes, Saturdays are possible by arrangement. Just mention it when you get in touch.
Do you do the electrics?
No. Any new wiring, sockets or lights need an electrician, and some electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations. We’ll design around them.
How is the furniture painted?
You can choose between two finishes: by spray or by hand. Spray painting gives a smooth, even finish, and hand painting is easy to touch up.
How much will my under-stairs cupboard cost?
Each room is quoted on its own: the size, what goes inside, the finish and how square the room is all count. You’ll get a written quote once we’ve measured up.
Also near Southwark
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Flat-pack or bespoke?
It’s worth being honest about cost: flat-pack is normally 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.
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that aren’t square. Older London rooms tend to have leaning walls, sloping floors and alcoves of different widths, which leaves standard units with gaps at the sides and top.
From workshop to your room
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. How long the fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Newer blocks often have concierge desks, entry systems and rules on lift booking, so check them with the managing agent before fitting day. The furniture is built in sections that fit the lift and doorways.
- 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 in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, cut to the angle of the stairs.
- We fit the storage in your home, trimming the edges so they meet the stairs neatly. The finish is sprayed in the workshop or painted by hand once it is in.
Preparing the room
- If you live in a block, book the lift and tell the building manager
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
Starting with a design visit
It helps to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them give us a good feel for the space, especially with rough measurements. To send them over, tell us about the room on our contact form, and we will suggest a time for a design visit.
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Materials and finishes
Birch plywood
We use birch plywood where strength matters, as it is strong and holds screws firmly. It is a good choice for drawer boxes and carcasses that carry weight. Its layered edge can be shown or painted.
Spray-painted finish
Spray painting suits flat, panelled and angled fronts alike. It is carried out in the workshop for a smooth, even coat. Any paint colour agreed with you can be used.
What prompts under-stairs storage in Southwark
When a home is short on storage, the space under the stairs is too useful to waste. Turned into proper storage, it can hold the everyday things that would otherwise fill the hallway. It also takes pressure off the other cupboards in the house.
People normally get in touch with us about needs like these:
- Coats and shoes piling up in the hall
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
- No room for a small desk or a place to work
- A sloping corner nobody can reach
Living in a block of flats near Elephant & Castle station? Then it’s useful to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Before you hire any carpenter
- Which materials they’ll use, named in the quote
- Whether the route into your home has been checked
- Can you see real work of theirs?
- Will the doors close with even gaps?
Where other trades come in
We make and fit furniture, and we do not do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. Please bear these in mind too:
- Moving gas pipes under the stairs
- Painting the hallway walls and ceiling
- Altering or cutting into the stairs
If in doubt, you can get in touch through our contact form and describe the room before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
- Pull-out drawers
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish