Camden · London
Swiss Cottage Under-Stairs Storage
Planning under-stairs storage for a home in Swiss Cottage? It starts with a design visit to measure and talk through ideas, then a quote in writing.
- Needing a compact spot for a laptop
- A tired under-stairs cupboard that stands out
- Stairs open to a room, with clutter on show
Under-stairs storage in Swiss Cottage
About our under-stairs storage in Swiss Cottage
Under the stairs is where so much ends up, from coats and shoes to the vacuum cleaner. Our under-stairs storage is planned around what you need to store, with pull-out drawers, cupboards or a combination of the two. For a home in Swiss Cottage, it starts with a design visit to measure the space and talk it through. If you’re living with a hallway crowded with coats and shoes and a staircase with untidy space beneath it, under-stairs cupboards made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish can solve it.
Where original shutters, doors or panelling survive, they’re worth designing around. Around Swiss Cottage, where homes from before 1919 make up a large share, fitted storage can be designed to sit alongside them. Door styles can be chosen to suit the age of the house. If your home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original joinery.
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 you can check every detail beforehand.
- Place
- Swiss Cottage (NW3, NW8, NW6)
- Borough
- Camden
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions from Swiss Cottage
My home in Swiss Cottage 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 built in 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.
I live near South Hampstead station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Camden and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can fill in our short enquiry form to arrange a design visit.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not normally. Fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission, even in a conservation area. Listed buildings can need listed building consent for works that affect their character, so check with the council first.
How do I get a quote?
Simply message us from the contact page. Rough measurements and a few pictures help, and then we arrange a visit to measure and talk through the design, followed by a written quote.
Can you fit furniture to uneven walls?
Uneven walls are normal in older London homes, and the furniture is made to deal with them. Edges are scribed to the wall, and adjustable feet or a plinth bring the furniture up to level.
How is the furniture painted?
There are two options: a spray finish from the workshop, which is smooth and even, or hand painting, which can be done in your home. Your quote sets out which you have chosen.
Nearby places to Swiss Cottage
Other services in Swiss Cottage
Flats, leases and landlords
In conversions and newer blocks, many internal walls are timber or metal stud with plasterboard. We choose fixings to suit the wall.
If the property is let, we’ll need access agreed with the tenants. An agent can arrange access for you.
Under-stairs storage in Swiss Cottage: local notes
In the neighbourhood around Swiss Cottage, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 47%) and between 1945 and 1972 (about 23%), 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. Within a mile of the centre of Swiss Cottage, 12 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. About 31% of households in the area around Swiss Cottage live in flats in converted or shared houses, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. In a converted house, rooms can be odd shapes, with new partitions meeting old walls, and the route in may go through a shared hall and stairs. A lease can require consent for alterations, so it is worth checking yours first.
Winfield House, about 0.9 miles south-east, 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. Close to Primrose Hill? Under-stairs cupboards can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things. If your children go to The UCL Academy or a school nearby, under-stairs cupboards can be planned around what a family needs to keep, from coats and bags to sports kit.
Swiss Cottage is in the London Borough of Camden, about 3 miles south-east of St Pancras. Design visits and fitting in Swiss Cottage can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. Swiss Cottage is one of 28 places on our list for Camden.
Postcode districts we cover here for under-stairs storage: NW3, NW8 and NW6. Whether you live on a street like Avenue Road, Acacia Road and Harben Road or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for under-stairs storage. We also cover the places around Swiss Cottage: South Hampstead (1 mile north), St John's Wood (1 mile south), Haverstock (1 mile east), Belsize Park (1 mile east) and Primrose Hill (1 mile east). Elsewhere in Camden, we also cover St Pancras (3 miles south-east), West End (3 miles south-east), St Giles (3 miles south-east), Seven Dials (3 miles south-east), Holborn (3 miles south-east) and Bloomsbury (2 miles south-east).
Around Swiss Cottage
Around Swiss Cottage, we cover homes near Cecil Sharp House, St. Mary's Town and Country School and Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, among other places. There is a railway station in Swiss Cottage itself: South Hampstead station. Other landmarks nearby include O2 Centre (0.5 miles north-west) and Isokon Gallery (0.8 miles north-east). Not far away are Adelaide Nature Reserve.
What under-stairs storage cannot fix
We make and fit furniture, and we don’t do electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering or structural work. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Making good the walls and ceiling, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Changing where a meter sits, which is not carpentry
- Altering or cutting into the stairs
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we’ll give you a straight answer. How a job runs, step by step.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Pull-out drawers
- Coat hooks and shoe shelves
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
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 real difference is in the fit: edges scribed to the wall, a level base on a sloping floor and a neat line where the furniture meets the ceiling. Off-the-shelf furniture can’t typically do that in an older room.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
For a few hooks and a shelf for the vacuum, a ready-made solution can do the job. Bespoke storage makes sense when you want every part of the space working, not just the easy part. We are happy to talk through which suits you during the design visit. Standard units assume square rooms, and period homes seldom have them, so it leaves gaps at the wall, tilts on sloping floors or sits awkwardly against skirting and picture rails. Fitted pieces follow the wall and sit level.
How it is painted is part of the price: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. Your choice, along with the size and the fittings, is reflected in the written quote.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Swiss Cottage
- Built around your room
- Made in moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- 300+ projects completed
- We visit, measure and discuss the design before we quote
From workshop to your room
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, and then we check it all again. The time the fitting takes depends on how much storage you want under the stairs, and your quote sets out the fitting days. Older London houses often have narrow hallways and tight turns on the stairs, so the furniture comes in sections sized for the route in. Floors, stairs and doorways are covered before anything is carried through.
- First you let us know about the stairs and what you’d like to store beneath them, and whether the meters or fuse board are in there.
- At the design visit we measure under the stairs and plan the drawers and doors with you.
- A quote in writing follows, with the design, finish and fitting days set out.
- We make every part in our workshop, shaped to the angle of your stairs. We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit it in your home, scribed to the stairs and the walls.
Preparing the room
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Ask for a quote
A quote begins with a few details from you: the room, rough sizes and some pictures if you have them. When you are ready, drop us a line using the contact form. We will then arrange a design visit and follow it with a written quote.