City of London · London
Wall beds in Barbican Estate, City of London
Fold-down wall beds built into fitted cabinets, for homes in Barbican Estate. After a design visit and a written quote, it’s made in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Shelves or a desk around the bed
- A bed that fills a little-used room
- A flexible room for a growing family
Wall beds in Barbican Estate
Wall beds in Barbican Estate
The bed mechanism must be fixed securely, exactly as its maker specifies, to a wall and floor that can take the load. We check the wall and floor at the measuring visit, because the fixing has to suit what the wall is made of. If you are living with a study that doubles as a spare room and more floor space in a studio flat, wall beds made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted can solve it.
A good share of the homes around Barbican Estate were built between 1945 and the early 1970s. Post-war bedrooms tend to be simple shapes, so fitted furniture can run cleanly across a wall. Some have a built-in cupboard over the stairs already, which can be opened up or reworked. Walls may be concrete, block or brick, so fixings are chosen for the wall.
A written quote is the clearest record of what we’ve agreed. It describes the wall bed we have designed for the room, what it is made from and how it’s finished.
- Place
- Barbican Estate (EC1V, EC2A, EC1Y)
- Area
- City of London
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it’s made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Materials and finish
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What wall beds cannot fix
Damp treatment and building work are for other specialists, and there are a few other limits too:
- Lease checks, which are for you and your building’s managers
- Strengthening or rebuilding a wall
- Wiring for lights or chargers
Not sure whether your space suits wall beds? You can fill in our short enquiry form and we’ll tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Shelves or a desk alongside
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Fold-down bed mechanism
How fitting day works
However carefully a piece is made in the workshop, it still has to meet the room, and fitting day is where that happens. Few walls in older London homes are truly flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself takes depends on the bed, the cabinets and the wall it fixes to, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Communal stairs in older blocks often have tight landings, so sections are sized for both the stairs and any lift. Letting the caretaker or managing agent know beforehand helps. Common parts are protected while we carry in.
- You get in touch and describe the room.
- At the design visit we plan the bed cabinet and check the stairs, landings and any lift.
- We send a quote in writing.
- The cabinet is made in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, in sections sized for the route.
- We carry the sections in, assemble them and fix the mechanism as its maker specifies, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
How to prepare
- Let us know about parking near your home
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Arrange any electrical changes with your electrician in advance
Getting a quote
We quote once we’ve seen the room. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. To book a design visit, use our contact form.
Related advice
Barbican Estate homes and wall beds
About 33% of the homes in the area around Barbican Estate went up since 2000, and about 31% between 1945 and 1972, 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. There’s a conservation area within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Barbican Estate, going by Historic England’s data. Being in a conservation area mainly affects changes to the outside of a building, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. The council can confirm if you’re not sure. Around a third of the homes in the neighbourhood around Barbican Estate (about 31%) were built between 1945 and 1972, in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. Bedrooms from that era tend to be regular, so fitted furniture can run wall to wall, with fixings chosen for concrete, block or brick.
For an older house near St Giles-without-Cripplegate, solid external walls can be cold, so ventilation behind wall beds is part of the design. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Church of St Giles, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features. If you live near Barbican Conservatory, morning light matters, so tall pieces go where they will not shade the window.
Barbican Estate is in the City of London, about 1 mile south of City of London. From period terraces to newer flats in Barbican Estate, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. Our work takes in places right across the City of London.
Here we cover the EC1V, EC2A and EC1Y postcode area for wall beds. You will find streets here like Oat Lane, Shoe Lane and Long Lane, and homes on each of them are within our area for wall beds. Main roads around Barbican Estate include the A1 and A40. If your home is on one of them, tell us at the design visit, as some main roads have strict stopping rules. Other places close to Barbican Estate include Finsbury (1 mile north), City of London (1 mile south), St Luke's (1 mile north), Bishopsgate (1 mile east) and Aldgate (1 mile south-east).
Local landmarks in Barbican Estate
Around Barbican Estate, we cover homes near The Jugged Hare pub, Charterhouse Square School and Barts Health Archives, among other places. There is a railway station in Barbican Estate itself: Moorgate station. Well-known places in the area include Montfichet's Tower (0.5 miles south-west) and Gabriel's Wharf (1 mile south-west). Not far away are Ludgate Hill.
Flats, blocks and rented homes
For a rented home, access for the design visit and fitting day has to be agreed with the tenants, at times that suit them. An agent can arrange access for you.
Leaseholders should check the lease before anything is fixed to the walls. A lease can require consent from the building owner for alterations, and that is best sorted before fitting day. We can’t give advice on leases, so check it yourself or ask your managing agent.
Neighbourhoods near Barbican Estate
Other services in Barbican Estate
Boards, parts and paint
Bed mechanism housing
A wall bed housing needs to be rigid and true, so it is built from sturdy board. It’s fixed into a wall or floor that can take the load.
Shelves
We size each shelf for its span and load.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
You can buy wall bed units off the shelf, often for less, and they can work in a simple space. They come in set sizes and finishes and rarely allow for an uneven wall or an alcove. A bespoke cabinet is built for the room. Off-the-shelf furniture tends to leave gaps at the ends of a wall and space above it, while fitted furniture fills the space. Every width is made for the room.
Access to the room makes a difference too. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, which the quote allows for. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space.
Why us?
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Finished by spray or by hand
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made or what a quote should include.
Questions we’re often asked
My home in Barbican Estate is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
We measure the route in not just the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. Wall beds are built in our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. It is useful to check any building rules and your lease before fitting day.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Barbican Estate?
It can be, as controlled parking zones cover much of inner London. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it. The whole City of London is also inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the ULEZ covers every London borough.
Can you build shelves or a desk around a wall bed?
Yes. We often design the bed as part of a wider storage wall, so the whole wall is useful. We plan it so the bed still has room to come down.
Is a mattress included with the wall bed?
The mechanism maker sets limits on mattress size and weight. We go through the mechanism’s limits when we measure, so you can choose with confidence.
Can a wall bed go on any wall?
That depends on what the wall and floor are made of. The mechanism must be fixed to a sound wall or floor, as its maker specifies, and we look at this when we measure.
What if my walls and floors are out of level?
Walls and floors that are not true are part of the job in older homes. The furniture is scribed to follow the walls and levelled on feet or a plinth.