Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
City of London · London
Blackfriars Window Seats
Window seats for your home in Blackfriars: window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside. We visit to measure and discuss the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- An empty bay that does not get used
- Wanting a seat without blocking the radiator
- A room with shutters and sashes that deserves a proper seat
Ask about window seats in Blackfriars
About our window seats in Blackfriars
In many period houses, a bay window is the obvious place for a seat. Bays have angled sides, and their walls are seldom square or flat. Each side is measured and the seat is scribed to fit, so the seat follows the bay exactly. It’s a job that suits bespoke work, in Blackfriars or anywhere else. We make window seats from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the usual reasons to get in touch are a nursery or bedroom short of storage and an empty bay that doesn’t get used.
If you live in one of the post-war homes around Blackfriars, windows are often wide, with radiators below. A window seat there needs a grille or an open front so the heat still reaches the room. Fitted storage can also use the hall, the landing or the space below the stairs, made to fit the room as it is.
A quote in writing follows the design visit. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
- Location
- Blackfriars (SE1, EC1M, EC1N)
- Area
- City of London
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Where it is made
- Workshop-made, then fitted
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Questions we’re often asked
I live in a flat in Blackfriars. How will the furniture get up the stairs?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it’s worth checking those early.
Is parking a problem for fitting in Blackfriars?
It can be: much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor’s permit, a paid parking bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you at the measuring visit. The whole City of London is also inside the Congestion Charge zone, and the ULEZ covers every London borough.
Does fitted furniture need planning permission?
Usually not. 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.
Is it possible to have a window seat above a radiator?
Yes. A radiator under the window is common, and the seat is designed to work with it. A grille in the front lets the heat into the room. Anything stored over the radiator will stay warm, so we plan the storage with that in mind.
What is a window seat made from?
We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Birch plywood gives strength to the frame and seat, and MDF takes paint well for the fronts and grilles. Everything is finished by spray painting or hand painting.
Do I choose the paint colour?
You do. We agree the colour with you.
Why bespoke in Blackfriars?
For a straight window with no radiator, a ready-made bench can do the job. Bespoke work makes sense when the window is a bay, there is a radiator below, or you want storage built in. At the design visit, we will tell you honestly which approach suits your window. Fixing standalone furniture to concrete or blockwork can be tricky, while fitted furniture is planned with the right fixings from the start. That matters for tall units and loaded shelves.
Getting to the room affects the job as well. Several flights of stairs, a small lift or a narrow hall can mean smaller sections and more carrying, which the quote allows for. Because every job is different, the cost is set out in a written quote after the visit.
Why us?
- A design visit, then a quote in writing
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Saturday visits and fitting by arrangement
- Moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
Fitting day, step by step
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 whether the seat has drawers, a lift-up lid or a radiator grille, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. In a post-war block of flats, the route in may include communal stairs, landings and a lift, so window seats are made in sections sized for each. If the building has rules on lift use or working hours, it helps to tell us at the measuring visit.
- First we hear about your bay or window and what you’d like, with a note of any radiator or shutters.
- At the design visit, every side of the window is measured. Then we talk through the seat height and storage.
- The design is agreed and a quote in writing follows.
- The seat is built in our workshop and painted in your colour.
- The seat is fitted, scribed to the walls and checked with you. A radiator grille, if there is one, lets the heat through.
Preparing the room
- Take anything hanging off the wall we are fitting to
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
Arranging a design visit
It’s useful 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, along with rough measurements. To share them, fill in our short enquiry form, and we will arrange a design visit.
Read more
Why people ask for window seats in Blackfriars
In a period home, a window seat can suit the character of the room. Painted to suit the room, it can sit with the original features. It suits anyone who wants new furniture to sit well in a period room.
If you recognise any of these, it’s worth talking to us:
- A radiator under the window getting in the way
- Nowhere to keep blankets, toys or books
- A ready-made bench that does not fit the bay
- A period room that needs furniture to suit it
Dr Johnson's House, about 0.2 miles north-west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, a bay or a sash window is a natural place for a window seat.
Before you hire any carpenter
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Where they’ll park and unload
Neighbourhoods near Blackfriars
Also in Blackfriars
Tips worth knowing
The finish lasts best with a little care, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Note the position of any radiator and its pipes
- Consider adding shelving around the seat
- Choose a colour that suits the room
- Decide whether you’d like a lid, drawers or both
We open each lid and drawer with you before we go. If there’s a radiator grille, we make sure the radiator is clear and the grille is in place. You will know it all works as it should.
Condensation on the glass can drip onto the cill and the seat, so wipe it away. Keep the window ventilated in cold weather. Dry any water on the paint promptly.
What window seats can’t fix
Some parts of a job need another trade, from an electrician to a plumber or a Gas Safe registered engineer. Here’s what to know:
- Moving or replacing a radiator, which is for your plumber
- Plastering and decorating around the seat
- Fabric covers and cushions
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
- Spray-painted finish
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Lift-up lids or drawers
- Radiator grilles
Window seats for homes in Blackfriars
About 40% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Blackfriars went up between 1945 and 1972, and about 27% since 2000, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. The Whitefriars Conservation Area is close by, within about a quarter of a mile of the centre of Blackfriars. Conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If you are unsure, check with the council before work starts. About 87% of households in the streets around Blackfriars live in purpose-built flats, going by Census 2021 figures from the ONS. For a flat, window seats 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.
For a family home near Mercers' School, window seats can be planned around what a family needs to keep, from coats and bags to sports kit. If you live in a flat close to London Blackfriars station, it is useful to book the lift and tell the concierge before fitting day.
Blackfriars is about 1 mile east of City of London, within the City of London. Our work covers every London borough and the City of London, Blackfriars included. We cover places right across the City of London, large and small.
In SE1, EC1M and EC1N, the process is the same as anywhere else in London. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Oat Lane, Bear Lane and Shoe Lane, along with the roads around them, for window seats and any of our other fitted furniture. Main roads around Blackfriars include the A4 and A40, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Close by, we also work in Temple (1 mile west), Temple Bar (1 mile west), Bankside (1 mile south-east), Smithfield (1 mile north) and Clare Market (1 mile west).
What’s near Blackfriars
We fit furniture in homes around London Nautical School, St Mary-at-Hill and St Alban's Church of England Primary School. Also close by are Barts Health Archives (under half a mile north-east) and The Black Friar pub (close by, under half a mile south-east). Blackfriars has its own railway station: London Blackfriars station. Well-known places in the area include Montfichet's Tower (under half a mile north-east) and St Brides Crypt Museum (under half a mile north-west). For a walk, there’s St. James's Park Lake and Ludgate Hill.