Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Croydon · London
Window seats in Coombe, Croydon
For homes in Coombe, we make window seats from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. Each piece is finished by spray or by hand, in the colour you choose.
- A nursery or bedroom short of storage
- A recess under the window doing nothing
- Standard furniture leaving gaps in a bay
Window seats designed for your room
Window seats in Coombe
A window seat turns the light by a window into a place to sit. We design and make window seats for bays, sash windows and recesses, often with storage underneath behind a lift-up lid or drawers. In Coombe, as everywhere we work, it begins with a visit to measure and plan. People typically come to us about a recess under the window doing nothing and nowhere to keep blankets, toys or books, and the answer is built in our workshop from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
A good share of the homes around Coombe were built between 1945 and the early 1970s. Homes from that era tend to have simpler shapes than older houses, with fewer recesses, which means window seats can add storage that was never built in. The fixings are chosen for the wall, whether it is concrete, blockwork or brick.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It sets out the design we’ve talked through, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Coombe (CR0, CR2, CR9)
- Area
- Croydon
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- How it starts
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- When we fit
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Get in touch
- Send us a message
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
Practical tips
Most of what helps is simple. Here’s what we suggest:
- Think about the cushion you’d like and who will make it
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
- Consider how often you will reach for what’s stored
- Let us know about the radiator before we visit
In winter, windows can run with condensation, so keep the area behind the seat dry. A little ventilation helps keep things dry. If anything isn’t right with the seat, message us from the contact page and we’ll talk it through.
Condensation on the glass can drip onto the cill and the seat, so wipe it away. A little fresh air helps reduce condensation. Do not leave water sitting on the painted surface.
Neighbourhoods near Coombe
More for homes in Coombe
Fitting day, step by step
With the carcasses fixed and level, we hang any doors and fit any drawers or lids. We adjust each one so the gaps line up and it closes cleanly, and then we check it all again. How long fitting takes depends on the shape of the bay or recess and what goes under the seat, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Parking near post-war estates can depend on residents’ bays and estate rules, so it’s useful to tell us at the design visit. On the day, the sections are carried in, assembled and fixed. Saturdays can be arranged.
- You let us know about the window and the room.
- At the design visit, every side of the window is measured.
- We agree the seat, the storage and the finish, and send a written quote. Take your time with it.
- Every part is made in our workshop, ready for a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
- We fit it in your home and check every lid and drawer with you.
Before we arrive
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Empty the space we’ll be working in
- Keep pets in another room while we work
Starting with a design visit
It is useful to see the room before we come. A few pictures showing the walls, the corners and where the ceiling meets them tell us a lot about the space, along with rough sizes. To share them, get in touch through our contact form, and we’ll arrange a design visit.
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How it’s made
Hand-painted finish
Some people prefer a hand-painted finish for its softer look. It’s done on site, in the colour you choose. It can be matched to the window woodwork.
Spray-painted finish
For a crisp look, many people choose a spray-painted finish. It’s applied in our workshop, and the paint needs time to cure fully once fitted.
Could you do it yourself?
Where bespoke earns its keep is in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths.
Off-the-shelf cupboards come in fixed sizes, so there’s normally a gap left over at the top or at one end. Fitted furniture is made to the room’s measurements, so it can run to the ceiling and fill the width.
Your questions about window seats in Coombe
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Coombe?
It can be, depending on whether your street is in a controlled parking zone. A van may need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It’s useful to let us know about parking at the measuring visit, and we’ll plan around it.
My home in Coombe is a flat. How do you get the furniture in?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just 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 it possible to have a window seat above a radiator?
Yes. We build a grille or an open front into the seat so the heat isn’t trapped. We also leave space around the radiator. If you want the radiator moved, that is work for your plumber.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
Someone needs to be there to let us in. You do not need to watch us work, though we like to go over the furniture with you at the end.
Do I choose the paint colour?
You choose it. We agree the colour with you.
Which materials go into your window seats?
We use moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood. The frame and seat top are birch plywood, which is strong and holds screws well, while the fronts and grilles are MDF, which paints well. Everything is finished by spray painting or hand painting.
Coombe homes and window seats
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 43% of the housing in the streets around Coombe, with about 36% built between 1973 and 1999, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax 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. Near the centre of Coombe, Historic England’s list includes Lodge to Combe House (st Margaret's School) (Grade II), less than half a mile south-west, and Coombe House (st Margaret's School) (Grade II), less than half a mile west. Works inside a listed home that affect its character, for instance removing original joinery or fixing into it, can need listed building consent from the council. An early word with the council’s conservation officer is the best first step. About 52% of households around Coombe live in purpose-built flats, well above the figure for Croydon as a whole, about 29%, based on Census 2021. So the route in, from stairs to lifts, is part of the design.
For a family home near Coombe Wood School, a place for each person’s coat and shoes stops the hallway filling up. Addington Palace, about 1.3 miles east, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, a seat under a sash window can keep shutters and cills clear. Close to Addington Hills? Window seats can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things.
Coombe is about 3 miles north-west of Thornton Heath, in the London Borough of Croydon. We can visit homes in Coombe on weekdays, or on a Saturday by arrangement. We list Coombe among 32 places we cover in Croydon.
Here we cover the CR0, CR2 and CR9 postcode area for window seats. You’ll find streets here like Oaks Road, Coombe Road and Coombe Lane, and we cover homes on all of them for window seats. We also cover Croydon (1 mile west), Addiscombe (1 mile north), South Croydon (1 mile south-west), Shirley Oaks (1 mile north-east) and Shirley (1 mile north-east). Elsewhere in Croydon, we also cover Thornton Heath (3 miles north-west), Coulsdon (4 miles south-west), Purley (3 miles south-west), Broad Green (2 miles north-west), Upper Norwood (4 miles north) and Selhurst (3 miles north).
Landmarks near Coombe
Our area takes in the homes around St Peter's Primary School, Coombe Lodge pub and Royal Russell School, among other places. For rail, the closest station is South Croydon station, about 1 mile west of the centre. A little further out are St George's Walk (1.4 miles north-west). Open spaces near Coombe include Bramley Bank.
What we do not do
Electrics, plumbing, gas, plastering and structural work are not part of what we do. There are a few other points to bear in mind:
- Repairs to sash windows, cills or shutters
- Seat cushions, which you source separately
- New sockets or lights near the window, which are for your electrician
Not sure whether your space suits window seats? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we will tell you. How it works.
What goes into it
- Radiator grilles
- Hand-painted finish
- Spray-painted finish
- Lift-up lids or drawers
- Birch plywood
- Moisture-resistant MDF