Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Window seats in Eel Pie Island, Richmond upon Thames
Window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside, designed for your room in Eel Pie Island. We measure, design and quote first, then make it in our workshop and fit it.
- A nursery or bedroom short of storage
- A radiator under the window getting in the way
- A period room that needs furniture to suit it
Ask about window seats in Eel Pie Island
Practical tips
Because fitted furniture stays put, a little upkeep goes a long way. A few pointers help:
- Clear the bay or window area before the design visit
- Consider adding shelving around the seat
- Tell us about parking during the design visit
- Decide on cushion thickness before the design visit
Once the seat is fitted, it’s ready to use. Paint needs time to cure fully, so treat the new finish gently at first. Avoid placing heavy objects on the painted surfaces while it hardens.
Lift lids gently and lower them carefully. That protects the hinges and the paint. Do not overfill drawers, as heavy loads strain the runners.
How we make window seats for Eel Pie Island
Bay windows are common in period homes, and they make a natural place for a seat. A bay is rarely a simple shape, with angled sides and walls that aren’t quite straight. Each side is measured and the seat is scribed to fit, so the seat follows the bay exactly. It’s the kind of space where a ready-made bench never quite fits. If your home has a recess under the window doing nothing and wanting a quiet place to read, that is what window seats are for, made from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, spray-painted or hand-painted.
Across London, neighbouring streets can be decades apart in age, and so do the awkward corners, from bays and stairs to halls and eaves. The furniture is made for the space as it is. Meters, fuse boards and boilers keep the access they need.
A written quote follows the design visit. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so it is clear what’s included.
- Where
- Eel Pie Island (TW1, TW10, TW2)
- Borough
- Richmond upon Thames
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Boards and paint
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
Also near Eel Pie Island
What else we make in Eel Pie Island
Where other trades come in
Damp treatment and building work are for other specialists, so these points are worth knowing:
- Making good the walls, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Plumbing work on the radiator under the window
- New sockets or lights near the window, which are for your electrician
If you’re not sure what’s possible in your room, you can use our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Spray-painted finish
- Lift-up lids or drawers
- Hand-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Birch plywood
- Radiator grilles
How it is made
Pull-out drawers
With drawers, you do not need to move the cushion to reach your things. They’re ideal for everyday items. Each drawer is sized for the space.
Doors and drawer fronts
What shows of the seat is mainly its fronts. They can be plain or panelled, with handles chosen to suit the room. Where needed, a grille is part of the front.
FAQs: window seats in Eel Pie Island
Do you make window seats for homes in Eel Pie Island?
Yes. We cover all of Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London, and Eel Pie Island is part of that. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and discuss the design, and then we send a quote.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Eel Pie Island?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. A van may need a visitor permit, a pay-and-display bay or a suspended bay, which the council arranges, often with notice. Let us know what parking is near you during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Can you fit furniture to uneven walls?
Walls and floors that aren’t true are part of the job in older homes. The furniture is scribed to follow the walls and levelled on feet or a plinth, so it sits tight to the room.
Is an outside wall a problem for fitted furniture?
It can be done with some care: ventilation behind and inside the furniture helps avoid condensation and mould. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Do I need permission in a conservation area?
Not usually. Conservation areas mostly control changes to the outside, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. In a listed building, check with the council’s conservation officer before any work.
What happens when you come to measure?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We also check the walls and floors and note radiators, sockets and other things in the way, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Storage in Eel Pie Island homes: local notes
About 32% of the homes in the area around Eel Pie Island went up before 1919, and about 27% between 1919 and 1939, on the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax figures for 2025. Knowing roughly when a home was built helps, because walls and fixings change from one era to the next. 18 conservation areas have at least part of their area less than a mile from the middle of Eel Pie Island. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. All of London, Richmond upon Thames included, is inside the ULEZ. It applies to every van that comes to fit furniture in Eel Pie Island. Parking and access are planned at the measuring visit.
If you live in a period home close to St Mary's Church, the deep reveals of an older window can frame a seat neatly. Richmond House, about 0.2 miles west, is one of the historic houses in the wider area. If your own home is a period one, the deep reveals of an older window can frame a seat neatly. Near listed buildings like Ham House, about 0.5 miles east of the centre of Eel Pie Island, older homes may keep original joinery that window seats can be designed around. If your own home is listed, check with the council before fixing into original features.
Eel Pie Island is about 1 mile west of Twickenham, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Design visits and fitting in Eel Pie Island can be on a Saturday, by arrangement. In Richmond upon Thames, Eel Pie Island is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 19 places on our list.
Design visits and fitting in TW1, TW10 and TW2 work the same way as everywhere else we cover. You will find streets here such as Oak Lane, Sion Road and Bell Lane, and homes on each of them are within our area for window seats. Eel Pie Island is near the A305 and A310; on busy main roads, unloading window seats takes a little planning. Close by, we also work in Twickenham (1 mile west), Strawberry Hill (1 mile south-west), Ham (1 mile south-east), Petersham (1 mile east) and St Margarets (1 mile north). Other parts of Richmond upon Thames we cover include Richmond upon Thames (2 miles north-east), Hampton (3 miles south-west), Barnes (4 miles north-east), Kew (3 miles north-east), Hanworth (3 miles west) and Mortlake (3 miles north-east).
Landmarks near Eel Pie Island
The streets we cover here include those near The Barmy Arms, St Catherine's School and Orleans Park School and the streets around them. Eel Pie Island has its own railway station: Twickenham station. Well-known places in the area include Eel Pie Island Museum (less than half a mile north) and South Middlesex Hospital (1 mile north-west). Green spaces nearby include Richmond Hill and Ham Lands.
How fitting works for window seats
When we arrive on fitting day, we start by protecting your floors and the route from the front door to the room. Next, we carry in the sections built in our workshop, a piece at a time. How long the 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. Before fitting day, we check the route in as well as the room, so window seats arrive in sections that fit through. We cover floors and doorways on the way in.
- You get in touch about a window seat.
- At the design visit we agree the seat and talk about colour, with a choice of spray painting or hand painting.
- A quote in writing follows, with the finish written in.
- The seat is built in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood; a spray-painted finish is done there for a smooth, even surface.
- The seat is fitted and scribed, and any hand painting is done on site.
- Fresh paint takes a while to cure, so go gently with the seat and lids at first.
Getting ready for fitting day
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
- Make sure pets are kept safely away
- Let us know about any meters, fuse boards or boilers in the area
Ask for a quote
If you know what you want, say so; if you do not, that is fine, and we can work it out together. The design is talked through at the visit, once we’ve measured, and the written quote then sets it out. To arrange a visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Advice
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
A confident DIYer can manage simple shelves or a standard wardrobe in a square room. Sloping ceilings, uneven floors and lath-and-plaster walls make it harder.
It is worth being honest about cost: off-the-shelf furniture normally costs less up front. Bespoke makes more sense where the room is awkward, the space is valuable or you want the furniture to look built in.