Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Ham Window Seats
Window seats for your home in Ham: window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside. We visit to measure and talk through the design, make the furniture in our workshop and fit it.
- No space for toys and games
- A radiator under the window getting in the way
- No comfortable place to sit in the light
Ask about window seats in Ham
From workshop to your room
When the fitting is done, we tidy the room and take up the floor coverings. Before we go, we look over the finished furniture with you and explain how to look after the paint. 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. Drilling into concrete is noisier than into brick or plaster, so if neighbours are close, a note before fitting day can help. We work within any rules your building has on noise and hours. We tidy as we go.
- To begin, fill in our short enquiry form; a brief note on the bay or sash window is enough.
- At the design visit we measure the window and the radiator, and plan a grille or open front so heat is not trapped.
- A quote in writing follows, covering the seat and the grille.
- We make the seat and grille in our workshop from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit it in your home and scribe it to the walls, with the finish sprayed beforehand or painted by hand on site.
How to prepare
- Have your electrician move any sockets or switches beforehand
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
Arranging a design visit
Every quote follows a design visit. We measure the space, check the walls and floors and discuss what you’d like, and the written quote comes after. There’s no price list: each design is priced in writing after we’ve seen the space. To book a design visit, use our contact form.
Advice
How we make window seats for Ham
Lots of period homes across London have sash windows. Under a sash, the seat is set below the cill so the window can still be used. If the window has shutters, the seat is planned so they can still open fully. These details are measured when we visit your home in Ham. Typical reasons to get in touch are a radiator that makes the space hard to use and a nursery or bedroom short of storage; the furniture is made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
In homes from the post-war decades, the boiler may live in a cupboard. If it sits in a cupboard you’d like rebuilt, the new storage keeps the clearances and ventilation set out in the manufacturer’s instructions. With many homes around Ham built between 1945 and the early 1970s, that’s one of the things we check at the design visit. Any boiler work is for a Gas Safe engineer.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so it’s clear what’s included.
- Location
- Ham (TW10, KT2, TW11)
- Borough
- Richmond upon Thames
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Working days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- Our contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What it costs
To work out the quote, we look at:
- How square the room is
- The overall size of the piece
- Doors and drawers, and how many
- How easy it is to get the furniture into the room
No two rooms cost the same to furnish, because size, layout and finish change from job to job. A spray finish and a hand-painted finish involve different work, and that shows in the price. You will see the figure in your written quote, after the design visit.
Before the design visit
To help us picture the room, please include:
- The postcode, so we can plan the visit
- Whether it’s a house or a flat, and if there are stairs or a lift
- What the furniture needs to hold
- Examples of the look you are after
Rough measurements are fine at the start. Everything is measured properly when we visit, including how level the floor and ceiling are. To get started, tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us about the room. You receive a written quote after the visit.
Common questions about window seats
Do you cover homes near Teddington station?
Yes, homes across Richmond upon Thames and the rest of London are within the area we cover. To get started, you can use our contact form with a few details about the room.
Can parking be tricky on fitting day in Ham?
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. It is useful to let us know about parking at the measuring visit, so we can plan the day around it.
Can a window seat go over the 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. Storage above a radiator stays warm, so it suits things that don’t mind that.
Do I get to choose the colour?
You choose it. The paint colour is agreed with you before anything is painted.
Can you fit furniture on an external wall?
It can be done with some care: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment is not something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
What does a bespoke window seat cost?
We quote each job for the room it’s going into, after the design visit. It depends on the size and shape of the window, the storage you want and the finish. To get a quote, send us a few details through our contact form and we’ll arrange a design visit.
Flats, conversions and lettings
We also make and fit furniture for landlords furnishing a let. The materials are the same as for any home: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, finished by spray or by hand.
Some blocks ask for notice before trades arrive, often through a building manager or concierge. If there’s a lift, it may need booking, and its size matters when we plan the sections. Tell us about it when you get in touch.
Bespoke or off-the-shelf?
Off-the-shelf furniture can be a sensible choice. In a room with square walls and standard sizes, it can work well, and it is quick to buy.
Long shelves are where off-the-shelf often struggles. 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. That is something we plan for in the design.
Storage in Ham homes: local notes
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up about 63% of the housing in the streets around Ham, with about 20% built between 1919 and 1939, based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. Each era brings its own kind of wall, ceiling height and floor, so it shapes the design from the first measurement. Ham is partly covered by the Ham Common Conservation Area, according to Historic England’s records. Fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission in a conservation area, as the controls are mainly about the outside of buildings. The council can confirm if you are not sure. About 40% of households in the streets around Ham live in terraced houses, in the ONS Census 2021 figures. Many London terraces have a bay or sash windows, good places for a seat with storage.
If your home is one of the older houses near Ham Christian Centre, a bay or a sash window is a natural place for a window seat. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Sudbrook Lodge, 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. The wider area includes historic houses such as Ham House, about 0.6 miles north. For a period home anywhere nearby, a seat under a sash window can keep shutters and cills clear.
Ham is about 1 mile north-west of Twickenham, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Whether your home in Ham is a terraced house, a flat or a newer build, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. We list Ham among 19 places we cover in Richmond upon Thames.
Every home in TW10, KT2 and TW11 is within our area for window seats, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Streets in the area include New Road, Lock Road and Cave Road, and we cover homes on all of them for window seats. The A307 run close to Ham, so if your home is on a main road, mention it when you get in touch. Nearby, we also make window seats in Petersham (1 mile north), Eel Pie Island (1 mile north-west), Strawberry Hill (1 mile west), Teddington (1 mile south-west) and Richmond (1 mile north). Other parts of Richmond upon Thames we cover include Richmond upon Thames (2 miles north), Hampton (3 miles west), Barnes (4 miles north-east), Kew (4 miles north-east), Hanworth (3 miles west) and Mortlake (3 miles north-east).
What’s near Ham
In Ham, that includes homes near Teddington School, The New Inn Public House and Grey Court School and the streets around them. The nearest railway station is Teddington station, roughly 1.2 miles south-west of the centre. Other landmarks nearby include Eel Pie Island Museum (1.1 miles north-west) and Bentall Centre (1.6 miles south). Not far away are Ham Lands and Richmond Hill.
Other services in Ham
What it is made from
Birch plywood
Birch plywood is made in layers, which makes it strong and stable. We use it for the frame, the seat and the drawer boxes, and its edge can be left visible or painted.
Moisture-resistant MDF
Because it cuts cleanly, MDF is ideal for angled panels and radiator grilles. We use a moisture-resistant grade, which is stable and takes paint well. It forms most of the visible parts.