Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Southwark · London
Window seats in Nunhead, Southwark
Window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside, for homes in Nunhead. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home.
- A sash window with space beneath it going to waste
- A radiator that makes the space hard to use
- A bay window that’s hard to furnish
Window seats for your home in Nunhead
Is bespoke worth it?
Ready-made benches are made in fixed widths and depths. Bespoke seats are made to the size of the space, so nothing is wasted, with drawers, a lift-up lid or a mix below. Ready-made tall pieces have to be fixed to the wall for safety, and older walls of brick or lath and plaster make that harder than it looks. Fitted furniture is designed with the wall in mind.
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, and that is part of the price. Every piece is quoted for your room after the design visit.
Why choose us
- Saturdays by arrangement
- Made for your room, not a standard size
- Made in our workshop, then fitted in your home
- We visit, measure and go through the design before we quote
Take a look at how bespoke compares with ready-made or how to compare quotes.
Window seats in Nunhead
We make the seat itself, and you can source a cushion to the size we give you. You can then choose the fabric and style yourself. We make the seat to suit the cushion you plan, with a suitable depth and height. We make window seats from birch ply and moisture-resistant MDF, painted by hand or sprayed, and the usual reasons to get in touch are a sash window with space beneath it going to waste and a radiator that makes the space hard to use.
Ceilings and floors in homes built before 1919 are rarely level, and a large share of the homes around Nunhead date from then. Each piece is scribed and levelled on site so it looks straight in a room that isn’t. Original skirting and mouldings are met neatly.
If the job needs another trade, like an electrician or a plumber, we will tell you, so it can be arranged before fitting day. Our quote covers the carpentry: the design, the materials and the finish.
- Place
- Nunhead (SE15, SE4, SE14)
- Borough
- Southwark
- Cost
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Making
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Boards and paint
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Working days
- Weekdays, and Saturdays by prior arrangement
- Contact
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
What it’s made from
Lift-up lids
With a lift-up lid, the whole space beneath the seat opens up. It’s good for bulky things that are not needed daily. We make the lid to open and close cleanly.
Moisture-resistant MDF
Moisture-resistant MDF is stable and takes paint well. It’s used for the fronts, side panels and radiator grilles. The moisture-resistant grade is a sensible choice next to a window.
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
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’s something we plan for in the design.
Bespoke work comes into its own in rooms that are not square. In period homes, walls lean, floors slope and the alcoves on each side are often different widths.
Questions we are often asked
How do you fit window seats in a flat in Nunhead?
At the design visit, we measure the way in as well as the room. Window seats are made at our workshop in sections sized to fit that route, then assembled in your flat. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
I live near Nunhead station. Is that in your area?
Yes, homes across Southwark and the rest of London are within the area we cover. You can tell us about the room on our contact form to arrange a design visit.
What happens at the design visit?
It is a chance to measure properly and talk through what you’d like. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, and the written quote comes afterwards.
Can you build a window seat over a radiator?
Yes. The seat has a grille or open front, so the warmth can reach the room. Space is left around the radiator too. Moving the radiator is for your plumber, if you’d prefer it elsewhere.
Who chooses the colour?
You do. We agree the colour with you.
Do I need to be at home on fitting day?
We need access, so someone has to let us in. After that, you do not need to stay in the room.
Nunhead homes and window seats
About 47% of the homes in the neighbourhood around Nunhead went up before 1919, and about 15% between 1945 and 1972, 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. Within a mile of the centre of Nunhead, 6 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. England has around 10,000 in all, and their controls are largely about how buildings look from outside. Parking on many inner London streets is controlled, with zones run by each borough. For fitting in Nunhead, a van typically needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension, which the council arranges, often with notice. It helps to let us know about parking at the design visit.
If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Chapel of Nunhead Cemetery, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent. If you live near Peckham Rye, window seats can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things. Queen's House, about 2.4 miles north-east, 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.
Nunhead is within the London Borough of Southwark, about 1 mile west of East Dulwich. Homes in Nunhead are part of the area we cover for window seats. Our Southwark coverage includes Nunhead.
Every home in SE15, SE4 and SE14 is covered for window seats, from the main roads to the quieter streets. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Rye Road, Nash Road and Kitto Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want window seats or another piece made for the room. Neighbouring places we cover for window seats include Telegraph Hill (1 mile north-east), Honor Oak (1 mile south), Peckham (1 mile north-west), New Cross (1 mile north-east) and Brockley (1 mile south-east). Elsewhere in Southwark, we also cover Herne Hill (2 miles west), Bermondsey (3 miles north-west), Elephant and Castle (3 miles north-west), Bankside (4 miles north-west), Southwark (3 miles north-west) and St George's Fields (3 miles north-west).
Near you in Nunhead
In Nunhead, that includes homes near Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich and The Ivy House and the streets around them. There’s a railway station in Nunhead itself: Nunhead station. A little further out are Southwark Adult Education Institute (0.7 miles north) and Peckham Platform (1.1 miles north-west). Not far away are One Tree Hill.
Nearby places to Nunhead
Also in Nunhead
Looking after your furniture
The finish lasts best with a little care, whether it was spray painted or hand painted. Here are our suggestions:
- Bring paint colours you like to the design visit
- Check whether there’s a radiator under the window
- Mention any parking rules on your street
- Consider adding shelving around the seat
Once the seat is fitted, it is ready to use. Paint needs time to cure fully, so treat the new finish gently at first. Keep heavy objects and sharp edges off the fresh paint.
Check now and then that hinges and handles are tight. Tightening early stops a small looseness getting worse. If something stops working smoothly, use our contact form and tell us.
How fitting works for window seats
Fitting day follows a set order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. At the end, we tidy up and go over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the window and the design, and we confirm the fitting days in your quote. Scribing is done on site, which means some cutting in the room or close by, so we ask for a clear space to work near the room. We keep dust down and tidy as we go. Where the finish is hand-painted, it can be done after the pieces are in.
- You get in touch and tell us about the window, and whether a radiator sits beneath it.
- At the design visit we measure the window and the radiator, and plan a grille or open front so heat isn’t trapped.
- A quote in writing follows, covering the seat and the grille.
- In our workshop the seat is built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, with the grille made to match.
- We fit it in your home and scribe it to the walls, with the finish sprayed beforehand or painted by hand on site.
Before fitting day
- Check the building’s rules for trades and lift bookings
- Clear the walls of pictures and shelves
- Move furniture and belongings away from the wall
Starting with a design visit
To get a quote, tell us about the room on our contact form and tell us which room you have in mind. We then arrange a design visit to measure and talk through the design, and a written quote follows.