Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Hammersmith and Fulham · London
Old Oak Common Window Seats
Window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside, for homes in Old Oak Common. We make each piece in our workshop and fit it in your home, with a spray or hand-painted finish.
- Off-the-shelf pieces that never quite fit the window
- A child’s room that needs storage and seating
- Wanting a quiet place to read
Window seats for your home in Old Oak Common
Window seats in Old Oak Common: what you get
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. We measure every face and scribe the seat to follow them, so the seat follows the bay exactly. It is the kind of space where a ready-made bench never quite fits. We make window seats from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish, and the things people most often want solved are standard furniture leaving gaps in a bay and looking for a reading spot by the window.
A large number of homes around Old Oak Common date from 2000 onwards, and newer homes often have little built-in storage. Halls, landings and the space beneath the stairs are where fitted storage can help. Plasterboard stud walls are common, so fixings go into the studs or use fixings made for the board.
After the design visit, we send you a quote in writing. It describes the design we discussed, the materials and the finish, so you know exactly what you’re getting.
- Where
- Old Oak Common (NW10, W3, NW26)
- Borough
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- A design visit: we measure and talk it through
- Making
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- MDF and birch plywood, painted
- When we fit
- Weekdays (Saturdays if arranged)
- Get in touch
- The contact form
- Updated
- 27 October 2026
The problems window seats solve
The most common reason is wanting to make more of a bay or window. Bays are hard to furnish, and a built-in seat makes good use of them. It becomes a place to sit, read or look out.
Here are some of the needs we are asked about most:
- A sash window with space beneath it going to waste
- A room with shutters and sashes that deserves a proper seat
- Wanting a quiet place to read
- A radiator under the window getting in the way
Close to Little Wormwood Scrubs? Window seats can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Do they scribe the furniture to the walls?
- How the furniture will be finished, and where
- A quote in writing that sets out the job
Also near Old Oak Common
Also in Old Oak Common
Where other trades come in
It’s useful to know what’s outside our work before you plan:
- Making good the walls, which is for a plasterer or decorator
- Repairs to sash windows, cills or shutters
- New sockets or lights near the window, which are for your electrician
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can tell us about the room on our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. Our process from visit to fitting.
What goes into it
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Radiator grilles
- Hand-painted finish
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Lift-up lids or drawers
Tips worth knowing
Painted fitted furniture is easy to look after. These habits help most:
- Tell us about the radiator before we visit
- Decide whether you’d like a lid, drawers or both
- Choose a colour that suits the room
- Note whether your window has working shutters
In winter, windows can run with condensation, so keep the area behind the seat dry. A little ventilation helps keep things dry. Should you have a question about the seat, get in touch through our contact form and we will help.
Lift lids gently and lower them carefully. That protects the hinges and the paint. Avoid overloading drawers so they keep running smoothly.
What happens on fitting day
You’re welcome to ask questions while we work. Most of the decisions were made at the measuring visit and set out in your quote, so the day itself is about careful fitting and leaving the room tidy. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the window and the design, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. Fitting day starts by covering floors and setting out the sections. Each piece is levelled and fixed to suit plasterboard or block. Any hand painting can be finished on site.
- You contact us with some details about the bay or recess.
- At the design visit we measure each side of the bay, because walls in older houses are rarely square.
- We send a quote in writing.
- In our workshop we make each section of the seat from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- On fitting day the seat is set level and scribed to follow the walls and floor.
Preparing the room
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
- Let us know if your street is in a controlled parking zone
Arranging a design visit
For a quote for window seats in Old Oak Common, send us a few details through our contact form. Let us know the room and the rough idea, with sizes if you have them. Next comes a design visit, followed by a written quote.
Read more
Your questions about window seats in Old Oak Common
How do you fit window seats in a flat in Old Oak Common?
We measure the route in as well as the room: the stairs, landings, lift and doors. 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.
Does a conservation area in or near Old Oak Common affect fitted furniture?
Typically not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can require listed building consent from the council. If you are unsure, the council can confirm.
Does someone need to be home during the fitting?
Someone needs to let us in. It is good to have someone there at the end to look over the work with us.
Can I send photos before the visit?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot, especially with rough sizes. You can send them when you message us from the contact page.
How long is the fitting for a window seat?
The time the 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. We make the seat in our workshop, so the time at your home is spent fitting. Saturday fitting is possible by arrangement.
Is the furniture spray painted or hand painted?
There are two options: spray painting, done in the workshop for a smooth, even finish, or hand painting, which can be done on site. Your quote sets out which you have chosen.
Made for the room, or bought in a box?
With a ready-made bench, the colour is the maker’s choice. We paint the seat in the colour you choose, so it can match the woodwork or the walls. In a compact new-build room, standard sizes rarely fit the walls exactly, and fitted furniture uses that space. It works around service boxing too.
How it’s painted is part of the price: spray painting happens in the workshop, and hand painting can be done in your home. The written quote reflects your choice, along with the size and fittings.
Why choose Bespoke Carpentry in Old Oak Common
- Saturdays by arrangement
- Work across the whole of London
- More than 300 projects completed
- Workshop-made and fitted by us
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and how to compare quotes.
Fitted storage in Old Oak Common
Homes built since 2000 make up about 42% of the housing in the area around Old Oak Common, with about 32% built before 1919, going by the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax figures. It’s a good starting point, though every room is still measured, as two homes of the same age rarely match. Within a mile of the centre of Old Oak Common, 4 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings. Much of inner London is covered by controlled parking zones run by the boroughs. A van working in Old Oak Common will typically need a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension arranged through the council, which often needs notice. Let us know about parking near your home at the design visit.
If your children go to Old Oak Primary School or a school nearby, a place for each person’s coat and shoes stops the hallway filling up. If you live in a period home close to Church of Eritrean Orthodox Brent, the deep reveals of an older window can frame a seat neatly.
Old Oak Common is about 4 miles south-east of Fulham, part of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. We design and make window seats for homes in Old Oak Common. We list Old Oak Common among 16 places we cover in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Every home in NW10, W3 and NW26 is covered for window seats. Our area takes in homes on streets such as Atlas Road, Tubbs Road and Waldo Road, along with the roads around them, whether you want window seats or another piece made for the room. Nearby, we also make window seats in College Park (1 mile north-east), Harlesden (1 mile north), Kensal Green (1 mile east), Park Royal (1 mile west) and North Kensington (1 mile east). Across the rest of Hammersmith and Fulham, our area takes in Fulham (4 miles south-east), Parsons Green (4 miles south-east), Walham Green (4 miles south-east), West Brompton (4 miles south-east), Hurlingham (4 miles south-east) and Chelsea Harbour (5 miles south-east).
Around Old Oak Common
In Old Oak Common, that includes homes near Star Chamber Academy, St Claudine's Catholic School for Girls and Library for Iranian Studies. Old Oak Common has its own railway station: Willesden Junction station. Other landmarks nearby include Hammersmith Hospital (0.8 miles south-east) and Brent Museum and Archives (1.6 miles north-east).