Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Westminster · London
St James's Window Seats
We make window seats for homes in St James's, designed around the room you have. Your window seat is designed at a visit to your home and made in our workshop.
- Nowhere to keep blankets, toys or books
- Toys spread across a bedroom floor
- Unused space below a sash window
Need window seats in St James's?
Boards, parts and paint
Spray-painted finish
Spraying gives a smooth, even surface. It’s done in our workshop before fitting. The colour is agreed with you.
Doors and drawer fronts
A radiator grille sits in the front of the seat, letting the heat reach the room. It is painted to match the other fronts. Around it, the fronts can be drawers, doors or panels.
Window seats in St James's
A seat under a bedroom or nursery window can store toys, bedding or books. With deep drawers or a lift-up lid, it becomes useful storage as well as a place to sit. Drawers can be easier than a lid for children to use. Whatever the room, the process for a home in St James's is the same. Typical reasons to get in touch are a bay with no furniture that fits and a recess under the window doing nothing; the furniture is made from MDF made to resist moisture and birch plywood, then spray-painted or hand-painted.
With a large share of homes around St James's built before 1919, under-stairs cupboards in older terraces often house the meters or the fuse board. Those have to stay reachable, so any storage is designed around them. Sash and bay windows are common in houses of that age too, and good places for seating with storage below.
Materials are named in the quote: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. It also says how the furniture will be finished: spray painted or hand painted.
- Where
- St James's (W1F, W1D, W1J)
- Area
- Westminster
- Prices
- Quoted for your room
- First step
- Design visit, then a quote in writing
- Where it is made
- In our workshop, then fitted in your home
- Materials and finish
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- Fitting days
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Enquiries
- Send us a message
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
St James's homes and window seats
The biggest shares of homes in the neighbourhood around St James's were built before 1919 (about 54%) and since 2000 (about 24%), 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. There are 934 entries on the National Heritage List within half a mile of the centre of St James's. Older homes nearby may have original joinery, shutters or panelling worth keeping, and window seats can be designed to work around them. The boroughs run controlled parking zones across much of inner London. So a van fitting furniture in St James's normally needs a visitor permit, a paid bay or a parking bay suspension arranged through the council. Parking is worth mentioning during the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
The wider area includes historic houses like Marlborough House, about 0.3 miles south-west. If your own home is a period one, a bay or a sash window is a natural place for a window seat. For a flat near London Charing Cross station, the route in is measured along with the room itself, and the sections are sized to fit it.
St James's is in the City of Westminster, about 1 mile north-west of City of Westminster. We cover St James's as part of our work across Westminster. Our Westminster coverage includes St James's.
We make window seats across the W1F, W1D and W1J postcode area for window seats. Whether you live on a street such as Duck Lane, Bruton Lane and Bridle Lane or on one nearby, we can arrange a design visit for window seats. St James's sits close to the A4 and A400, and we plan where the van can stop before fitting day. Neighbouring places we cover for window seats include Chinatown (1 mile north), Charing Cross (1 mile east), Soho (1 mile north), West End (1 mile north-east) and Burlington Estate (1 mile west). Elsewhere in Westminster, we also cover Paddington Green (2 miles north-west), Paddington (2 miles west), Lisson Grove (2 miles north-west), Westbourne (3 miles west), Little Venice (2 miles west) and Westbourne Green (3 miles west). Being one of the larger places in Westminster, St James's is covered for window seats and everything else we make.
Around St James's
In St James's, that includes homes near London Library, Tom Cribb pub and Harris Westminster Sixth Form. There’s a railway station in St James's itself: London Charing Cross station. Nearby you’ll also find Montfichet's Tower (1.4 miles east) and Kingly Court (under half a mile north-west). Green spaces nearby include Ludgate Hill and St. James's Park Lake.
What happens on fitting day
If anything comes up on the day, just ask. Most of the decisions were made at the measuring visit and set out in your quote, so fitting day is about putting it in place carefully. The time the fitting takes depends on the shape of the bay or recess and what goes under the seat, and the fitting days are agreed in your quote. On fitting day in an older house, the main job is scribing to walls and levelling on floors that slope, so there’s some trimming and adjusting on site. Floors are protected, and dust is kept down as far as possible. It is useful to tell us about parking at the design visit, as terraced streets are often busy.
- To begin, send us a few details through our contact 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 isn’t trapped.
- Your written quote sets out the seat, the grille, the materials and the finish.
- 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.
How to prepare
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Clear the hallway and stairs so the sections can come through
- Clear the area where the furniture is going
Starting with a design visit
It helps to see the room before we come. Pictures of the whole wall, the corners and the ceiling line give us a good feel for the space, particularly with rough measurements. To send them over, message us from the contact page, and we will arrange a design visit.
Related advice
Flats, conversions and lettings
If you live in a flat, getting the furniture in is planned from the start. At the design visit, we measure the stairs, the landings, any lift and the doors, so the furniture can be made in sections that fit through.
A lot of London’s terraced houses are now converted flats, which often brings a shared hall and tight turns on the stairs. Each section is sized with that in mind, after measuring the route at the measuring visit.
Neighbourhoods near St James's
More for homes in St James's
What we do not do
As carpenters, we leave some work to other trades. It is useful to know these before you plan the job:
- Making the seat cushion, which isn’t our work
- Work on the window frame or glass
- Moving or replacing a radiator, which is for your plumber
Not sure whether your space suits window seats? You can use our contact form and we’ll tell you. How a job runs, step by step.
Boards, parts and finishes
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Hand-painted finish
- Radiator grilles
- Lift-up lids or drawers
Common questions about window seats
Will a conservation area stop me having window seats fitted in St James's?
Usually not: conservation area rules mainly cover the outside of buildings, and fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. If your home is listed, internal works that affect its character can need listed building consent, so check with the council first. The council’s planning or conservation team can tell you if in doubt.
My home in St James's is a period house with walls that aren’t straight. Is that a problem?
Yes, that’s normal in older houses: each piece is scribed to the wall and levelled at the base. Skirting, picture rails and cornices are met neatly or cut around. Fixings are chosen for the wall, whether solid brick or lath and plaster.
Do you move sockets or add lighting?
No. Electrical work is not something we do; it is a job for your electrician. We can plan cable routes into the design, and any new sockets are best done before fitting day.
Should I send photos?
Yes, they help. A few pictures of the room, from floor to ceiling, tell us a lot, especially with rough measurements. You can send them when you use our contact form.
Can the fitting be on a Saturday?
Yes, by arrangement. If a Saturday works better for you, say so when you contact us.
Will a window seat work below a sash window?
Yes. Sash windows are a natural place for a seat in many period homes. We measure the cill, the window and any shutters, so the seat sits neatly and the window still works. Repairs to the window itself aren’t our work.
Is it time for window seats?
Some people want a reading spot. A seat by the window, with books nearby, makes a natural reading corner. It quickly becomes a favourite place to sit.
If you recognise any of these, it’s worth talking to us:
- A period room that needs furniture to suit it
- A radiator under the window getting in the way
- A child’s room that needs storage and seating
- Needing more storage in the room
If you live in a period home close to St James’s Church, window seats can be scribed to follow a bay that is rarely square.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Have they measured the stairs, lift and doorways?
- Whether the finish is set out in the quote
- Whether they measure the room themselves
- Will the quote be in writing?