Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Richmond upon Thames · London
Window Seats in St Margarets
Few London rooms are perfectly square, and we scribe the furniture to follow the walls. We make window seats for homes in St Margarets, each designed at a visit to your home.
- Nowhere to keep blankets, toys or books
- Wanting a quiet place to read
- A bay window that’s hard to furnish
Window seats in St Margarets
About our window seats in St Margarets
Lots of period homes across London have sash windows. A seat beneath one needs to sit below the cill so the window still opens and closes easily. If the window has shutters, the seat is planned so they can still open fully. We check all of this during the design visit in St Margarets. 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 a bay window that’s hard to furnish and a recess under the window doing nothing.
A deep space is only useful if you can reach the back of it, so drawers, lift-up lids or shallow shelves are chosen to suit the space. For a home in St Margarets, what works depends on how deep and how tall the space is. Services like meters and boilers stay reachable.
Everything we agree at the measuring visit goes into the written quote: the layout, what goes inside, the materials used and the finish. If you’d like to change anything, it is easier before the furniture is made.
- Where
- St Margarets (TW1, TW7, TW9)
- Borough
- Richmond upon Thames
- 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
- Made from
- Painted MDF and birch ply
- When we fit
- Weekdays; Saturdays on request
- Contact
- The contact form
- Page updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
Every fitting follows the same order: floors are protected, the sections come in, everything is levelled, scribed to the walls, fixed and finished. Then the room is tidied and we look over the work with you. The time the fitting takes depends on the size of the window and the design, and your quote sets out the fitting days. London parking ranges from controlled zones to driveways and private bays, so let us know what’s near you at the design visit. For a flat, building rules on lifts and working hours are worth checking.
- You contact us with a few details about the bay or recess.
- We visit to measure the angles of the bay and the floor, and talk through the design.
- We send a quote in writing.
- In our workshop we make each section of the seat from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood.
- We fit the seat in your home, trimming the edges to meet the walls and cill, with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
Preparing the room
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Book any lift and let the concierge or building manager know
- Keep pets in another room while we work
How to get a quote
The quote is built from the design visit. We measure the room properly, check how the walls and floors run and discuss the design with you. Afterwards, we send a quote in writing for you to look over. To arrange the visit, fill in our short enquiry form.
Related advice
Your questions about window seats in St Margarets
Does a conservation area in or near St Margarets affect fitted furniture?
Not normally. Conservation area controls are largely about how buildings look from outside, so fitted furniture inside a house doesn’t normally need planning permission. Listed buildings are different, as works inside that affect their character can need listed building consent from the council. If you’re unsure, the council can confirm.
How do you fit window seats in a flat in St Margarets?
At the design visit, we measure the way in not just the room. The furniture is made in sections that fit the stairs and lift, and put together in the room. If your building has rules on lift booking or working hours, or your lease needs consent for alterations, it is worth checking those early.
What do you do at the measuring visit?
We measure the space and discuss the design, materials and finish. We look at the walls, floors and anything the furniture has to work around, and the written quote comes afterwards.
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.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. Damp treatment isn’t something we do, so any damp needs sorting first.
Can you fit a window seat under a sash window?
Yes. Sash windows are a natural place for a seat in many period homes. The cill height and any shutters are measured carefully, so the seat sits neatly and the window still works. We don’t repair sashes or cills.
Window seats for homes in St Margarets
In the neighbourhood around St Margarets, the largest groups of homes date from before 1919 (about 43%) and between 1973 and 1999 (about 24%), based on the Valuation Office Agency’s 2025 council tax data. 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 St Margarets, 16 conservation areas are recorded by Historic England. Historic England says England has around 10,000, and the controls mainly cover the outside of buildings, so fitted furniture inside a house does not normally need planning permission. Red routes are run by TfL, with tight limits on where and when vehicles can stop. If your street in St Margarets joins a main road, it is worth telling us at the design visit. We will plan where the van can stop.
The wider area includes historic houses like Richmond House, about 1 mile south. If your own home is a period one, a radiator under the window just needs a grille in the seat front. Close to Richmond Green? Window seats can be designed to hold outdoor kit, from walking boots to picnic things. If your home is as old as some of the listed buildings nearby, such as Asgill House, original features like shutters, panelling and fireplaces are worth designing around. For a listed home, fixing into original features can need listed building consent.
St Margarets is about 1 mile south-west of Twickenham, within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. From period terraces to newer flats in St Margarets, the furniture is designed around the room as we find it. In Richmond upon Thames, St Margarets is one of the places we cover, and the borough has 19 places on our list.
Every address in TW1, TW7 and TW9 is within our area for window seats. We cover homes on streets such as Eve Road, Park Road and Crown Road, whether you want window seats or another piece made for the room. St Margarets sits close to the A316 and A3004. If you are just outside St Margarets, we also cover Isleworth (1 mile north-west), Richmond (1 mile east), Ivybridge (1 mile west), Eel Pie Island (1 mile south) and Twickenham (1 mile south-west). Elsewhere in Richmond upon Thames, we also cover Teddington (2 miles south), Hampton (3 miles south-west), Barnes (3 miles east), Kew (2 miles north-east), Hanworth (3 miles south-west) and Mortlake (2 miles east).
Near you in St Margarets
The streets we cover here include those near Kneller Hall Junior School, Orleans Park School and The Turks Head pub and the streets around them. There is a railway station in St Margarets itself: St Margarets (London) station. Nearby you’ll also find Eel Pie Island Museum (0.8 miles south) and South Middlesex Hospital (0.8 miles west). Not far away are Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens Lake.
When you need someone else
We do not treat damp or carry out building work, and there are a few other limits too:
- Electrical work around the seat
- Plastering and decorating around the seat
- Fabric covers and cushions
If you are not sure what’s possible in your room, you can send us a few details through our contact form and we will give you a straight answer before you arrange a visit. How a job runs, step by step.
Materials and parts
- Birch plywood
- Radiator grilles
- Moisture-resistant MDF
- Spray-painted finish
- Lift-up lids or drawers
- Hand-painted finish
DIY, flat-pack or bespoke
Standard units come in set widths and heights, so there is often a strip of wasted space at the side or above. Furniture we make is built to the room’s own sizes, so it can use the full height and width.
The real difference is in the fit: scribed edges, a level base on an uneven floor and furniture that meets the ceiling, skirting and picture rail. Off-the-shelf furniture can’t normally do that in an older room.
Tips worth knowing
None of this takes much effort. What we’d suggest:
- Consider how often you will reach for what’s stored
- Think about matching the woodwork or the walls
- Clear the bay or window area before the design visit
- Plan the cushion early so the seat suits it
Wiping the seat with a soft, damp cloth is normally all it needs. Avoid scourers and harsh cleaners. The front edge picks up marks first.
Wipe away condensation from the window before it runs onto the seat. Keep the window ventilated in cold weather. Dry any water on the paint promptly.
Bespoke window seats or ready-made?
Standard storage benches come in set sizes. Bespoke seats are made to the size of the space, so nothing is wasted, and the storage below can be drawers, a lid or both. A standard unit is the same in every home, whatever the room is like, while fitted furniture is drawn for the room it goes into. It can be painted in a colour chosen for that room.
Your quote is written for your room once we’ve visited and measured. Bigger pieces use more board and take longer to make and fit, so size comes first. Doors, drawers, internal fittings and the finish make up most of the rest.
What you get with us
- Built around your room
- Built from moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood
- Over 300 projects completed
- Spray painted or hand painted, in the colour you choose
Read how bespoke compares with ready-made and what a quote should include.
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