Example photo by Franco Debartolo on Unsplash, not our project
Barnet · London
Underhill Window Seats
Window seats for bays and under sash windows, with storage inside, for homes in Underhill. After a design visit and a written quote, it is built in our workshop and fitted in your home.
- Wanting new furniture to sit well in an older room
- An empty bay that doesn’t get used
- A recess under the window doing nothing
Ask about window seats in Underhill
Questions we’re often asked
Can you make window seats for a home in Underhill?
Yes, Underhill is within the area we cover, which takes in all of Barnet and the rest of London. The first step is a design visit, where we measure and go through the design, and then we send a quote.
Will parking be an issue for fitting furniture in Underhill?
It depends on the street, as many London boroughs run controlled parking zones. Depending on the street, a visitor permit, a paid bay or a bay suspension through the council may be needed, and suspensions often need notice. It is useful to let us know about parking at the design visit, so the day can be planned around it.
Can you build a seat beneath sash windows?
Yes. We set the seat below the cill, so the sash still works. If there are working shutters, we leave room for them to fold back. These details are measured when we visit.
Is the furniture spray painted or hand painted?
There are two choices: spray painting, done in the workshop for a smooth, even finish, or hand painting, which can be done on site. The finish is agreed in your quote.
What if the wall is cold or damp?
It needs a little planning: leaving ventilation behind and inside helps stop condensation. We don’t treat damp, so any damp should be sorted before fitting day.
Who chooses the colour?
You choose it, and it’s agreed with you before painting. Spray and hand-painted finishes both use the colour you have chosen.
How we make window seats for Underhill
A window seat can hide a surprising amount of storage. A lift-up lid is simple and gives access to the full depth, while drawers mean you don’t have to move a cushion to reach things. At the design visit in Underhill, we’ll help you choose. Typical reasons to get in touch are a period room that needs furniture to suit it and standard furniture leaving gaps in a bay; the furniture is made from birch plywood and moisture-resistant MDF with a spray-painted or hand-painted finish.
In a part of London with mixed housing, like much of the city, no two homes have quite the same walls and floors. Each piece is scribed to the wall and set level, whatever the room is like. You choose the paint colour, and whether it’s spray-painted or hand-painted.
The quote names the materials: moisture-resistant MDF and birch plywood, each used where it suits the job. The finish is stated too, whether that’s spray painting or hand painting.
- Where
- Underhill (EN5, N20)
- Area
- Barnet
- Price
- Quoted for your room
- To begin
- We visit, measure, then quote
- Where it is made
- Made in our workshop and fitted on site
- Made from
- MDF and plywood, painted to order
- Fitting days
- Monday to Friday; Saturdays by arrangement
- Enquiries
- The contact form
- Last updated
- 27 October 2026
What happens on fitting day
Furniture made in a workshop still has to meet the room it is going into, and that happens on fitting day. Walls in older homes are rarely flat or square, so we scribe the edges by hand to follow the wall, closing the gaps a standard unit would leave. How long the fitting itself 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. For a flat, building rules and lift booking are worth checking early; for a house, steps, paths and parking are the things to mention. We plan the details of the day at the measuring visit. Saturday fitting is possible by prior arrangement.
- You let us know about the window and the room, with a note of any radiator or shutters.
- At the design visit, every side of the window is measured.
- The design is agreed and a written quote follows. Take your time with it.
- The seat is made in our workshop and painted in your colour.
- The seat is fitted, scribed to the walls and checked with you. A radiator grille, if there is one, lets the heat through.
How to prepare
- Keep pets out of the room and the hallway
- Let us know where the boiler and meters are
- Leave a clear route from the front door to the room
Getting a quote
To make a start, drop us a line using the contact form and tell us a little about the room and what you want the furniture to do. From there, we arrange a design visit to measure up and talk through your ideas, and send you a written quote afterwards.
Related advice
Could you do it yourself?
Cost matters, and it is fair to say so: off-the-shelf furniture normally costs less up front. Bespoke earns its place where the room is tricky, space is tight or you want the furniture to look part of the house.
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.
Why bespoke in Underhill?
A ready-made bench is built for a flat wall and a square corner, and bay windows rarely offer either. A bench in a bay leaves gaps at the sides and wasted space at the corners. A seat made for the window follows every angle. It costs more than a bench, and what you get is a seat that belongs to the room. Few rooms have truly flat walls and level floors, so standalone furniture can lean or leave gaps. Fitted furniture is scribed and levelled on site.
Prices are quoted for your room, once we’ve measured and talked through the design. A larger piece means more material and more time, so size comes first. After that, the number of doors and drawers, the internal fittings and the finish all play a part.
Why choose us
- Designed for the room you have
- Edges scribed to follow your walls
- Work across the whole of London
- Saturdays by prior arrangement
Window seats for homes in Underhill
The biggest shares of homes in the streets around Underhill were built before 1919 (about 24%) and between 1919 and 1939 (about 24%), in the VOA’s 2025 council tax stock figures. We take that into account at the design visit, since older and newer walls take different fixings. Entries on the National Heritage List near the centre of Underhill include Church of St John the Baptist (Grade II*), about 0.5 miles north-west, and Odeon Cinema (Grade II), under half a mile east. Where a home is listed, listed building consent can be needed for inside works that affect its character, such as fixing into original panelling. Ask the council’s conservation officer before anything is fixed. Red routes are run by TfL, with tight limits on where and when vehicles can stop. If your street in Underhill joins a main road, it’s worth telling us at the design visit. We’ll plan where the van can stop.
If your children go to St Catherine's RC School or a school nearby, a place for each person’s coat and shoes stops the hallway filling up. Close to Highlands Gardens? Living near green space often means muddy boots, bikes and outdoor kit, and window seats can give those things a place.
Underhill is about 3 miles south of Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. Underhill is part of the area we cover. We list Underhill among 41 places we cover in Barnet.
Postcode districts we cover here for window seats: EN5 and N20. We cover homes on streets such as Park Road, May's Lane and Manor Road, whether you want window seats or another piece made for the room. If you’re just outside Underhill, we also cover Barnet (1 mile east), New Barnet (1 mile east), Monken Hadley (1 mile north), Hadley Wood (1 mile north-east) and Cockfosters (2 miles east). We also make window seats in nearby places such as Finchley (3 miles south), Burnt Oak (4 miles south-west), East Finchley (4 miles south), Hendon (4 miles south), Whetstone (2 miles south-east) and Edgware (4 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Underhill
Around Underhill, we cover homes near Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School and The Red Lion pub, among other places. The closest station to Underhill is New Barnet station, roughly 1 mile east. A little further out are Barnet General Hospital (0.9 miles west) and Spires Shopping Centre (0.7 miles north-west). Open spaces near Underhill include Darland's Lake and Greenhill Gardens.
When you need someone else
Our work is the furniture itself: designing it, making it in our workshop and fitting it. That means:
- Repairs to sash windows, cills or shutters
- Plumbing work on the radiator under the window
- Plastering and decorating around the seat
Not sure whether your space suits window seats? You can send us a few details through our contact form and we will tell you. Our process from visit to fitting.
What it’s made from
- Hand-painted finish
- Radiator grilles
- Birch plywood
- Spray-painted finish
- Lift-up lids or drawers
- Moisture-resistant MDF
The problems window seats solve
A quiet place to read is a common wish. A window seat, perhaps with shelves either side, does exactly that. It quickly becomes a favourite place to sit.
If you recognise any of these, it is worth talking to us:
- A period room that needs furniture to suit it
- Looking for a reading spot by the window
- A sash window with space beneath it going to waste
- Nowhere to keep blankets, toys or books
Living in a block of flats near New Barnet station? Then check any building rules on lifts and working hours early, and the sections will be sized for the way in.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Will other trades be needed, and who arranges them?
- Whether the quote follows a visit to your home
- How the doors are hung and adjusted
- Will the quote be in writing?