Locker & Back of House

Behind every calm guest-facing space is a network of back-of-house rooms and routes that keep the building running. Locker rooms, staff changing, housekeeping stores, BOH pantries and service corridors all rely on well-planned joinery to function smoothly. When these areas are handled with care, operations are easier, spaces are safer and teams feel properly supported.

At Make Bespoke Studio we design and deliver locker rooms and back-of-house joinery for hotels, members’ clubs, residential developments, workplaces and cultural projects – working closely with interior designers, architects, operators and project managers.

The role of locker rooms and back-of-house joinery

Locker rooms and back-of-house joinery rarely appear in photography, but they are essential to how a building works. They support staff comfort and dignity, housekeeping efficiency, F&B operations and the smooth movement of goods and equipment.

• giving staff clear, safe places to change, store belongings and take breaks
• organising housekeeping stores, trolleys and consumables so that floors run efficiently
• supporting kitchens, bars and tea points with back-up storage and preparation spaces
• keeping waste, recycling and deliveries controlled and discrete

We see locker rooms and back-of-house joinery as a backbone that ties together operational layers across Hospitality Joinery, Amenity & Members’ Club Joinery, Spa & Wellness Joinery, Bespoke Kitchens & Pantries and Hospitality Bars & Back Counters.

Types of locker and back-of-house spaces

Each project will have its own mix of back-of-house areas, but a familiar family of spaces appears again and again. We adapt joinery language and detailing to suit each while keeping a consistent logic across the building.

• Staff locker rooms and changing areas – spaces where team members arrive, change and store personal belongings, combining lockers, benches, grooming points and sometimes showers.
• Housekeeping and linen stores – rooms and cupboards for clean and used linens, consumables, vacuum cleaners and trolleys, often on every guestroom floor.
• Back-of-house pantries and prep areas – support spaces for room service, events and F&B, drawing on principles from Bespoke Kitchens & Pantries and Tea Points & Breakout Kitchenettes.
• Bar prep, stores and cellars – areas that support busy front-of-house bars with chilled and ambient storage, glass stores and prep counters, coordinated with Home Bars & Back Bars and Hospitality Bars & Back Counters.
• Waste, recycling and BOH utility rooms – rooms dedicated to waste segregation, recycling, cleaning equipment and plant, where robust joinery and clear organisation are essential.
• Service corridors and support points – joinery along BOH routes – from trolley parks and coat hooks to small workstations – helping corridors stay tidy and safe.

Key joinery elements within locker rooms and back-of-house areas

We organise locker room and back-of-house joinery into clear families of elements so that they are easy to use, maintain and replicate across floors.

• Lockers, benches and personal storage – lockers sized to operational needs (uniforms, bags, shoes), with integrated benches, hooks and open cubbies, developed from Wardrobes & Dressing Rooms and Fitted Storage & Alcove Units but adapted for back-of-house use.
• Staff grooming and vanity units – vanities with mirrors, lighting and power for hairdryers or personal grooming, designed to be robust and easy to clean.
• Housekeeping joinery – tall cupboards, open shelving and drawer units for linens, amenities, cleaning products and equipment, with clear zoning for different items.
• BOH pantries, serveries and prep counters – counters, cupboards and shelving designed to support room service, events and casual F&B, drawing on Bespoke Kitchens & Pantries and Tea Points & Breakout Kitchenettes.
• Back-of-house bar stores and glassware joinery – racking, glass stores and bottle storage that link directly to Home Bars & Back Bars and Hospitality Bars & Back Counters, ensuring that replenishment is quick and logical.
• Waste, recycling and janitorial stations – integrated housings for bins, recycling streams, mops and buckets, helping to keep BOH areas clear and safe.

Workflow, circulation and zoning

Back-of-house joinery is closely tied to movement patterns – how staff arrive, where they change, how they pick up trolleys, collect stock and move through the building. We plan joinery to support these flows rather than obstruct them.

• locating lockers and changing close to staff entrances, while keeping circulation to BOH corridors efficient
• planning housekeeping stores and pantries at logical points along guestroom and amenity floors
• designing trolley parking and staging points so that corridors stay open and compliant
• siting waste and recycling in places that work for both front-of-house and BOH teams without crossing guest routes

We often map these flows alongside decisions made on Reception Desks & Lobby Joinery, Hotel Guestroom Joinery Packages, Amenity & Members’ Club Joinery and Spa & Wellness Joinery, ensuring that service routes and joinery support the overall guest experience.

Materials, robustness and maintenance

Back-of-house areas are some of the most heavily used spaces in a building. Materials need to withstand knocks from trolleys, frequent cleaning, moisture near entrances and long-term wear, while still feeling considered for staff.

We assemble palettes from our Materials library – laminates, robust lacquers, compact laminates, stones, composites and metals – and align them with stylistic directions on Joinery Styles, usually in a slightly more utilitarian but still coherent expression.

• selecting durable substrates and finishes that handle impact and repeated cleaning
• detailing plinths, corners and edges to reduce damage from trolleys and equipment
• choosing hardware and hinges designed for intensive use
• planning surfaces and junctions to avoid dirt traps and simplify maintenance

Integration with services and equipment

Locker rooms and BOH spaces often concentrate services – from plumbing and drainage to extraction, power, data and fire systems. We integrate these into the joinery so that spaces remain legible and easy to use.

• coordinating plumbing and drainage for staff showers, WCs and BOH sinks within vanities and cupboards
• allowing for extract grilles and access panels within panelling and bulkheads
• designing housings for fridges, dishwashers, ice machines and other BOH appliances in pantries and prep rooms
• providing clear access to control gear, distribution boards and risers where joinery interfaces with plant and services

These integrations are developed as part of our broader Bespoke Joinery technical package and coordinated with MEP, AV and specialist catering or laundry consultants as needed.

Security, privacy and compliance

Locker rooms and back-of-house joinery must also respond to security, privacy and compliance requirements – from lock types and fire strategy to accessibility within staff facilities.

• planning relevant locker configurations, locking systems and staff-only storage
• ensuring joinery supports fire and escape strategies at BOH doors, lobbies and corridors
• providing accessible facilities and storage where required, with appropriate heights and clearances
• coordinating with access control, CCTV and staff circulation so that BOH areas remain secure but practical

Working with architecture and front-of-house interfaces

Back-of-house spaces sit behind and alongside guest areas. We pay particular attention to the interfaces – where BOH doors, hatches and service points meet visible panelling and public circulation.

• aligning staff doors and BOH panelling heights with adjacent Wall Panelling & Architectural Joinery and Internal Doors & Screens so that they recede visually
• designing service hatches, pass counters and back-of-house bar doors to sit comfortably behind front-of-house elevations
• using joinery to soften and conceal necessary BOH elements within lobbies, corridors and amenity floors

We coordinate these thresholds closely with Reception Desks & Lobby Joinery, Amenity & Members’ Club Joinery, Spa & Wellness Joinery and Hotel Guestroom Joinery Packages, so that operational requirements never undermine the guest journey.

Our process for locker rooms and back-of-house joinery

Our approach to locker rooms and back-of-house joinery follows the same clear stages as our wider

Bespoke Joinery work, with particular emphasis on operations, robustness and clarity of layout.

1. Brief & operational review We begin by understanding staffing levels, shift patterns, BOH routes, housekeeping strategy and F&B operations, as well as any brand or operator standards.
2. Plans, adjacencies and services review We review plans, sections, risers and MEP information – or visit site – to understand adjacencies, services routes, deliveries and escape routes.
3. Layout options and zoning We develop joinery-led layouts for locker rooms, stores, pantries and BOH corridors, testing flows, storage volumes and access.
4. Detailed design & coordination We produce detailed joinery drawings showing construction, internal layouts, services integration, fixings and junctions with walls, floors and ceilings.
5. Materials, samples and mock-ups We prepare focused samples for BOH finishes and, where helpful, support mock-ups of lockers, housekeeping joinery or pantries, aligning them with adjacent scopes on Types of Joinery and ensuring consistency with wider Hospitality Joinery and Amenity & Members’ Club Joinery packages.
6. Production & installation Locker rooms and back-of-house joinery are manufactured through our network of workshops and installed in coordination with main contractors and services teams, with careful setting out and on-site adjustments to suit real conditions.

Connecting back-of-house into the wider scheme

Back-of-house spaces are not an afterthought; they are fundamental to the success of guestrooms, bars, restaurants, spas and amenity spaces.

Next steps

If you are developing locker rooms or back-of-house areas as part of a project, share your plans, operational brief, staffing information and any standards with us.