Furniture packaging for a house move needs three materials. Clear stretch film holds doors and drawers shut and keeps dust off, large bubble wrap pads the corners, legs and glass, and kraft paper goes between any two surfaces that would otherwise rub. With those three you can protect furniture when moving without buying a different cover for every piece, and each comes on a roll you can order singly.
This guide matches each kind of furniture to the right wrap, walks through wrapping a chest of drawers with stretch film, and shows where bubble wrap and paper do a better job than plastic. It also covers what not to seal in plastic for long storage, the products we do not stock, and how much film, bubble wrap and paper to buy for one move.
In This Guide
- Quick picks for wrapping furniture
- Which furniture packaging suits each piece?
- How do you use clear wrap for furniture with doors and drawers?
- Which pallet wrap for moving house should you buy?
- How do you protect corners, legs and glass with bubble wrap?
- Where should you use paper for protective wrapping for furniture?
- What should you not wrap in plastic for long storage?
- How much film, bubble wrap and paper should you buy, and what does it cost?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick picks for wrapping furniture
These three rolls cover most furniture in a house move or a storage unit.
Best for keeping doors and drawers shut
Clear Pallet Wrap
Clear hand stretch film that clings to itself, so it holds furniture closed with no tape on the finish.
- 400mm wide in 120m, 200m and 250m lengths, plus 500mm x 250m
- 20 or 23 micron
- Sold per roll, minimum order one roll
From £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best for corners, legs and glass
Large Bubble Wrap
25mm bubbles put a thick cushion over the parts of furniture that take the knocks.
- 25mm bubbles
- 300mm x 50m or 500mm x 50m
- Sold per roll
From £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView product
Best between surfaces and under film
Kraft Paper Rolls
Brown kraft paper for interleaving shelves and table tops and for covering polished surfaces before film goes on.
- Standard roll 500mm x 200m, 90gsm
- Centre-feed boxed rolls in 70gsm
- Sold per roll
From £25.00 ex VAT (£30.00 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productWhich furniture packaging suits each piece?
Match the furniture packaging to the damage each piece is likely to get. Cabinets and drawers need holding shut, corners and legs need padding, glass needs cushioning on both faces, and polished or leather surfaces need paper or cloth against them before anything else. The table below gives a starting point for the common pieces in a house move.
| Furniture | Main risk in the van | What to use |
|---|---|---|
| Chest of drawers, bedside cabinet | Drawers sliding open | Clear pallet wrap around the whole carcass, bubble wrap on the top corners |
| Wardrobe, sideboard, kitchen dresser | Doors swinging, corners knocked in doorways | Stretch film over the doors, bubble wrap on corners and handles |
| Dining table (legs removed) | Scratched top, lost fixings | Kraft paper over the top, bubble wrap on each leg, legs bundled with mini wrap |
| Dining chairs | Legs rubbing against each other | Bubble wrap on legs, paper on the seat if you stack them |
| Mirrors, glass shelves, glass table tops | Cracks and chipped edges | Paper first, then large bubble wrap on both faces and all edges |
| Flat-pack panels and bed slats | Panels sliding apart, scuffed faces | Paper between panels, then mini handy wrap at each end |
| Fabric sofa or armchair (short move) | Dust and dirty hands | Stretch film over the outside for the day of the move, bubble wrap on wooden feet |
| Leather sofa, polished or waxed wood | Marks from plastic left on the surface | Paper or a cotton sheet first, film only over that and only for the move itself |
We do not sell sofa bags, mattress bags, furniture boxes, removal blankets or wardrobe boxes. If you want a fitted bag for a mattress or a padded blanket for a piano, a removal firm or van hire depot is the place to ask. We stock the rolls (film, bubble wrap and paper), which between them deal with most pieces.
Old bedding counts. Duvets, towels and flattened boxes pad furniture well and cost nothing. Use them on the big flat faces and save the bubble wrap for corners, legs and glass.
How do you use clear wrap for furniture with doors and drawers?
Wrap the film around the whole piece, starting at the bottom and overlapping each turn by about half, so every door and drawer is pinned shut by several layers. Clear wrap for furniture works because stretch film clings to itself and not to the furniture. There is no adhesive, so you never have to put tape on a painted or veneered finish.
The film we sell for this is Clear Pallet Wrap, the same hand stretch film warehouses use on pallets. Removal firms and people moving house buy it by the roll. To wrap a chest of drawers or a cabinet with it:
- Empty or lighten it. Take out anything heavy or breakable. Light clothes can stay in drawers if the piece is still safe to lift.
- Pad the weak points first. Put bubble wrap over the top corners and any handles that stick out. Lay paper over a polished top.
- Anchor the film. Tuck the loose end behind a leg or under the base, or hold it against the back panel while you make the first turn. Once the film overlaps itself it stays put.
- Walk around the piece. Keep the roll close to the furniture and pull it gently tight as you go. You want it snug enough to hold a drawer, not so tight that it bows a thin back panel.
- Work upwards. Overlap each turn by about half the width of the film until you reach the top. Go around the top edge twice.
- Go over the top if it needs it. For a piece with a lid or a loose top, take one or two passes over the top and under the base, then finish with a turn around the middle.
- Cut and press down. Cut the film with a knife or tear it, and smooth the tail onto the layer below. It will cling without tape.
The same method works on a wardrobe, a filing cabinet or a fridge door. For a wardrobe, wrap the doors shut in a band around the middle first, then cover the rest. If the piece comes apart, wrap each section separately. Two people can lift a wrapped carcass far more easily than one with a drawer sliding out at the stairs.
Best for wardrobes, drawers and cabinets
Clear Pallet Wrap
Hand stretch film that grips itself, so the load stays tight with no tape or heat.
- Four rolls: 400mm x 120m, 400mm x 200m, 400mm x 250m and 500mm x 250m
- 120m roll is 20 micron, the other three are 23 micron
- The 400mm x 250m roll has an extended core you can hold while you wrap
From £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productKeep film off bare handles and feet. Stretch film is slippery to grip. Leave carrying points clear, or wear gloves with a grip, so nobody loses hold on the stairs.
Which pallet wrap for moving house should you buy?
For a house move, the 400mm x 250m extended core roll is the easiest pallet wrap for moving, because the cardboard core sticks out past the film at each end and gives you something to hold. You do not need a dispenser with it. If you only have a few pieces to wrap, the 400mm x 120m roll at 750g is lighter in the hand and holds less film.
All four clear rolls are hand stretch film. The differences are width, length, thickness and core. Clear Pallet Wrap is priced from £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT) per roll, and the product page shows the price for each size.
| Roll | Thickness and core | Roll weight | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400mm x 120m | 20 micron, standard core | 750g | A small move, a few cabinets, occasional use |
| 400mm x 200m | 23 micron, standard core | 1.5kg | Regular wrapping where you already have a dispenser |
| 400mm x 250m | 23 micron, extended core | 1.5kg | Wrapping by hand: the core is your handle |
| 500mm x 250m | 23 micron, standard core | 1.75kg | Tall wardrobes and big loads, since each turn covers more height |
| Mini handy wrap 100mm x 150m | 17 micron, clear or black | Sold per roll | Bundling legs, slats, panels and poles |
The narrow roll in the last row is Mini Handy Pallet Wrap 100mm x 150m, from £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT) a roll. It is 100mm wide, which makes it much easier to handle than a full width roll when you are binding four table legs together, strapping bed slats into a bundle or holding a cupboard door shut with one band. Clear lets you see what is in the bundle. Black hides it, which some people prefer for furniture parts left in a shared storage unit.
The mini roll fits the HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser, a hand-held holder that costs from £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT). The roll spins on the handle, so you guide the film round a bundle without gripping it. The HW38 only takes mini rolls. It will not hold a 400mm or 500mm pallet wrap roll, so for those either buy the extended core roll or wrap with a hand in each end of the core.
If you would rather people could not see what is under the film, Black Pallet Wrap is opaque and comes in three rolls, also from £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT). For more on how each roll is used outside removals, see pallet wrap uses for warehouses, removals and bundling, and for bundling jobs in detail read our guide to handy wrap and mini pallet wrap. Micron and thickness are explained in pallet wrap grades and gauges.
How do you protect corners, legs and glass with bubble wrap?
Put bubble wrap on the parts that stick out or break: corners, legs, handles, glass doors and mirrors. Those are the points that meet the door frame, the van wall and the next piece of furniture. A full wrap of bubble on a whole wardrobe uses a lot of roll for little gain, so pad the edges and let stretch film or a blanket cover the flat faces.
Our Large Bubble Wrap has 25mm bubbles and comes in two rolls, 300mm x 50m and 500mm x 50m, from £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT). The 500mm roll is the one for furniture such as chairs, table legs and mirrors, because each turn covers more. The 300mm roll is easier to handle for lamps and smaller items. Plenty of people buying for a move take one of each.
- Corners. Fold a length of bubble wrap two or three times into a pad, cap the corner with it, and hold it in place with a band of stretch film. Tape stuck straight onto a finish can lift it, so tape bubble to bubble only.
- Legs. Wind bubble wrap around each leg from the foot upwards and tape the bubble wrap to itself. If the legs unscrew, take them off, wrap them and bundle them with mini handy wrap.
- Mirrors and glass shelves. Lay a sheet of paper on the glass first, then wrap both faces and all four edges in bubble wrap. Carry and load glass on its edge, never flat under other things.
- Glass doors on cabinets. If the door lifts off, wrap it on its own. If it stays on, pad the glass with bubble wrap and then film the whole cabinet so the door cannot open.
- Handles and knobs. A small pad of bubble wrap over each one stops it denting whatever is loaded next to it.
For ornaments, crockery and other small breakables, the 10mm bubbles on Small Bubble Wrap fold more tightly around the item. Our room by room guide to bubble wrap for moving house works out how much you need for the whole home.
Best for furniture edges and mirrors
Large Bubble Wrap
Large 25mm cells give bulky and heavy items a thick layer of cushioning.
- 500mm x 50m for chairs, table legs and mirrors
- 300mm x 50m for lamps and medium items
- Also works as void fill in large boxes
From £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT)
Choose sizeView productWhere should you use paper for protective wrapping for furniture?
Use paper wherever two hard surfaces touch and wherever plastic would sit directly on a finish. Paper stops rubbing and lets the surface breathe, and unlike film it does not cling. In protective wrapping for furniture it is the layer that goes on first, with bubble wrap or film over it if the piece needs more.
Kraft Paper Rolls come in three types, from £25.00 ex VAT (£30.00 inc VAT). The standard roll is 500mm x 200m in 90gsm, the widest and heaviest paper we stock, and the one to pick for furniture, framed items and covering surfaces. The two centre-feed rolls are 70gsm and sit in a dispenser box, 200mm x 250m and 375mm x 300m. Those suit a packing bench better than a removal job.
- Stacked shelves and panels. Put a sheet of paper between each shelf, drawer front or flat-pack panel before you bundle them.
- Table tops. Cover the whole top with paper, tape paper to paper at the underside, then add a blanket or flattened boxes if the table is travelling on its edge.
- Polished and waxed wood. Always put paper on first, so no plastic rests on the finish.
- Under bubble wrap on glass and lacquer. A sheet of paper keeps the bubble pattern off the surface.
- Drawers you carry separately. Line the top of a full drawer with paper and band it with mini wrap so the contents stay in.
A 200m roll is a lot of paper for one house. It is worth buying if you also pack boxes, because scrunched kraft paper fills the gaps round crockery and books. If you only need a few sheets for two table tops, old cotton sheets or the brown paper that came in your last few parcels will do the same job. For the wider uses of the roll, see kraft paper rolls for wrapping, void fill and moving.
What should you not wrap in plastic for long storage?
Do not leave stretch film or any other plastic sealed directly against leather, polished wood, waxed or oiled finishes, or upholstery that might be damp, when the furniture is going into storage for weeks or months. Plastic does not let air through. Any moisture already in the piece stays there, and a storage unit that warms and cools through the seasons can add condensation on the inside of the film.
Many removal firms advise against leaving stretch film in direct contact with leather or a polished wood finish for long storage. The general caution is that film left on for a long time can mark or dull those surfaces, and trapped damp can lead to mould or a musty smell. This is rarely a concern on the day of a move, when the film is on for hours. It matters far more over weeks or months in storage.
| Surface | For the move itself | For long storage |
|---|---|---|
| Leather sofas and chairs | Cotton sheet or paper first, film over that if needed | Take the film off. Leave a breathable cover such as a cotton sheet |
| Polished, waxed or oiled wood | Paper against the finish, bubble wrap on corners, film to hold it | Remove film from the faces. Keep paper and corner pads |
| Fabric upholstery | Film is fine for the day if the fabric is dry | Loosen or remove film so air can move. Use a dust sheet |
| Painted or laminate carcasses | Film straight on is usually fine | Film is lower risk here, but leave a gap or vent if the unit is not dry |
| Mirrors and glass | Paper, then bubble wrap | Can stay wrapped. Store on edge |
| Metal frames and legs | Bubble wrap or film | Check they are dry before wrapping, since trapped damp can rust bare metal |
- Clean and dry everything first. Anything wrapped damp stays damp.
- Put the breathable layer on. Kraft paper or a cotton sheet against leather and fine wood.
- Pad the corners. Bubble wrap over the paper, not under it.
- Use film to hold, then decide. Film the piece for the journey. At the storage unit, cut the film off anything on the list above and leave the paper or sheet in place.
- Leave air gaps. Keep furniture off the floor on pallets or timber if you can, and a little away from the walls.
Check with the maker for valuable pieces. Antiques, French polish and aniline leather can react differently from modern finishes. If a piece is worth a lot to you, ask the maker, a restorer or your storage company how they want it covered.
How much film, bubble wrap and paper should you buy, and what does it cost?
For a typical house move, one roll of clear pallet wrap, one or two rolls of large bubble wrap and a roll of mini handy wrap is a sensible first order, and you can add kraft paper if you have polished or leather furniture or boxes to pack as well. Every one of these is sold as a single roll with no minimum beyond that, so you are not forced into a case.
To estimate the film for yourself, take a chest of drawers 900mm wide, 450mm deep and 1,000mm tall. One turn around it is about 2.7m. With 400mm film overlapped by half, each turn climbs 200mm, so five turns reach the top, and a spare turn at the top and bottom makes seven. That is roughly 19m of film for one layer over the whole piece, a little less once the film is stretched. On those figures a 250m roll covers around a dozen pieces of that size and the 120m roll around six. Measure your own largest pieces and run the same sum before you order.
| Product | Size options | Price from, per roll or piece |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Pallet Wrap | 400mm x 120m, 400mm x 200m, 400mm x 250m, 500mm x 250m | £4.00 ex VAT (£4.80 inc VAT) |
| Mini Handy Pallet Wrap | 100mm x 150m, 17 micron, clear or black | £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT) |
| HW38 Handy Wrap Dispenser | One model, for mini rolls | £2.50 ex VAT (£3.00 inc VAT) |
| Large Bubble Wrap | 300mm x 50m or 500mm x 50m, 25mm bubbles | £9.00 ex VAT (£10.80 inc VAT) |
| Kraft Paper Rolls | 500mm x 200m 90gsm, or 70gsm centre-feed boxed rolls | £25.00 ex VAT (£30.00 inc VAT) |
These are starting prices. The larger sizes cost more, and the price per roll falls as the quantity goes up, with the tiers shown on each product page. That mostly helps removal firms and storage companies who get through film every week. If that is you, a trade account is worth setting up, and our guide to removal boxes and packing supplies for removal companies covers the rest of the van kit. A VAT invoice comes with every order.
You will also want something to cut film and bubble wrap with. Utility Knives start from £1.90 ex VAT (£2.28 inc VAT). Always cut away from the furniture, and never cut film against a finished surface. For the boxes and tape side of the move, see the cardboard boxes and packing tapes ranges, and the rest of the wrapping materials are under protective packaging.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 delivery is free on every order with no minimum, and orders placed by 2pm Monday to Friday leave our Manchester unit the same working day. If your move is close, free click and collect from Cheetham Hill is usually ready within 2 hours, and we run a same-day van delivery within 10 miles. To ask about a size or a larger order, call 0161 706 1246 or use the contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best furniture packaging for a house move?
The best furniture packaging for a house move is a mix of stretch film, bubble wrap and paper. Stretch film holds doors and drawers shut, large bubble wrap pads corners, legs and glass, and kraft paper protects polished surfaces and separates panels. Old duvets, towels and flattened boxes are worth using on large flat faces as well.
Is pallet wrap the same as the clear wrap removal firms use on furniture?
Yes, the clear wrap used on furniture is hand stretch film, which is the same product sold as pallet wrap. Our Clear Pallet Wrap is hand stretch film in 20 or 23 micron that clings to itself with no tape or heat. Pallet wrap is not shrink wrap, which needs heat to tighten.
Can you leave stretch film on furniture in storage?
Stretch film can stay on painted or laminate furniture in a dry unit, but many removal firms advise against leaving stretch film directly on leather or polished wood for long storage. Plastic does not breathe, so trapped moisture can cause marks, mould or a musty smell. For long storage, put kraft paper or a cotton sheet against those surfaces and remove or loosen the film.
Should bubble wrap go straight onto wooden furniture?
Bubble wrap is best placed over a sheet of paper on polished, waxed or lacquered wood, especially if the furniture will stay wrapped for a while. The paper keeps the plastic and the bubble pattern off the finish. On legs, corners and unfinished parts, bubble wrap can go straight on for the day of a move.
How much pallet wrap do you need to move house?
One roll of pallet wrap is enough for many house moves, though the amount depends on how many cabinets, wardrobes and drawer units you have. As a worked example, a chest of drawers 900mm wide, 450mm deep and 1,000mm tall takes roughly 19m of 400mm film for one full layer. Measure your largest pieces and compare the total with the 120m, 200m or 250m roll lengths before you order.
Does Pack Solution sell sofa bags, mattress bags or removal blankets?
No, Pack Solution does not sell sofa bags, mattress bags, furniture boxes, wardrobe boxes or removal blankets. Pack Solution stocks the rolls used alongside them: clear and black pallet wrap, mini handy wrap, large and small bubble wrap and kraft paper. For fitted covers and padded blankets, ask your removal firm or a van hire depot.
