What 'White Glove' Actually Includes on a House Move
What a white glove move includes, how it is priced, what it is not, and what to check before you book.
At Wolves Removals, white glove means specialist handling of fine art and special collections, and the delivery of exclusive pieces. Each one is brought into the room you choose, unwrapped, assembled and placed, and the packaging leaves with us. Dictionaries give the phrase no removals-specific meaning; Cambridge defines white-glove as providing a very high level of service, or involving a lot of care about small details.
The quick answer
What it covers: Fine art and collections, and deliveries of exclusive pieces
Where it ends: Placed in the room, unwrapped, assembled, packaging taken away
How it is priced: On the pieces, everyday contents go as a standard removal
What it isn’t: Whole-house unpacking, that is our full unpacking service
What Does White Glove Mean?
Merriam-Webster defines it as “marked by special care or attention”, and Cambridge labels it American usage. In UK removals, ours included, what white glove moving covers is whatever the firm writes down.
What white glove covers with us
Fine art
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Paintings, framed works and mirrors
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Wrapped or crated to suit each piece, delivered into the room and placed
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Our crate guide covers how mirrors and paintings travel
Special collections
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Antiques, sculpture and fine furniture
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A marble top travels separately from its base
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See our guides to antique furniture and grandfather clocks
Exclusive deliveries
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Collections from dealers and sales, taken in over several weeks
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Held in our own warehouse until you are ready
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Delivered into the room and placed
From our white glove moving service page.
How a White Glove Job Works
A white glove job, start to finish
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At the survey:
Agree the pieces. We work out which pieces get white glove handling and which go as a standard removal.
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Before anything moves:
Protect the property. Floors, door frames and banisters are covered before the first piece moves.
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Packing:
Wrap, or crate. Blankets and corner guards first; a made-to-measure crate only when a blanket won’t protect the piece.
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Delivery:
Into the room you choose. At least two people carry each piece, and more when a piece needs them.
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Finishing:
Nothing left behind. Each piece is unwrapped, assembled if it needs it, and put where you want it. The packaging leaves with us.
Our own process, from our white glove service page.
Not sure which pieces qualify? Ask for a free survey.
Who White Glove Is For
White glove suits the pieces that matter most: a painting, a mirror, a collection, a sculpture, or lots bought at auction that need to arrive and be placed rather than simply delivered.
A move can be a mix: the everyday contents go as a standard house removal and the pieces that need it get white glove handling inside the same job. For example, the sofas, beds and kitchen go as a standard removal, while a gilt mirror, a marble-topped commode like the one pictured above and the paintings get white glove handling, as on our Brighton seafront antiques move.
One move, two kinds of handling
Standard removal
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Sofas, beds and the kitchen
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Boxes and everyday furniture
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Careful handling, part of the standard price
White glove
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Paintings, mirrors and sculpture
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Antiques and special collections
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Priced on the pieces, agreed at the survey
Same job, same van, same crew. From our white glove service page.
We are a LAPADA Approved Service Provider (LAPADA is the Association of Art & Antiques Dealers). For trade collections, storage between sales, and work in London or elsewhere in the UK, see our white glove removals page; for larger collections, specialised antiques moving. Pieces can wait in our own warehouse between collection and delivery.
How White Glove Is Priced
White glove is priced on the pieces: the wrapping, the lifting and the placing of each one. Everything else goes as a standard removal. We agree the split at the survey. A bespoke crate, when a piece needs one, is priced individually by its size and intricacy.
What sets the price
Wrapping: blanket-wrapped and corner-guarded
Lifting: two people minimum, more when a piece needs them
Placing: unwrapped and set down where you want it
Crates are built to the piece
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A chandelier also needs framing inside its crate.
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A large mirror needs a different crate from a glass statue.
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Each bespoke crate is custom made and priced individually, by its size and how intricate it needs to be.
Our own pricing. No figures, because every piece and every crate is different.
Careful handling of everything else stays part of our standard house removals price.
Do Movers Wear White Gloves?
The literal white glove is not always the right one. Museum guidance picks the glove for the object.
Which glove for which object
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Gloves stop the oils and salts on hands reaching an object; even clean hands transfer them.
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The US National Park Service advises clean white cotton gloves for many museum objects, but not for glass, ceramics or other slippery pieces, where tight-fitting nitrile or latex grips better.
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For rare books, conservators recommend clean dry hands or thin nitrile gloves, not thick cotton.
Sources: the US National Park Service and the Canadian Conservation Institute.
Carrying a painting
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Most paintings, even easel-sized ones, need two handlers and a spotter; larger paintings need more of each.
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Gloves should be clean and well-fitting, because loose gloves slip and catch. Polished or gilded frames are handled with gloves too.
Source: the Canadian Conservation Institute on handling paintings.
What to Get in Writing Before You Book
Ask for
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A quote after a home visit, broken down so you can compare like with like
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Which pieces get white glove handling, and what happens at the other end
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Insurance details, any per-item limits and the time limit for claims
Watch for
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A rough estimate over the phone for awkward access or tight stairs
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“White glove” with no description of what it includes
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Leaving pictures, antiques and valuables off the survey
Source: Which? consumer guidance; the white glove points are our own advice.
What the law says, whatever a service is called
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Every service must be performed with reasonable care and skill.
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What a firm tells you about its service, and you rely on, becomes part of the contract.
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A quotation is normally a fixed price; an estimate is a rough guess.
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If a service falls short, you can ask for it to be put right at no cost, or for a price reduction.
Sources: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Trading Standards’ Business Companion.
Citizens Advice says you can ask for poor service to be put right for up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five in Scotland. You can still raise damage found weeks after a move. If a firm says it belongs to a scheme or association, check on that scheme’s own website, as Citizens Advice also advises.
What It Does Not Mean
White glove is not whole-house unpacking. Emptying boxes, putting away the kitchen and making beds are part of our full unpacking service, which you can add to any move. Packing the house is our full packing service.
Which service does what
White glove: the pieces that need specialist handling, placed in the room
Full unpacking: boxes emptied, the kitchen put away and beds made
Full packing: the whole house packed before the move
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Not part of white glove: climate-controlled transport or air freight.
From our white glove, full unpacking and full packing service pages.
Moving fine art or a collection?
Tell us about the pieces at a free video or in-home survey, and we’ll set out which get white glove handling and what that includes.
The Wolves Removals Team
Family-run removals · Ashington, West Sussex
We have moved families and businesses across West and East Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent since 2016, from our Ashington base. We are fully insured, Checkatrade-verified and a LAPADA Approved Service Provider for antiques and fine art. More about us, or read our reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
With us, white glove means specialist handling of fine art and special collections, and delivery of exclusive pieces. Each piece is protected, wrapped or crated, carried in by at least two people, unwrapped, assembled and placed, and the packaging is taken away.
Dictionaries define it as very high-level, meticulous service; Cambridge labels it American usage. The main dictionaries give it no removals meaning, so check what a firm writes into its quote.
No, white glove is not full unpacking. We unwrap and place each white glove piece, but emptying boxes, putting away the kitchen and making beds are our full unpacking service. White glove is for the pieces that need specialist handling.
White glove is priced on the pieces: how they are wrapped, who lifts them and where they end up. The everyday contents go as a standard house removal. We work out the split at the survey.
Not always: the right glove depends on the object. Museum guidance uses clean cotton gloves for many objects, tight-fitting nitrile for glass and ceramics, and clean dry hands or thin nitrile for rare books.
Yes, white glove can cover only some pieces. The pieces that need it get white glove handling inside the same job, same van and same crew, while everything else goes as a standard removal.
