White glove movers for Southern California homes
Most moving companies can carry a sofa. What separates white glove movers is everything around the lifting: the plan made before move day, the protection laid down before the first piece leaves, the crates built for the pieces that cannot be wrapped, and the care taken to put a home back together so it feels finished the night you arrive.
Elite Moving & Storage provides white glove moving for homes, estates and high-end collections across Southern California, from hillside homes in the Santa Monica Mountains to coastal homes in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Our team stays with the move from the first walkthrough to the follow-up call after you settle in.
What a white glove moving service includes
A white glove moving service is defined by what you do not have to do. You should not be packing kitchens at midnight, measuring doorways, calling your building manager or unpacking wardrobes.
- A walkthrough and written plan. We see the home before we quote it. You receive an itemized inventory, a crating list, a crew and truck plan and a written estimate.
- Custom crating. When a painting, mirror, marble tabletop, glass shelf, chandelier or sculpture calls for it, we build a crate to its dimensions rather than trusting it to a carton.
- Protection at both homes. Floor runners, door jamb covers, banister wraps and elevator pads go down before anything moves.
- Packing with the right materials. Wardrobe cartons for clothing that should not be folded, dish packs for china and crystal, and acid-free paper for anything that needs it.
- Placement to plan. Furniture goes where your floor plan says, beds are assembled, rugs are laid before furniture, and art is staged by the wall it belongs on.
- Unpacking and debris removal. Cartons are unpacked into the rooms they came from and every box, pad and scrap of paper leaves with the crew.
White glove vs full-service movers
The terms get used loosely, so it helps to be specific. A full-service move usually means the movers pack, load, drive and unload. A white glove move adds the planning and the finish: a walkthrough, a written inventory, crating for the fragile and valuable pieces that need it, protection for both homes, placement to a floor plan, unpacking, and one team accountable for all of it.
If most of what you own is easy to replace, full service may be all you need. If your home holds pieces that are expensive, irreplaceable or simply loved, the difference is worth it.
High-end movers for homes, estates and the collections inside them
The homes we move tend to have things in common: long driveways or hillside access, stone and hardwood floors that mark easily, oversized furniture that needs to come apart and go back together, and collections that deserve more than a moving blanket. A high-end move plans around all of it.
For larger properties with household staff, multiple residences or a move timed around a renovation, see estate moving. For collections that need specialist crating and handling on their own schedule, see fine art moving.
Concierge moving services, handled by our team
A concierge move is simply a white glove move with more of the surrounding work taken off your plate. On request, we can arrange short or long-term storage between homes, disconnection and reconnection of appliances and electronics, handyman help and art installation after delivery, donation drop-off for items you are not keeping, and coordination with your designer, estate manager or assistant.
Discretion as part of the service
Moving a home means seeing how people live. Our crews are briefed on house rules before arrival, keep to the rooms and entrances agreed in the plan, and do not photograph or post the homes we work in. If your household needs a specific protocol, tell us at the walkthrough and it becomes part of the written plan.
How to choose a white glove moving company
A few checks separate a careful mover from a risky one:
- Ask for the CAL-T number. Every household mover in California needs a permit from the Bureau of Household Goods and Services. You can look it up at bhgs.dca.ca.gov.
- Insist on a walkthrough. A price given without seeing the home is a guess, and guesses tend to grow on move day.
- Get the estimate in writing, including crating, packing and any storage.
- Ask how valuables are protected, and get the valuation options in writing before move day.
- Ask how the crew is briefed. A mover that shares your house rules and the written plan with its crew before move day is one that owns the outcome.
