Drawers, cupboard doors or open shelving
Under-stairs space lends itself to several different layouts depending on how you want to use it: pull-out drawers for shoes and smaller items, a cupboard with hinged doors for coats and hoovers, or open shelving for everyday things you grab on the way out.
Combining two or three of these in one space often works well, since the height under a staircase varies so much from one end to the other, and this is a job we carry out as part of our wider carpentry service.
In a narrow hallway, a hinged cupboard door needs room to swing open, which can be awkward where the hall itself is tight. A sliding or bi-fold door often works better in these spaces, giving full access to the storage without needing extra floor space to open it.
Keeping access clear around meters and consumer units
Electricity and gas meters and the consumer unit commonly sit under the stairs, and access to them has to stay clear for safety and for meter readings. We design storage around these fixtures rather than boxing them in completely.
Fully enclosing a meter in a cupboard without proper access is not something we can do, as this is a listed requirement that affects the safety of the installation, so we always build storage that keeps a clear route to it.
Lighting inside the cupboard
A dark cupboard under the stairs is much less useful than one you can actually see into. We can fit a simple light, sometimes on a door-operated switch, and our electrical service can wire this in properly as part of the same visit.
This is a small addition that makes a big difference when you are reaching for shoes or decorations in a hurry.
Ventilation for coats and shoes
Coats and shoes stored in an enclosed space can hold damp and start to smell if there's no airflow. We can include vented panels or small gaps in the design so air can circulate, keeping the cupboard usable rather than musty.
This is worth planning for at the design stage rather than trying to add afterwards.
Fitting around the shape of the staircase
Every under-stairs space follows the line of the stairs above it, so the carcass has to be built with a sloped top to match rather than a flat box that wastes headroom at the back. We template the slope carefully so the finished unit follows the stairs closely.
This small bit of extra work at the start means you get the full depth of usable storage rather than losing it to a square-cut box.
Under-stairs storage across the area we cover
We cover homes in Uxbridge, Northwood, Denham and Ickenham, often alongside a wider hallway tidy-up that includes new skirting or a fresh coat of paint. Each layout is designed around the actual staircase rather than a standard size.
If you are also considering storage elsewhere in the house, our alcove shelving and cupboards and fitted wardrobes pages cover the other built-in options we offer, and our guide to fitted wardrobe cost gives a useful sense of how built-in storage is typically priced.
Hallways in older homes are often narrow, so we keep the unit as slim as the staircase allows while still giving you proper, usable storage rather than a token cupboard. In larger hallways we can add a run of hooks or a small bench alongside the cupboard for coats and shoes.
A painted finish to match your hall
Once built, we fill, sand and paint the new cupboard or shelving to match your hallway, so it looks like a natural part of the house rather than a separate addition. Micky can complete the painting and decorating in the same visit.
If you would like a quote for the carpentry and painting together, call us on 07735 852901 and we can arrange to measure up.