What to Build Under the Stairs
Be rid of dust balls and over-stuffed cupboards with these elegant under-stair solutions
That space under the stairs is the space you try not to think about, right? If there’s a cupboard, it’s rammed full of old shoeboxes and the vacuum cleaner. If it’s open, there’ll be dust balls caught down there underneath the bottom couple of treads, where it’s really hard to clean. It’s an awkward space, in short.
But awkward, forgotten spaces are often opportunities in disguise. The space under the stairs doesn’t have to be forlorn and useless. It can have function and it can be turned into a place of fun – or it can even just be delightfully playful (not to mention easy to clean), as this suspended staircase in a house by Blasse Laser Architects shows – the point is that with a little thought, this can be as important a part of a house as any other. You might have to find somewhere else for the vacuum cleaner though.
Create a playroom for the kids
Think ‘room under the stairs for the children’ and the wrong connotations come up (Harry Potter being one of the first to come to mind). But as this house in Sydney shows, you can quite happily make a place for sitting and playing that feels like a retreat from the rest of the world – the beauty of this space, of course, is that you could quite happily sit here with a book and a cup of coffee and hide from the children instead…
Think ‘room under the stairs for the children’ and the wrong connotations come up (Harry Potter being one of the first to come to mind). But as this house in Sydney shows, you can quite happily make a place for sitting and playing that feels like a retreat from the rest of the world – the beauty of this space, of course, is that you could quite happily sit here with a book and a cup of coffee and hide from the children instead…
Alternately, you could make it a closed-in space: kids love playrooms and they love making huts and hiding away. This house – which is otherwise very lovely and adult, all white walls and bleached floors – includes a tiny windowless space under the stairs, painted a vibrant, disruptive green.
Here, there are all manner of toys and books. The door is so low and so narrow that it’s truly a kid-sized space – adults would struggle to intrude here and that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?
Study
Then there’s the old put-the-office-under-the-stairs treatment – though in this case it extends to more than shoving a desk in the corner and hoping for the best. Surrounding this built-in study under the stairs are a series of built-in cupboards: the desk buts into the cabinetry, and the space features a handy sliding timber door to close it off once you’ve finished working.
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Then there’s the old put-the-office-under-the-stairs treatment – though in this case it extends to more than shoving a desk in the corner and hoping for the best. Surrounding this built-in study under the stairs are a series of built-in cupboards: the desk buts into the cabinetry, and the space features a handy sliding timber door to close it off once you’ve finished working.
See how to fit in offices anywhere
And in this particularly elegant example, open risers descend from the upper storey, over an elegant timber-and-white desk, the end of which extends over plenty of nicely built drawers to become part of the stair.
A few extra stairs then bring you down to ground level. I particularly like this example because of its precision: the desk would have to sit at a particular height to make it functional, and then you’d need to work out how to make the stairs from the desktop/stair down to the ground floor even, and that might affect the height of your risers up to the top level. Architectural gymnastics, nicely done.
Library
The thing about books on shelves is that they fill up spaces and allow the air around them to move. They’re both storage and decoration, but they don’t close a space in. So building spaces under the stairs for books is an ideal solution – there’s a hint of what’s behind, rather than a solid piece of wall, and this makes things seem airy and deeper than they probably are.
The thing about books on shelves is that they fill up spaces and allow the air around them to move. They’re both storage and decoration, but they don’t close a space in. So building spaces under the stairs for books is an ideal solution – there’s a hint of what’s behind, rather than a solid piece of wall, and this makes things seem airy and deeper than they probably are.
Of course, you could go all out and build an actual library in under the stairs. The placement of the staircase here creates a three-sided room that is ideal for these beautifully wrought wooden bookcases, as well as an easy chair on which to read. It’s the perfect use for a space that would otherwise be white, empty and a little blank – and the books will help absorb a bit of noise as well. Thank goodness for cabinetry.
In this case, the designers opted for a hybrid library-storage option, the cabintery and shelving wrapping around a perfectly articulated set of risers, offset by an elegantly spare handrail. It’s particularly skilful: there is light and air, and the colours from the books add vibrancy to an otherwise all-white scheme.
Reading nook
Closely related to the library is the reading nook – this one’s in the front hall, so it could also act as a handy place to stop and put on your shoes before going out, though my fear is that this would get used to pile up coats. I’m intrigued by the very low door at ground level too. Is that where the vacuum cleaner goes?
Take a look at book lovers’ nooks
Closely related to the library is the reading nook – this one’s in the front hall, so it could also act as a handy place to stop and put on your shoes before going out, though my fear is that this would get used to pile up coats. I’m intrigued by the very low door at ground level too. Is that where the vacuum cleaner goes?
Take a look at book lovers’ nooks
Storage
It’s the modern person’s bete noire: where do we put all this stuff? Answer: under the stairs! Only, you could do it in such an elegant way as this, with a variety of drawers (rather than one big cupboard) pulling out to provide some particularly nicely rationalised storage. The timber interiors are a beautiful touch, and the tall cupboard at the right is a smart move for such necessities as ironing boards.
It’s the modern person’s bete noire: where do we put all this stuff? Answer: under the stairs! Only, you could do it in such an elegant way as this, with a variety of drawers (rather than one big cupboard) pulling out to provide some particularly nicely rationalised storage. The timber interiors are a beautiful touch, and the tall cupboard at the right is a smart move for such necessities as ironing boards.
The best storage is both practical and beautiful, and in the case of stairs there’s a strong argument to be made in favour of exposing the risers in some way – as the tops of the doors do in this project. Notice here how the fridge just slips beautifully in to the left there as well, with handy cupboards above.
Here’s another beautifully realised version, this time set back in under the angle of the stair, with some nice long cupboards to hide everything away. This works beautifully with the minimalist approach in the rest of the house.
For the ultimate touch, why not turn the actual stairs themselves into drawers, as in this ingenious option?
Equally, why not make the stairs out of storage, rather than storage out of stairs? In this particularly fine example, the stairs have been made out of a series of fixed timber boxes – there’s room for all manner of junk in the boxes, and the stairs have a floating, open feel: you almost don’t notice they’re there at all. (Though if building this in New Zealand, I have a feeling you’d be required to build a handrail… Sigh.)
Bike storage
It’s a common story: no garage, narrow hallway, bikes stored inside in the hallway for you to fall over as you make your way through the house. In this case, they’re nicely tucked away on hooks under the stairs, ready for action. The front door in this house is to the right of the stairs in this image: the bikes are tucked neatly away, but still handy for a quick exit. Nicely done. (And the cutouts in the ply screen are a very nice touch.)
It’s a common story: no garage, narrow hallway, bikes stored inside in the hallway for you to fall over as you make your way through the house. In this case, they’re nicely tucked away on hooks under the stairs, ready for action. The front door in this house is to the right of the stairs in this image: the bikes are tucked neatly away, but still handy for a quick exit. Nicely done. (And the cutouts in the ply screen are a very nice touch.)
Wine cellar
If you’ve got enough wine – and enough money – putting a cellar under the stairs is a no-brainer. You can pack in a hell of a lot into the space. Better yet, if the front wall is made of glass – as this one is – you get to see your collection in all its dusty glory. (TIP: you might need to think about how to counter the effect of UV on your plonk if this is in a bright room.)
If you’ve got enough wine – and enough money – putting a cellar under the stairs is a no-brainer. You can pack in a hell of a lot into the space. Better yet, if the front wall is made of glass – as this one is – you get to see your collection in all its dusty glory. (TIP: you might need to think about how to counter the effect of UV on your plonk if this is in a bright room.)
Make music
There’s just enough room in this playful house to slip in a piano, the instrument that has a habit of creating equally awkward spaces in houses. This is a genius solution, which ensures the piano is right there in the living room – crucial to promoting regular practise.
There’s just enough room in this playful house to slip in a piano, the instrument that has a habit of creating equally awkward spaces in houses. This is a genius solution, which ensures the piano is right there in the living room – crucial to promoting regular practise.
TELL US
What clever things have you done with the space under the stairs? Share photos of your spaces in the Comments below.
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Check out these beautiful staircases for more ideas
What clever things have you done with the space under the stairs? Share photos of your spaces in the Comments below.
MORE
Check out these beautiful staircases for more ideas