The space under the stairs.

The brief

The owners had a deep triangular cupboard that had gradually become somewhere things disappeared. They wanted the same space to hold coats, boots, the hoover and the recycling without anyone having to crawl in after it.

The awkward part

Nothing under a staircase is square. The rake dropped 62mm across the width of the opening, the floor fell away towards the front door, and the existing framing was doing more work than it looked.

What we did

We drew the storage from the actual dimensions of the stair rather than a standard carcass: three graduated pull-outs on full-extension runners at the shallow end, a full-height hanging section where the head height allows it, and a shoe drawer that clears the skirting. Doors are handleless with hand-cut finger pulls so nothing catches in a narrow hall.

Finished

Same footprint, everything reachable from standing. The paint was matched to the existing hall so the new work reads as part of the house.