Under Stairs Storage

I did this a number of years ago and I've been meaning to put it online for a while.  It's my solution for the original dark, damp cupboard that existed under the stairs.  It had a single door at the tall end and extended to the very bottom of the stairs.  If I wanted to get anything out from the very end of the cupboard, it was a real mission!

I first ripped out the old MDF cupboard and cleaned out the inside.  The outside wall was bare brick and draughty, so I insulated it with Rockwool and boarded the whole of the inside with plywood.  I then painted the inside white to keep it clean and bright.

I made the fronts of the cupboards/drawers from plywood and 20 x 70mm softwood for the edges.  The tops had to be angled to fit under the stairs and I made them to include a small gap all around, but particularly at the floor level, so they could open without jamming.  I routed a rebate in the back of the softwood, to create a fairly neat joint between the plywood and softwood.

I hung the cupboard door and added an IKEA cupboard handle.

I made the frame for the shoe holder out of 20 x 70mm softwood, which in hindsight was a bit excessive.  I probably could have used smaller section softwood as the whole thing is pretty heavy and there could have been more room for shoes with a smaller and lighter frame!  I would also recommend measuring the width required for 2 pairs of shoes back to back.  I forgot and they overlap!

I wanted to leave the fronts unpainted with no screws showing, so everything is screwed into the fronts from behind.  The castors are fixed 50mm rubber ones from Machine Mart: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/ml140r-50mm-fixed-castor-rubber/  I can't recommend enough, using rubber wheels.  I originally used some small nylon castors and they started to ware grooves in the floor!  Once I replaced them with rubber, the problem was fixed.

The smaller drawer was made from 8mm MDF and 20 x 70mm softwood for the frame.

Next I added some wooden runners to the floor and from the floor to the staircase for the drawers to slide between

Next was some lighting and a door switch: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00353D2EU/ and https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00403YI3I/

I'm really pleased with the setup and it's a far better solution for storing and easily accessing stuff.

Hope this post was useful to anyone thinking of doing the same!