The best uses for the space under your stairs are coat and shoe storage, pull-out drawers, a reading nook, a hidden washing machine or a small downstairs WC. The right choice depends on the height at the tall end, what is already hidden in there, and whether a loft conversion makes the stair a fire escape route. This guide covers each idea and the building rules that decide what actually fits in a London terrace.
What can you do with the space under the stairs?
Most under-stairs spaces suit one of seven uses. The table below shows what each one needs before you commit, so you can rule ideas in or out quickly.
| Idea | Works best when | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Coat and shoe storage | The stair rises from the front door along the hallway | Joinery only; a vent or gap for damp coats |
| Pull-out drawers | The space is deep but too low to walk into | Fitted joinery and good runners |
| Reading nook | The stair is open to a living room or wide hallway | Seat at the tall end, a wired light |
| Open display or desk | The panelling under the stair is not structural | A structural check; a fire check if you have a loft room |
| Washing machine or utility | The space backs onto the kitchen or an outside wall | Water, waste, power and ventilation |
| Downstairs WC | There is standing headroom at the tall end and a drain close by | Drainage, an extract fan, Building Regulations sign-off |
| Mini bar, wine or pantry | The stair sits next to the kitchen or living area | Shelving; plumbing only if you add a sink |
How do you measure the space under your stairs?
Measure the height at the tall end, the depth back to the wall and the length of the run before choosing an idea. The tall end decides whether anyone can stand in there. The low end is only ever good for drawers, shoe racks or deep storage.
Open the cupboard and note what is already inside. In London terraces we often find the gas and electricity meters, the consumer unit or water pipes under the stairs. These stay where they are unless a supplier or registered trade moves them, so any new design must keep them reachable.
Check which way the stair faces too. A stair that rises along the hallway from the front door suits coats and shoes. A stair that opens into a living room or kitchen suits a nook, a desk or a bar, because you see the space every day.
Under stairs coat storage ideas
Coat and shoe storage is the most useful thing to put under a hallway stair, because it clears the hall right where you take your coat off. The space is usually too deep to reach into, so fitted pull-outs work far better than a plain cupboard with a door.
Good understairs storage ideas for coats and shoes include:
- A pull-out coat rail on runners, so you can reach the back of the space.
- Angled shoe shelves or pull-out shoe drawers at the low end.
- Hooks on the inside of the door for bags and dog leads.
- A short bench at the tall end for putting shoes on, with lift-up storage inside.
- A slatted or louvred door, or a ventilation grille, so wet coats can dry.
Ventilation matters more than it sounds. A sealed cupboard full of damp coats and shoes goes musty within a winter. If the hallway is dark as well, lighting the cupboard and the hall together helps; our guide to brightening a dark hallway covers the options.
Under stairs drawers and pull-out storage
Pull-out drawers are the best answer for a deep, low space you cannot walk into. Each drawer runs out to the side, so nothing gets lost at the back, and you can size drawers for specific things such as shoes, the hoover or sports kit.
Drawers built into the steps themselves are a different job. The treads and risers are part of the stair’s structure, so this usually means rebuilding the stair rather than adding joinery. It makes sense when a new stair is going in anyway, for example during a loft conversion.
How to make an under stairs reading nook
An under stairs reading nook works when you put the seat at the tall end and the books at the low end. The seat needs enough height to sit up straight and to stand up without hitting your head on the stair soffit.
For a comfortable under stairs book nook:
- Build a bench or day-bed into the tall end, with drawers underneath.
- Run shelves along the sloping side, stepping down with the stair.
- Wire in a reading light; a plug-in lamp in a nook is a trip hazard.
- Add a curtain if you want a den for children.
- Keep at least one side open so the nook doesn’t feel like a cupboard.
A DIY under stairs reading nook is realistic if the space is already open. Ready-made cushions and freestanding shelves will do. If the panelling has to come off, or you want new lighting, get the structure and wiring checked first.
Open under stairs ideas
Opening up the space under the stairs makes a narrow hall or living room feel wider and gives you room for a desk, display shelves or a bench. It is the right move when the area is visible every day and you have enough closed storage elsewhere.
Before taking the panelling off, check two things. First, the stud wall under a stair sometimes carries the stair or the landing above, so a builder or engineer should confirm it is not structural. Second, if the house has a loft conversion, the hallway may be a protected escape route, covered in the fire safety section below.
Open-plan ideas for small spaces include a slim desk at the tall end, floating shelves along the stair line, a built-in sofa or a play corner. Lighting the space from below the stringer stops it becoming a dark hole.
Under stairs ideas for small spaces
In a small or shallow under-stairs space, use the sloping side rather than the depth. Shallow shelves stepping down with the stair, a row of hooks and one pull-out at the tall end beat a deep cupboard you can’t reach into.
Avoid a hinged door that swings into a narrow hall; open shelving or a curtain takes up no floor space. A short built-in bench with lift-up storage fits most stairs, and pale paint inside stops the space reading as a dark hole.
Can you put a kitchen under the stairs?
A full kitchen rarely fits under a stair, but part of one often does. In an open-plan ground floor, the low end can take base units, a larder or a fridge, which frees wall space for the rest of the kitchen.
Keep the hob out from under the stair. Cooking needs extraction and clearance from the timber above. In a house with a loft room, an open kitchen under the stairs also affects the fire escape route, covered below. A space-saving kitchen under stairs works best as storage and a worktop, with the cooking elsewhere.
If you want a bigger kitchen rather than a squeezed one, look at the layout of the whole ground floor during the design phase. Moving the stair is rarely worth it, but reworking the rooms around it often is.
Can you hide a washing machine under the stairs?
Yes, if you can get water, waste and power to it. A washing machine under the stairs frees kitchen cupboard space and keeps the noise behind a door. The easiest spots back onto the kitchen or an outside wall, where pipes are short.
Check these before you commit:
- A cold water supply and a waste pipe that falls to the drain.
- A dedicated socket fitted by a registered electrician.
- A ducted outlet to outside for a vented tumble dryer; condenser and heat-pump dryers don’t need one.
- Louvred doors or an extract fan, because a closed utility cupboard traps damp air.
- A level, solid floor that won’t flex when the machine spins.
If you have more space to play with, a proper utility room is often the better answer. Our guide to utility room design explains how one fits into a family home.
Can you fit a downstairs toilet under the stairs?
A downstairs WC under the stairs is possible when there is standing headroom at the tall end and the drainage can be connected. Place the toilet towards the low end, where you sit, and the door and basin at the tall end, where you stand.
Building Regulations apply to a new WC, and building control will check the drainage, ventilation and handwashing. Approved Document G expects a room with a toilet to be separated by a door from any kitchen or food preparation area. It also expects a basin in the WC itself, or in the lobby or space you pass through to reach it.
An under-stairs WC rarely has a window, so it needs an extract fan ducted to outside. The drainage should run by gravity to the soil stack or the drain where possible. If that is impractical, a pumped macerator unit is the fallback, but it is noisier and needs more maintenance. Approved Document G only allows one where the house also has a WC draining by gravity, usually the upstairs bathroom.
The Approved Document G guidance on gov.uk sets out the sanitation rules in full.
Under stairs mini bar, wine storage or pantry
A mini bar or wine store suits a stair that opens onto the living area or kitchen, where guests will see it. A dry bar needs only shelving, lighting and somewhere for glasses. A bar counter with a sink adds plumbing, so it costs more and needs the same water and waste checks as a washing machine.
Wine keeps best somewhere dark and at a steady temperature. Keep racks away from heating pipes and the back of a radiator, both of which often run under the stairs. A wine fridge is the safer option where the space gets warm.
If the stair is next to the kitchen, a pantry is often the more useful choice. Open shelves suit a stair visible from the kitchen; a door with racks on the back suits a hallway.
Does a loft conversion change what you can do under the stairs?
Yes. A loft conversion on a typical two-storey London house creates a floor more than 4.5m above ground level. Approved Document B then expects the stair to become a protected stairway that leads to a final exit, usually the front door.
In practice, the stair enclosure needs walls and ceilings with 30 minutes’ fire resistance and fire doors onto the rooms off it. That has two consequences for the space under the stairs:
- A cupboard that opens off the hallway sits inside the escape route, so its lining and door need detailing with building control.
- Opening up the space to an open-plan living room or kitchen can break the protected route. The fire guidance then expects new partitions to enclose the stair again.
- The alternative to partitions is a package: sprinklers in the open-plan area, a fire-resisting partition and door between the ground floor and the floors above, and the kitchen separated off.
Plan the under-stairs space alongside the loft conversion, not afterwards. The Approved Document B fire safety guidance sets out the escape route options in detail.
Damp, ventilation and cellar stairs
In houses with a cellar, the cupboard under the main stair often sits over the cellar steps. The floor may be a hatch or a short landing rather than solid ground, which limits what you can build on it.
Cupboards over cellar stairs are often damp because they sit next to below-ground walls and get little air. Don’t seal them up with fitted joinery before you know why they smell musty. Find the cause, such as a leaking pipe, a blocked air brick or rising ground moisture, and keep some ventilation. Our basement conversion guide covers the bigger option of making the cellar itself usable.
Do you need planning permission to use the space under the stairs?
No. Internal alterations to a house don’t normally need planning permission. The exception is a listed building, where internal changes need listed building consent. Building Regulations still apply to new drainage, wiring, ventilation and anything affecting a fire escape route.
Fitted joinery or DIY?
DIY suits an open space and simple ideas: freestanding shelves, baskets, a bench or a curtained nook. Fitted joinery is worth paying for when the space is deep, sloping and awkward, because made-to-measure drawers use every corner.
Anything involving plumbing, wiring or removing panelling is a job for a builder. It is cheapest when it happens alongside other work. If you’re planning an extension or loft, include the under-stairs space in the drawings so the joinery, pipes and fire detailing are priced at once.
If you’re planning wider work on your home, book a free consultation and we’ll look at the space under your stairs as part of the whole layout.
