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Under stairs cupboard

(42 Posts)
Auntieflo Tue 31-May-16 14:38:56

Having just read the post about a new airing cupboard, i am jealous.envy, not that we need an airing cupboard, but a divided under stairs cupboard would be good. My DH is not a DIYer, but a long time ago I marked a line down the wall in the hall where the door could go. He painted over it nuff said. I had seen what the neighbours had done, and thought we could have the same. I am still waiting, patiently hmm

wot Tue 31-May-16 15:02:22

My washing machine is under the (open) stairs! My landing is the side of another room. I guess I could have a cupboard built over the stairs but would have to go mountaineering to get into it!

Badenkate Tue 31-May-16 15:10:58

We had a cupboard under the stairs when I was little and my DO always called it the glory hole. Eldest DS choked on his cup of tea when I told him. I had no idea why until I googled it blush

Badenkate Tue 31-May-16 15:11:40

Sorry, that should be DM

kittylester Tue 31-May-16 15:16:39

You don't need another place to store stuff and get untidy blush

wot Tue 31-May-16 15:20:18

That's very true, kitty! Stuff expands to fit the space available to it. Like table tops and shelves.?

Anniebach Tue 31-May-16 15:41:39

We always call the cupboard under the stairs - the cwtsh

NanaandGrampy Tue 31-May-16 16:08:56

You need this Auntieflo

J52 Tue 31-May-16 16:14:44

Great idea NannaandGrampy we had thoughts of something similar. We will be turning our under stairs in to a Loo, plumbing and window already there. At the moment it stores shoes and coats, which will have to find new homes. Pull outs for the shoes solves one issue.

x

Alima Tue 31-May-16 16:19:04

How do you pronounce Cwtsh Annie? That looks a brilliant idea N&G but we feed our cats under the stairs and I don't think they would take kindly to being slid away!

chelseababy Tue 31-May-16 16:50:22

We had loo put in under stairs leaving very small cupboard behind it. Miss the space but it's worth it for the loo.

Auntieflo Tue 31-May-16 17:30:04

Nanaandgrampy, I do! I do! The only thing is that the door to the kitchen, from the hall, opens onto the wall where my cupboard should go. The understairs cupboard is actually fine, and I have managed all this time, but it would be nice to just reach in and grab whatever, without stooping down to get to the far reccesses. Things that are not needed often, are stored there. Things like odd bits of wallpaper in case we need to patch a bit, or the packets of paste, filler, masking tape etc. why do I keep these things when we have just had the decorator throughout? Because I always have and no doubt always will. I am a hoader at heart, but long to be minimalist. No hope for me smile

Nonnie1 Tue 31-May-16 17:36:43

NanaandGrampy I want that!

TriciaF Tue 31-May-16 17:38:28

I've known people making a downstairs toilet in there. I don't know if it was with planning permission though.

hildajenniJ Tue 31-May-16 17:45:15

Sorry folks, but I couldn't resist,
Mr. H Potter,
The Cupboard Under the Stairs,
4 Privet Drive,
Little Whinging,
Surrey.

Nonnie1 Tue 31-May-16 17:46:16

LOL

phoenix Tue 31-May-16 17:49:19

When we looked at our current house as a new build, one of the first things that I asked the builder to do was close the (then) open area in the hall under the stairs, it still left a very good size "proper" hall, which you rarely see in modern houses, well the more modest ones like our 3 bed semi, anyway.

Personally I like to be able to put things like the vacuum cleaner, ironing board etc where I don't have to see them.which makes me ask why the ironing board seems to always end up in the spare room?confused the

However when we decided to give the cupboard a bit of a sort out a while back, it was referred to as the gateway to chaos!

ninathenana Tue 31-May-16 17:50:22

Wouldn't need planning surely. May well need building regs approval though hmm
I'd lend you my H if you were close. He blocked in the under stairs to make a cupboard not long after we moved in. Also made a shoe/scarf/hat storage unit. He has his uses smile

J52 Tue 31-May-16 18:15:56

No need for planning, but definitely building regs re fans, drains and electrics!

x

numberplease Tue 31-May-16 22:12:38

We don`t have a hallway, so our under stairs cupboard is in the living room. It`s a great space, with shelves, but has turned into the biggest junk pile in Christendom! We have another, similar, cupboard, just slightly smaller, in the front bedroom, it goes over the stairs. I`d dearly love to have an extra toilet in there, seeing as our bathroom is downstairs, but the plumber who did our bathroom refit told us it would be horrendously expensive, as there`s no water supply to it. Where we do have a water supply, i.e. water pipes, is the small back bedroom, but that isn`t big enough to take space off for a toilet. It`s starting to be a real bind having to visit the toilet in the night, out of the bedroom, onto the stairlift to go down, then through the living room, kitchen and back lobby to the bathroom, then all the way back again, takes ages, and not much fun on cold nights!

Cherrytree59 Tue 31-May-16 23:02:23

Under stairs cupboard.
A' Right angled cupboard', where its nigh on impossible to reach things at the furthest (tightest) point due to having to reach past junk useful stuff.
Banging head on low door frame !

Synonymous Tue 31-May-16 23:50:18

Auntieflo in my experience you just have to get three tradesmen in to give quotes and then sit 'Himself' down with a glass of something fortifying so that you can decide which quote to accept. Worked a treat and I got it done but not by DH as expected but by one of the tradesmen. grin
If you need a cupboard you should have a cupboard! wink

ninathenana Wed 01-Jun-16 00:35:48

numberplease not ideal but have you thought of a commode.

varian Wed 01-Jun-16 04:40:06

Numberplease, do you really need that small bedroom or would it not be better to convert it to a bathroom or shower room complete with loo?

numberplease Wed 01-Jun-16 22:23:38

Yes Varian, that small bedroom is where my husband has slept since his operations began back in 2013, and he decided to sleep in there from then on.