My renovation: hallway before and after
Part 7: How I turned our under-stairs dumping ground into functional family storage
The void under our stairs has had multiple uses over the years. At one point, it was even a dog bed. But unofficially, it was always a dumping ground, collecting everything from scooters and bike helmets to bags of broken toys destined for the tip. It was also really damp and smelly, which meant we avoided using it for shoes or bags, knowing they would inevitably grow mouldy. So when we began designing our family renovation, I knew I wanted to make something out of the space.
The before
When it wasn’t being used as a dog bed, we used to throw everything in there. It was always a mess. And because we had built slotted doors for our dog, you could never fully hide the clutter!
Designing the space
It’s a relatively small area which houses our electric and gas meters, so access was non-negotiable. But we desperately needed somewhere to at least hide all of our day-to-day shoes and the girls’ school bags – I hate clutter in a hallway!
After sending our joiner Nic a lot of inspiration shots sourced on Pinterest, he came up with the smart idea of dividing the storage into three sections. A pull-out drawer on the left, a trolley on castors with two accessible shelves in the middle and a fixed cupboard on the right with a removable shelf to allow access to the utility meters behind.
Staying on budget
We initially budgeted around £2,000 for this part of the joinery. However, when the quote came in at £2,700, we knew we were going to have to make some adjustments to ensure we got the storage we wanted. The first compromise was swapping the wood from Birch Ply (to match our kitchen doors) to MDF, which saved us around £150. To cut costs further, we agreed to paint it ourselves which saved us another £250.
The finish
We’ve painted the cabinets in YesColours Graceful Neutral (which was gifted to us) – it’s the same soft pale pink colour used throughout our hallway spaces, which allows the storage to blend beautifully with the wall and makes the space feel cohesive and calm. The colour has completely transformed our entrance hallway and kitchen – but I’ll share more about our paint colour choices in a future Substack newsletter!
I still need to pick out a few accessories; I’ll likely need some storage baskets for the pull-out drawer on the left-hand-side for hats and gloves and I might add some hooks for things like bicycle helmets in the fixed cupboard on the right. But for now, I’m so glad we invested in making this tiny awkward space into something that actually works for our family.
If you’ve got an under-stairs nook that’s collecting clutter, trust me; it’s worth transforming! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.