Understairs Space Opened Up to Make a Dog Bed
A dead understairs cupboard opened up, boarded out and finished as a built-in bed for the dogs. Panelled, skirted and decorated so it reads as part of the hallway rather than a cut-out under the stairs.
Joinery repairs — Irvine, North Ayrshire
Turning dead space into something useful
Nearly every house has an understairs void doing very little — a hoover, a few coats and a lot of wasted volume. Opening it up and finishing it properly turns it into somewhere that earns its place. Here it became a bed for the dogs, but the same job makes a reading nook, a desk, a boot bench or open shelving.
The joinery bit
The opening is formed and boarded out, then finished. The detail that decides whether it looks built-in or cut-out is the skirting: an understairs opening has a raked edge following the underside of the stairs, so the skirting has to be cut to that angle and carried round the return. Done properly the whole thing reads as though the house was built that way.
An honest note
This one is in our own house, and the occupants are ours too. It is on here because it is a good example of what an understairs space can become — and because they will not move.
Scope of works
- Understairs void opened up
- Opening formed and boarded out
- Panelled lining fitted
- Skirting cut to the rake of the stairs and returned
- Finished ready for decoration
The job
Photos from this project
Occupants in residence Finished — skirting following the rake Before — opened up to the blockwork
Common questions
What can an understairs space be turned into?
A dog bed, a reading nook, a small desk, a boot bench, open shelving or simply better storage than the cupboard that is usually there. What suits depends on the headroom and how the stairs run.
Do you need to remove the understairs cupboard first?
Usually the front of it comes off, but the structure behind is normally left alone. Anything that appears to be carrying load gets looked at properly before anything is cut.
Is understairs work expensive?
It is usually one of the better value jobs in a house — a small area, no structural work in most cases, and it turns space you already own into something you use every day.
Read more about our joinery repairs across Ayrshire, see what else we do for homeowners in Irvine, or see more completed projects.
