Small Space Solutions For Every Room - Vicki Ingham
The second topic discussed in her article is about creating storage in wasted space. She suggests boxing in the space under stairs to create places to store toys and books and items that are not used very often, particularly if there is not enough space for a bookcase or other similar furnishings.
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/small-spaces/strategies/space-solution-every-room
Instead of creating draws in the spaces under the stairs, I have had an idea of creating a drawer unit for the kitchen to be placed in the cupboard under the staircase. It would use less space in the kitchen because the draws would be flush with the wall, and it would be set back into the space in the cupboard which would otherwise be wasted.
For my specific point of interest in my design, I have chosen this idea of the drawer cupboard that fits in the space under the stairs. Originally there was a door that opened into the cupboard, and the space narrowed to the side. The space would not be much use to my client as it would be difficult for her to keep bending down to reach into the cupboard, so this cupboard idea makes use of the space that would otherwise be wasted.
This image shows how the kitchen was originally. The dotted line shows
the slope of the cupboard ceiling which is under the stairs, and the solid lines
show where the new drawer cupboard will be built.
The draws will be set back into the stairs cupboard so that the front of
the draw cupboard will be flush with the wall.
This quick sketch shows how the drawer cupboard will be placed in
the stair cupboard. The stair cupboard is shown by the shaded area.
The dotted lines show where the cupboard will be placed in relation
to the cupboards on the adjacent wall.
This is a quick 3D sketch of the cupboard.
This shows on the kitchen floor plan where the cupboard will be placed.
I have created models of these sketches using Vectorworks to
show the textures and colours of the cupboard.
This is the front view of the cupboard, which will be seen in the kitchen.
This is the side view of the cupboard, which will be inside the stairs
cupboard, so won't be seen from the kitchen.
I have drawn the cupboard up in 3D to show how it would look before it is
slotted into the stair cupboard and made flush with the wall.
This image shows how the cupboard will be flush with the
wall and set back into the stair cupboard.
All cupboard images are drawn to scale 1:10.
This image shows the new cupboard in relation to the rest of the kitchen.
I drew this up using Vectorworks and Photoshop.
This is a photo of the actual cupboard in real life, after it has
been installed into the kitchen.
Bibliography
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/small-spaces/strategies/space-solution-every-room (viewed 12th November 2011)
