A new build in Watford with a dead triangle behind a single flush door. One day on site later, it holds the whole family’s clutter and still gives the meter reader a clear run at the box.
Project snapshot
Location: Watford
Property type: New build
Layout: 3 drawers and 2 doors
Finish: Primed matt white
Installation time: 1 day
Guarantee: 5 years
The space almost every new build starts with
Walk into most new builds and the under-stairs space looks like this. A flat panel, a single door on a lever handle, and a triangle of air behind it that nobody can reach the back of.
It is not that the space is small. It is that nothing in it is shaped like the things you want to put there. Shoes need shallow. Hoovers need tall. Suitcases need wide. A single square opening into a sloping void gives you none of those, so the hallway keeps the overflow.
Back to the real footprint
The first job was taking out the plasterboard and stud partition the builder had used to box the space in. That boxing is not structural, it is just a quick way to close a hole, and it costs you the deepest part of the space at the tall end.
Two things drive every decision from this point. The rake of the staircase, which sets the height of everything along the run. And the services on the rear wall, which have to stay reachable for readings, isolation and any future work.
Made to fit the space properly
The unit is built around the space rather than forced into a standard shape. Doors come in at 600mm wide and 2100mm tall and are cut on site for angle and height, so the diagonal follows the string of the stairs rather than sitting near it. Architrave trims the rake and the sides. Where the space runs out at the low end, small triangular bays and fill panels close it off cleanly instead of leaving a gap.
The meters are still accessible
This is the part that gets missed. Boxing services in behind fixed panels is quick, and it causes an argument the first time somebody needs to trip the consumer unit in the dark. Here the tall cupboard opens straight onto the wall, with the meter, the isolator and the sockets all in reach and the rest of the depth left open for large items.
The finished hallway
From the front door the unit reads as part of the house rather than as furniture pushed against a wall. Same white as the staircase, skirting carried across the base, and a flat run where there used to be a door swinging into the hall.
Why this layout worked
For this hallway, the best result was not about forcing more cabinets into the space. It was about using the full footprint properly, keeping the front clean, and making sure the utility area stayed accessible. The three central drawers handle everyday items, while the full-height doors at the tall end create flexible storage for bulkier things that do not fit neatly into standard shelving.
What a job like this involves
Pricing for fitted under stairs storage depends on the size of the space and the layout you choose. On the Pro Spaces range, prices currently run from £1,096 to £2,625 depending on whether you go for drawers only or a larger combination of drawers and doors. The quoted price includes delivery, fitting and clean up.
If you want to compare layouts first, it is worth exploring our under stairs storage range and our guide to 3 drawer vs 5 drawer vs 6 drawer under stairs storage.
Got the same triangle of wasted space?
If your hallway has the same kind of boxed-in triangle under the stairs, you can get a fixed online quote in a few minutes and choose an installation date that suits you.
Or call 0330 043 7430 to talk it through first.
