Under-Stairs Storage on Stairs With Winders or a Half-Landing

Can you fit bespoke storage under stairs that turn?

Usually, yes. Turning stairs are common, and the space under them is often more useful than under a straight flight, because the turn tends to sit higher and leaves a pocket with real standing room. What changes is the shape of the work. Instead of one run of units that steps down with a single soffit, the layout has to follow two soffit lines that meet at an angle, sometimes with a flat section in between.

The first job is to work out which faces of the staircase you can actually open. On a lot of turning stairs, one side runs against a wall and only one face is open to the hall. On others, the open side wraps round the corner and both faces could take doors or drawers. That decides more about the layout than the style of the fronts does.

What is the difference between winders and a half-landing for storage?

A half-landing is a flat platform where the stair changes direction. Underneath it, the ceiling of the void is level for the depth of the landing, so you often get a rectangular pocket with the most height in the whole space. That pocket suits tall cupboards for coats, a vacuum, an ironing board or long items that need to stand upright.

Winders replace the flat landing with tapered steps that turn the corner. The underside rises in a twisting shape rather than a flat plane, and each winder tread can sit at a different height and angle. The space below is still usable, but the soffit there is more complex, so expect the maker to template or measure it closely rather than assume a straight slope.

• Half-landing: a level pocket under the platform, often the tallest part of the void.
• Winders: a twisting underside where each step changes height and angle.
• Either way, the flights before and after the turn still slope like a normal stair.

Where should cupboards, drawers and shelves go under a turning stair?

Start with height, not with a catalogue of options. The tall pocket under the turn is where full-height doors earn their place. The lower flight, where the soffit drops towards the floor, is where drawers usually work harder than doors, because they bring the back of a low space forward to you. The very lowest end can be a short drawer, an open shoe shelf or simply a closed panel.

The corner is the awkward part. Where two flights meet at a right angle, there is often a section deep inside the void that cannot be reached from either face. Rather than forcing a drawer into it, many layouts give that section to occasional storage reached through a door, or close it off once you know nothing behind it needs access.

• Tall doors under a half-landing or the highest part of the turn.
• Pull-out drawers along the lower flight, where things would get lost at the back.
• Open shelving or a bench where the hall needs to feel wider.
• A decision for the unreachable corner before the layout is finalised.

What should I measure under a staircase with a turn?

Measure each section separately and label it. A single overall width and height, which works for many straight flights, hides most of what matters on a turning stair. Sketch the staircase from above, mark the open faces, and number each section: the lower flight, the turn and the upper flight.

For each section, note the floor-to-soffit height at the front and at the back, the clear depth to the first obstruction, and the width of the opening. Photograph the underside of any winders from a couple of angles, because those photos help a maker see the shape before the visit. Our guide to measuring the under-stairs void covers the basic method in more detail.

• A top-down sketch showing which faces of the stair are open.
• Height at the front and back of each section, and its clear depth.
• Photos of the winder undersides and the corner from inside the void.
• Skirting, door frames, radiators and sockets on the open faces.
• Any meter, stopcock, consumer unit, pipe or cable inside the space.

What should stay accessible under a turning staircase?

Turning stairs often sit at the heart of the house, and services tend to end up under them. Before anything is drawn, list what is in there: an electricity or gas meter, a consumer unit, a stopcock, pipe runs or cables. Each one needs a door or a removable panel in front of it, and the clearance it needs should be confirmed by the supplier or a qualified tradesperson, not assumed.

It is also worth checking the condition of the space. Stains, a musty smell or flaking paint on an outside wall should be looked into before fitted storage goes in front of them. In older Island houses, a stair built against a gable or chimney wall can be the place where damp shows first.