Under The Stairs Design

So when you get into the 400+ range of Small Houses, you begin to add luxuries of things like stairs.  I often run into this issue when it comes to thinking about using sheds as a house.  The biggest thing I struggle with when it comes to stairs is that they take up a lot of room and the space below is open, but hard to utilize.  It is a pretty awkward space that I feel often results in items being placed in the far back, never to see the light of day again, which is contrary to intentional living.  Here are some ideas of what to do with the space, but I still haven’t found anything that I am really happy with.

How would you utilize this space?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

9 Comments
  1. I love the half bath in the first picture. I really, really love the drawers in one of the pictures and the closet with the hanging clothes in it. Could a person put a small washer and dryer in that space, or maybe a washer-dryer combo?

  2. Excellent post!

  3. Stashing unwelcome nephews.

  4. I loved the bathroom (the first one) under the stairs. I am going to modify the plan I am making for my own tiny house, moving my bathroom and giving me space for a mud room, which is needed in the area the house will be built in.

    When I was a teen, long ago, most people I knew lived in much smaller homes than they do nowadays. And they had more kids, too. In one house, I had my bed built in under the stairs. Dad painted the “ceiling” blue and put stars on it, and a heavy curtain gave me privacy from the people using the stairs. I had a small shelf on the inner wall, and a hammock for my stuff, like they used to use in pullman coaches on trains. I loved it!

  5. You can halve the space a stair consumes by going with a “Jefferson” or alternating tread design. This makes the angle twice as steep without changing the steps you must make while using them.
    You can also get many stair ideas from the site stairporn.org–some are beautiful, some practical, some absolutely amazing.
    Personally, I always wanted a “fireman’s pole” in my home as well, but so far haven’t done it…

  6. Love-love-love the bathtub under the stairs. Like the white chest of drawers too. What fabulous ideas.

  7. Looking for stair ideas for my new very small house,i found some really great ones at your site,thanks! A great idea would be a bar with a door that opens when you need it.

  8. I was totally thinking of putting part of the bath under the stairs like that if I ever build my own tiny house! Save so much room!

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