How to improve this staircase

last year

We moved into this small 2 bed Victorian terrace 2 months ago. We are saving up for an extension which would involve moving the stairs but that is at least 5+ years away. In the meantime, what can we do to make these stairs less of an eyesore? They completely dominate and darken the room. Is there any way of building in some storage underneath them too? We have about 2K to spend so moving them at this stage isn't an option. I have attached a floor plan and photos (which show it how the previous owners had it - we have now replaced the stair carpet).

Grateful for all ideas!

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Comments (6)

Daisy England
last year
You can have under the stairs storage but depending on what you choose it might cut the room in two.

I don’t think the stairs darken the room but if they’re going to be replaced in the future could you paint them?
K OB
last year
I don't know about the cost, but perhaps paint them white, or replace the spindles with a glass infil?
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PRO
Anne Interiors
last year

Hi!

These 2 options should comfortably come within your £2000 budget:

OPTION 1

DIY bookcase (eg. IKEA Billy) that can be inserted into a bespoke shelving unit for display of books and other things to display and organize;

Back-to-back with another facing the dining area to display or closed storage for dinnerware/ serveware. Instead of a billy bookcase on the other side, you may incorporate a drawer unit or something with hinged or sliding doors into the bespoke shelving.

Use L-shaped sofa to compensate for the loss of armchair under the stairs.

Using DIY cabinets in combination with bespoke storage should minimize labor cost as compared to making everything bespoke.

Then paint everything white or whatever colour you prefer including the stairs and balustrades.

OPTION 2

Move your TV unit to here and incorporate an IKEA Besta into the tv wall. Yes, board up this part of the stairs. But like in Option 1, this will be back-to-back to another bespoke storage facing the dining.

This option frees up the space beside the fireplace for another seating area. However, bear in mind new wiring for TV cables.

This may be treated as an accent wall, as such you may paint it differently or wallpaper instead of just white.

The width of the stairs which is roughly 900mm should accommodate the depth of standard back-to-back cabinet/ shelving units which are normally approximately 400-450mm.

Hope you find this helpful! I'm available for consultation if you require further assistance. 😊
Sonia
last year
Painting it white will make it less “in your face” and will brighten up the room, I feel. Here’s a couple of examples
clairemdew
Original Author
last year
Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to reply. We have decided to paint them white in the short term and then, depending on how we feel they look, we might look into building in some storage.

Anne interiors - Thanks so much for the plans and detailed descriptions. We hadn't even thought of these options so this is definitely something we will give further consideration to 😊
PRO
Anne Interiors
last year
Happy to help! 😊

How to improve this staircase

Comments (6)

Daisy England

K OB

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clairemdew
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How to improve this staircase

Comments (6)

Daisy England

K OB

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Anne Interiors

Sonia

clairemdewOriginal Author

Anne Interiors

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clairemdew
Original Author