Get your home ready for autumn
As the nights draw in, it’s time to prep your home for the new season. Check out the latest autumn décor ideas from Hammonds.
Awkwardly shaped and difficult to access, the area underneath the staircase is often a chaotic collection of coats, shoes and cleaning equipment which easily becomes cluttered if neglected. However, with the right care and attention, this space can be a valuable spot for storage. Discover how to maximise your understairs cupboard to enhance its functionality and give it a starring role in organising your home.
To get an idea of storage potential, you'll need to assess the available space. Measure the height, width and depth of the cupboard, taking into account any awkward angles such as a sloping ceiling or narrowed end. You can use these details to create a simple plan that optimises how your belongings are stacked inside.
Before you get stuck into looking at understairs storage solutions, take time to declutter and organise your possessions. This will help free up more space and make it easier to tailor your redesign to your needs.
Sort through your belongings and separate them into three piles: keep, donate and recycle. You can drill down further into the things you're keeping, highlighting priority pieces used often which should have pride of place in the space. You could also categorise your items, such as by type, to make it easier to find what you need.
Once you've pared down your possessions, get creative with custom-built understairs storage from Hammonds to effortlessly house the items in a way that works for you. These elements make organising and accessing your belongings easy no matter the size and shape of your cupboard.
Work with a designer to add strategically sized shelves at your preferred intervals. These can be adjustable, suitable for sloping ceilings, or floating to leave the space beneath clear for larger objects. Pull-out drawers are an effortless way to access belongings at the back of the space, while extendable wire racks keep shoes paired and protected off the cupboard floor.
You can also box off an area with thin but strong dividers to protect easily damaged items or separate bulky things you need to use regularly like your hoover and ironing board.
Complement your creative storage with clever accessories that save space and help compartmentalise your cupboard for flexible and lasting organisation.
Add a rail and introduce hooks and hangers to utilise vertical space, which is great for jackets and bags and long cleaning equipment like mops and feather dusters. Remember to include hooks inside the door and in narrow corners to take advantage of space that would otherwise be wasted.
Stackable baskets in the right sizes get around the issue of storing strangely shaped objects neatly and can be clearly labelled for clarity.
Even if you have an exceptional storage system, without consistent sorting and tidying, your cupboard under the stairs will soon become disorganised. Include this area in your regular cleaning routine and be rigorous in how it's used, avoiding the temptation to turn it into a dumping ground.
Our top tip is to schedule seasonal reorganisation sessions to bring the appropriate outerwear and footwear to the front. In spring and summer, you can move heavy coats into your wardrobe to free up more space in the cupboard for spring cleaning essentials and hot-weather accessories.
Ready to transform your understairs cupboard but wondering where to start? Contact us to book a free design visit with one of our experts to discuss understairs storage and other fitted furniture ideas for the home. We guarantee you're closer than you think to a clutter-free space which brings you calm.
As the nights draw in, it’s time to prep your home for the new season. Check out the latest autumn décor ideas from Hammonds.
With all the time spent indoors during autumn, it’s a great opportunity to look at revamping an area of your home. Bringing seasonal colours inside can connect your home to nature: for a cohesive flow between your outdoor space and your room.
Discover the benefits of transforming your home into a biophilic living space, with top tips from Hammonds.
Whether you have an exact vision in tow, or are just at the beginning stage of your home renovation, we have heaps of inspiration for you to get stuck into.
Find a wealth of design tips, trends and inspiration in the pages of our brochure, magazine and on our blog. Our experts are always ready to help you create dream home, pop in store or book your free design visit for experts to help on bringing your vision to life.