How Do You Build Shoe Storage under Stairs?

The Approach in Summary

Build shoe storage under stairs by measuring the sloping void accurately, then filling it with a series of units that step down to follow the stair rake: tall pull out or hinged storage at the high end, mid height shelving in the middle, and shallow drawers or pull out trays at the low end. Fix a timber frame to the wall and floor, add adjustable shelves or runners, and finish with fronts that either match the hallway joinery or disappear into the wall colour.

The reason to step the storage rather than build one large cupboard is access. A single deep cupboard under a staircase becomes a place where shoes go to be lost. Stepped units keep everything within reach, which is the difference between storage you use and storage you ignore.

Understanding the Space You Are Working With

An understairs void is a triangle in section, and its usable volume is smaller than it first appears. Start by measuring properly.

Measure the full length of the void along the wall at floor level. Measure the height at the tall end, at the halfway point and at the low end, taking each measurement to the underside of the stair stringer rather than to the treads. Measure the depth from the wall to the outer edge of the staircase. Note the position of any newel post, and note whether the underside of the stairs is plastered or open.

Then look for obstructions, because understairs voids in British homes are rarely empty. Gas and electricity meters, the consumer unit, a stop tap, a hoover point or a boiler pipe run all commonly live here. Anything metered or serviced must stay accessible, so plan a removable panel or an open bay in front of it rather than building over it.

Check the floor too. Understairs floors are often uneven, and older properties may have a hatch to a cellar or a suspended floor void. A level base frame solves most of this.

Deciding Between Bespoke Building and Fitted Units

You have three routes: build from scratch, adapt off the shelf furniture, or combine the two.

Building from scratch gives the best use of the awkward angles and is the only way to truly fill the low end. It needs basic woodworking ability, a saw that cuts accurate angles and patience with scribing to uneven walls. Materials are inexpensive: MDF or plywood for carcasses, softwood battens for framing.

Adapting off the shelf units is faster and needs no cutting skill. Slim shoe cabinets slot neatly under the tall and mid sections of a staircase, and low benches or racks fill the shallower part. You accept a small loss of volume where the unit meets the slope, but you gain finished quality, proper hinges and a consistent finish. Many of our customers combine a tall cabinet at the high end with a low bench further along, choosing both from our modern shoe storage cabinets UK sale range so the finishes match.

The hybrid approach usually works best: buy finished units for the accessible sections and build a simple angled cupboard or pull out tray for the awkward low triangle where no manufactured piece fits.

Building the Frame

If you are building, the frame does the work and the fronts do the looking. Start with a base frame of 50mm by 50mm softwood laid on the floor, packed level with shims and fixed down. This lifts the carcass off a potentially damp or uneven floor and gives you a true reference line.

Fix vertical battens to the wall at the positions where your unit divisions will fall, using plugs and screws appropriate to the wall construction. Add a raking batten along the underside of the stair stringer, scribed to follow the slope. That gives you a triangular frame you can hang panels from.

Divide the length into bays. A sensible pattern for a standard flight is a tall bay of around 60cm width at the high end, two mid bays of 50cm to 60cm, and the remaining low triangle as one shallow bay. Fit vertical panels between base and raking batten at each division, cutting the top edge to the stair angle. Measure that angle with a sliding bevel rather than guessing; understairs slopes are rarely exactly what the drawings suggest.

Fitting Out for Shoes Specifically

Once the carcass exists, the internal layout decides how well it stores footwear.

In the tall bay, you have height for four or five tiers of shelving, or space to stand boots upright. Set shelves at 20cm spacing for mixed footwear and reserve the bottom tier at 40cm for tall boots. Adjustable shelf supports on drilled pins let you change this seasonally.

In the mid bays, two or three tiers work well. Angled shelves, tilted upwards at the back by about 15 degrees, hold shoes securely and let you see the whole shoe rather than just the toe. A small lip at the front stops anything sliding out.

The low bay is the hardest to use and best served by pull outs. A shallow drawer or a tray on runners lets you pull the contents into the light rather than reaching into a dark triangle. This is where slippers, plimsolls, polish and laces live comfortably.

Ventilation matters throughout. Understairs voids have no airflow, and damp shoes in an enclosed space will smell within days. Drill a row of discreet holes in the back or side of each bay, or leave a gap at the top of each front panel. If you can add a small vent grille at the low end and another at the high end, air will move naturally between them.

Fronts, Handles and Finish

The fronts determine whether the storage reads as considered joinery or a rough cupboard.

Flush fronts painted the same colour as the wall make the storage disappear, which suits a narrow hall where you want visual calm. Panelled or shaker style fronts suit period properties and echo internal doors. Slatted fronts add ventilation and a lighter appearance.

Handles or push catches both work. In a tight hallway, recessed finger pulls or push latches avoid protrusions that catch on bags and coats. If children will use the storage, handles are easier to grip.

Paint choice makes a practical difference. Use a hard wearing eggshell or satin rather than matt emulsion, because hallway joinery gets brushed constantly and matt marks quickly. Prime MDF edges properly or they will drink paint and stay rough.

The Simpler Alternatives

Not everyone wants to build. Two lower effort routes give good results.

The first is open shelving. Fix a set of horizontal timber shelves directly to the wall and the stair stringer, stepping them to follow the slope, and leave them open. This costs very little, needs no doors or hinges, ventilates perfectly and looks intentional if the shelves are neatly finished. It suits households whose shoes are tidy.

The second is freestanding furniture used cleverly. A slim tall cabinet at the high end, a low bench in the middle and a basket or two at the low point requires no fixing beyond wall anchoring the tall unit. It is fully reversible, which matters in rented homes, and it can move with you. Our modern hallway storage furniture UK range includes tall, slim and low pieces that combine well for this.

You can also mix in general storage. Understairs space is valuable, and shoes rarely need all of it. A section for the hoover, a shelf for cleaning supplies and a bay for shoes uses the void better than dedicating the whole thing to footwear.

Safety and Regulations

A few points are worth knowing before you build. Where a staircase forms part of a protected escape route, which applies to many three storey homes and flats, enclosing the understairs area may bring fire regulation requirements about the materials used and whether the space can be used for storage at all. If your property is three storeys or more, or a converted flat, check with your local building control before enclosing.

Keep meters, the consumer unit and the stop tap accessible at all times. Do not enclose a boiler or its pipework without checking clearance requirements. Avoid storing anything flammable in an enclosed understairs cupboard.

If the property is listed or in a conservation area, permanent alterations to internal joinery may need consent. Freestanding furniture avoids that question entirely.

Getting a Good Result

Take accurate measurements at three heights, plan stepped bays rather than one deep cupboard, build a level base frame, fit adjustable shelves and pull outs at the low end, and ventilate every bay. Whether you build it or combine ready made pieces, the principle is the same: keep every shoe visible and reachable. If you would rather assemble a solution from finished furniture, browse the hallway collections at Furniture in Fashion and pick pieces whose heights match the sections of your stair rake.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much shoe storage fits under a typical staircase?
A standard British flight gives roughly 2m to 2.4m of length with heights from about 200cm down to nothing. Fitted out with stepped bays, that comfortably holds twenty to thirty pairs alongside space for other items. The low third of the void is the least useful, so plan pull out trays there rather than shelving.

Do I need doors on understairs shoe storage?
No. Open shelving ventilates better, costs less and looks deliberate when neatly built. Doors give a calmer appearance and hide clutter, which suits a hallway you see from the living room. If you fit doors, add ventilation holes or gaps, because an enclosed void with damp shoes will develop odour.

Can I build understairs storage without woodworking skills?
Yes, by combining ready made units instead of building. A slim tall cabinet at the high end, a low bench or rack in the middle and baskets at the shallow end fills the void with no cutting. You lose a little volume where units meet the slope, but you gain proper hinges, a finished surface and a fully reversible installation.

What about the meter and consumer unit?
They must stay accessible. Plan an open bay in front of them or fit a removable panel rather than screwing joinery across them. Meter readers and electricians need clear access, and blocking a consumer unit creates a genuine safety problem as well as a practical one.

How do I stop understairs shoe storage smelling?
Ventilate it and let shoes dry before they go in. Drill discreet holes in the back or sides of each bay, or leave a gap at the top of each front, ideally with a low vent and a high vent so air moves between them. A slatted door front achieves the same thing while looking intentional.