Under the Stairs Hidden Closet – Finalizing the Plans!

Hi Everyone,

Today’s post is a continuation of this post from September 6, 2023. It is now December 13th. If you’d like to skip to the new content concerning the hidden closets and stair railing, please click the link below. Otherwise, it might be interesting to see how far we’ve come by reading from the top.

Part 2 Begins Here

(Below is the post from September 6, 2023.)

Hi Everyone,

Well, I’ve had a pretty busy day and was working on another post. But then, I remembered at 8:00 PM that tomorrow morning, my contractor is picking me up to look at doors in DORchester. haha. No, I’m not joking.

And, no, it’s not Ben Pentreath’s Dorchester in southern England. This Dorchester is a neighborhood in south-eastern Boston that’s not within walking distance. So, my contractor is picking me up at 11:00 tomorrow morning.

So, now that I know the stairs have been approved, the plans can be finalized.

I’m also getting ready to order all of my appliances, and yesterday spent a considerable amount of time looking at mini refrigerators for under the stairs.

Above is the architect’s rendering. The hidden closet door for the mini-fridge is in the middle.

Above is the area where you see mini refr. hidden closet.

Well, it is 10:00 p.m., and this hidden closet situation is more complicated than I thought.

The reason is the little refrigerator I fell in love with is about two inches too tall. It’s 56.6 inches tall.

It doesn’t fit even if the fridge would be pushed as far to the left as possible. But, only by about an inch!

Above, I moved the wall for the linen closet back four inches, and now there should be room. The linen closet would be 15″ deep, which is fine for me.

On the other side of the hidden closet could be a low cabinet with a small microwave on top.

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Yes! Gimme the free report!

via @mikerobertshomes – hidden storage under stairs – kitchen pantry

So, the two doors would look something like this.

I need to work on this some more.

In the meantime…

This afternoon, I went home to fetch my mail and do other things in the neighborhood. So, I opened the door, and a metal stud was leaning against the door. So, I carefully moved it back and noticed also a new smell.

It was the unmistakable smell of freshly sawn wood. I stepped inside and, to my huge surprise, onto my freshly laid new entry floor. I had no idea it was happening!

There will be hidden closet doors here, too!

Above is a new drawing I did for my contractor. An earlier version can be seen here.

I made the doors so that there would be minimal cutting through the wainscoting moulding.

Originally, the pantry was going to be on the right, but then I thought if I’m having a gathering and people are coming in and hanging up their coats, I felt it was better to put the coat closet further from the front door.

And, here’s the kitchen!

The new dividing wall will come out to about where that darker board is And will be about ten inches wide.

An even floor is a thing of beauty. Can I tell you how much the old terracotta laid 5/8th of an inch higher than the wood floor bugged the crap out of me? This is one of the reasons that I wanted to do a wood floor. I didn’t want to mess around with floor saddles and whatnot.

Also, please notice that the new floor is laid perpendicular to the living room floor.

This is because the floor is supposed to be perpendicular to the floor joists. Maybe they run in the opposite direction in the living room. Either that, or they laid the floor wrong.

Since the kitchen is going to be painted, it won’t be noticeable.

He was doing the downstairs. Some of the old floors had to be taken up because it was angled funny because of the angled wall.

Now, the cabinets can go in. He needs them out of the living room to work on the stairs.

Okay, I need to get myself together for tomorrow’s trip to Dorchester to pick out my new doors!

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

Hi Everyone,

This portion was published on December 13, 2023.

I’m meeting with my contractor in a few minutes to finalize the doors, and go over the framing for the lower level.

One thing I’ve learned from this renovation is that the building plans are only a suggestion.

Real life presents differences from what was put on paper.

Also, sometimes, because of the building codes or pre-existing conditions, the space I have to work with is limited.

Still, this Boston apartment is carved out of what was once a 19th-century single-family home.

It’s not a 10,000-square-foot sprawling home outside a big city. Some of you have bathrooms you might have trouble parking in my large living room. lol

As most of you know, I’ve spent over three years on plans focusing on the kitchen, staircase, and over half of the lower level. Each area has had its challenges.

But, one thing this place has is copious amounts of storage.

That is storage that’s behind opaque doors.

Still, there’s all that lovely space under the new staircase. This is another advantage of the straight-run staircase.

Robert and I had a good meeting.

He needs a finalized drawing of the staircase closets and railing. I’ve been working on it for two days.

Here it is!

I realize this is a little confusing.

So, let’s begin from the top.

The upper most line is the upstairs floor. Then comes the soffit area that contains the floor beams and joists.

On the far left, just above the triangle is where the staircase begins, breaking through the ceiling. The slanted line is the stringer. I showed the stairs showing faintly behind the closet.

So, the white space on the left are the closets, one opening in the bedroom and the linen closet opening in the hall.

This drawing is no longer accurate as we have continued the wall where the demilune tables are. That is now framed as we saw yesterday.

Moving to the right, the doors opening up in the hall have changed a little. They are still hidden in the board and batten mouldings.

I extended the wall up to the ceiling over the first door. Here’s the reason, below.

If we don’t bring the wall up, the X design gets cut off. I can’t change the size of the X because I want it to line up with the stiles (vertical pieces) underneath the stairs.

Soon, the finish steps will be built. Then, I think it would be best to have the railing built. Finally, the carpenters can make these doors on-site because, it will be too difficult to make it all work out.

As for the door, it’s odd. My egress door is only 26″ wide. I’m fine with that. However, it’s across from the storage closets that each of us has, and those doors are all 30″. Since that is part of the building’s common area, I should consult with the trustees of the building to see what their opinion is.

Laurel, what’s going on with the bottom of the stair railing?

Yes, good question. ;] Last summer, I happened upon this lovely railing on Beacon Hill.

I think a simplified version would be cool.

Or, something like this. I need to research this a little more.

xo,

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