Staircase Design / PROJECT

Small Staircase Storage

The entire compact stair becomes storage: seven drawer treads combine with a full-depth rolling cart, allowing everything to come out to the user instead of requiring a person to enter the cabinet.Designer: Lu Haining

Small Staircase Storage
00PROJECT OVERVIEW
01 / EXISTING CONDITION

The stair nook sits between two doors and is barely large enough to turn around. The adjoining room still needed to remain complete after the wall adjustment. A conventional deep cabinet would require an internal aisle, reducing its depth and leaving far less usable storage than its appearance suggests.

02 / CLIENT BRIEF

The brief was to combine stair circulation, tread structure and high-capacity storage within the tiny corner without taking space from the adjoining room or requiring a person to enter and turn inside the cabinet.

03 / DESIGN APPROACH

Rather than adding cabinets below the stair, the cabinet itself becomes the staircase. Storage volumes rise with the tread heights, combining circulation and cabinetry instead of asking both to occupy the same limited floor area separately.

Every tread is a drawer, using the full volume directly below the walking surface. Seven drawers continue along the stair so the space underfoot is fully active.

The tallest corner becomes a deep cabinet. A conventional solution would reserve an aisle for a person to enter. Here the objects come out instead: a rolling basket cart pulls out as one piece, allowing the user to select items from outside before returning it behind the door.

Removing the internal aisle allows the tall cabinet to use its full depth. Seven drawers and one rolling cart provide the storage, while the finished object remains a quiet timber stair with its drawers, wheels and moving mechanisms concealed.

04 / KEY MOVES
  1. 01Make the cabinet itself the staircase
  2. 02Turn all seven treads into drawers
  3. 03Use a rolling cart inside the deep cabinet
  4. 04Bring objects out instead of sending a person inside
  5. 05Remove the aisle and use the full cabinet depth
  6. 06Combine stair circulation with high-capacity storage
SPATIAL CHANGE

EMPTY NOOK / STORAGE STAIR

Original condition: the stair nook between two doors leaves little room to turn or retrieve stored items01
STARTOriginal condition: the stair nook between two doors leaves little room to turn or retrieve stored items
Completed detail: drawers, rolling cart and moving mechanisms are concealed within the timber stair02
RESULTCompleted detail: drawers, rolling cart and moving mechanisms are concealed within the timber stair
PROJECT SEQUENCE

Read the project as a sequence of spatial decisions, from structure and circulation to the final lived scene.

Cabinet volumes rise with the tread heights so the storage structure directly forms the stair
01Cabinet volumes rise with the tread heights so the storage structure directly forms the stair
The tallest corner becomes a deep cabinet connecting the lower treads with the upper route
02The tallest corner becomes a deep cabinet connecting the lower treads with the upper route
Every tread is a drawer, allowing walking and storage to share the same volume
03Every tread is a drawer, allowing walking and storage to share the same volume
Seven drawer treads and the tall cabinet form one complete storage staircase
04Seven drawer treads and the tall cabinet form one complete storage staircase
Depth study: reserving an aisle for a person would substantially reduce the cabinet capacity
05Depth study: reserving an aisle for a person would substantially reduce the cabinet capacity
A rolling basket cart is fitted inside the full-depth cabinet
06A rolling basket cart is fitted inside the full-depth cabinet
Tiered baskets keep stored items organized through the long cabinet depth
07Tiered baskets keep stored items organized through the long cabinet depth
The entire cart pulls out so items can be selected while the user remains outside
08The entire cart pulls out so items can be selected while the user remains outside
With the door open, tread drawers and the pull-out deep cabinet provide two storage systems
09With the door open, tread drawers and the pull-out deep cabinet provide two storage systems
Overhead view: the shape of the stair is the shape of the cabinetry, with no additional footprint
10Overhead view: the shape of the stair is the shape of the cabinetry, with no additional footprint
Completed space: the storage stair fits quietly between the two doors
11Completed space: the storage stair fits quietly between the two doors
PROJECT FILM

Design walkthrough of the seven drawer treads, full-depth cabinet and rolling storage cart