The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Built In Cabinets And Storage Walls

The cupboard at the top is variable in height and should reach from the top of the wardrobe to the ceiling. This construction permits the units to be made in the workshop and then carried to their location and raised in position. The widths and heights of doors and the sides and widths of drawers should be scant to allow free movement in frame and box openings.

Under-Stair Storage

THE SPACE UNDER STAIRWAYS, WHERE THERE IS NO OTHER STAIRWAY BENEATH THEM, IS USUALLY UTILIZED BY MAKING ONE LARGE CLOSET WHICH TAPERS DOWN TO INACCESSIBLE crawl space at the bottom. The better solution shown in the lower photograph provides slide-out compartments. The things that one picks up just before he goes out—rubbers, umbrellas, play equipment—are kept here if, as in this case, the stairway comes down in the entrance hall. As these pull-out compartments are rather heavy, they should be supported by rollers and if they do not travel on the floor, the upper back corner should also have a roller to prevent it tipping down.

Where there is another stairway beneath, open shelves and cupboards can be built in the stair wall to hold books, radio, decorative objects and other things. With an 8" depth and with the compartments extending equally into the room and the basement stairway, the compartments take no noticeable space from either. As basement stairs are often narrower than the stairs to the second floor—and they can usually afford to be—an additional 6" can be added to the depth of the compartments if desired.