Ideas for massive airing cupboard!

[Yayyayitsaholiholiday]

There is a huge cupboard in our upstairs hallway that I’m planning to use as an airing cupboard.
However, there’s only 2 of us living here, so only have so many towels and sheets……
It’s a huge space that you can walk into and stretches back probably 4 feet, so if it was all shelved out there’s no way to reach the back of the shelves.
Would it make sense to shelve just on one side and the back and then use the floor space to walk into the cupboard to get things?
Or am I missing some amazing alternative use of this space?

How wide is it?

Do you have a utility room? Where's your washing machine?

Sounds amazing for hide and seek.

Could you fit a clothes airer in there? Fit a small mini radiator at the bottom to make it like an airing cupboard?

Shelves down one side, but make space for washing buckets / mops / ironing boards at the back, upstairs hoover? (Luxury but could be v useful!)

How wide is it? Does it work with shelves down one side, or is it too narrow?

@Daftasabroom it’s as wide as a normal door.

@MaggieFS we have a ‘utility cupboard’ downstairs which the washing machine lives in, but it’s a much smaller space than the upstairs ‘airing cupboard’.

@Talipesmum I was thinking shelved on one side and a clothes rail down the other, as a sort of additional wardrobe area. Just wasn’t sure if I was missing excellent ideas!!

Add a hanging rail to part of shelving.

Could you turn it into a cloakroom. ie toilet and skink? Is it next to a bedroom - perhaps you could take some space from the bedroom and turn it into an en-suite?
Otherwise I'd turn it into a utility cupboard. A walk in airing cupboard seems excessive for two people and is unlikley to add much value to the house.

@Newusername21 we have three toilets in the house already…….

Something like this?

But I think your hanging space idea is better - is there enough space for it to work side by side though? How about a hanging rail left to right over the top, or two front-to-back high up hanging rails, and then some sort of pull out deep shelves underneath, so you can use the whole depth? Or keep spare duvets / pillows folded up in storage bags at the back of the deep shelves, and more every day stuff at the front like towels / sheets.

You could then use the hanging space for out of season coats / bulky stuff. Or storage for big jumpers etc. The kind of stuff that takes up a whole drawer by itself.

My thoughts are that if you are going to use it to store towels and bedding ( as well as other things) you need to add a small radiator to keep the towels and bedding fresh. Traditionally airing cupboards were simply shelves fitted above the hot water tank so had some residual heat from the tank.

When my hot water tank was removed after a combi boiler was fitted, I has a radiator fitted in the cupboard. I then left the two shelves with a space beneath so I can fit a three prong drying rack which I use to hang dry clothes that are not suitable to tumble dry.

I would not worry about adding value to the house, any additional storage area is useful in a family sized house, future owners can use the shelving to store anything they want - toys, clothes, shoes, vacuum cleaner etc.

Shelving one side and end with hooks opposite, others rail onder shelving.

Our airing cupboard is 6' wide and 7' deep and could still be bigger!

I’ve got similar sized space and have put a airer on the wall on a hinge. Is really useful for drying clothes and then folds away after use

Do you have any hobbies that could do with specific storage?

For me it would be a toss up between using it for sewing/art supplies and woodwork tools (could have shelves on one side and a shadow board for my tools on the opposite wall), or have a strong rail on the ceiling and vinyl flooring so I could hang wetsuits to dry.

If you do decide to have it as an airing cupboard I’d probably have the shelving starting a metre or so up, so the space underneath could be used for suitcases or any other bulky stuff.

I’m very jealous, whatever you go with.

All comes down to other storage in the home, I'm seriously considering losing a box bedroom to make a utility as we have no storage/dumping ground

I'd have it properly measured and made to fit Shelves with space for Hoover's/mops.
Drying rack to pull out, shelves for cleaning products.
Towels and bedding.

You know you need a signpost to Narnia on one of the side walls.....

I would put shelves on one side and at the back going across the width to maximise access. I would have slightly wider shelves at the very top to accommodate lidded plastic storage boxes ( don’t overfill) .Make sure there is enough space under the bottom shelf for suitcases/ upstairs hoover. I would try to fit some sort of tall hanging rail either along the empty wall or across the width if possible or a row of strong hooks to hang things like winter coats in moth proof bags on the empty wall.

Don’t forget to fit in some sort of lighting, nothing more irritating than trying to find something in the gloom.

If any of the shelves are higher than your shoulder I would buy a spare small step ladder or folding step stool to keep in there, otherwise you will be tempted to either stand on a chair or climb up on the shelves, both recipes for accidents!

Try to keep most of the floor space clear, though you probably won’t because storage space sucks stuff in like a black hole.

I like the idea of having extra (and strong) hanging storage for bulky winter coats, etc, as well as shelving.
Years ago, we had a darkroom a similar sized cupboard, full of what would now be obsolete equipment.

As others have said does it have a heat source, like a radiator or a hot water pipe running through? Or a boiler/ hot water tank? If not you might have issues using it as an airing cupboard/ clothes storage as the stuff in there won’t be “aired”. Personally i think it sounds like it might make a good utility room but there’s probably not much point moving it if the one downstairs works well.

Could you reasonably access the back part of it from another room? That is, could you build a partition wall and create two cupboards: a wardrobe in a bedroom and a hall cupboard?

Have you got a photo op cos "as wide as a door" doesn't really sound wide enough for cupboards one side and proper rail space the other

I converted my airing cupboard into a walk-in shower. It’s twice the size of a normal shower cubicle and so luxurious.

Mine has slatted drying racks so washing goes straight from spin dry to airing. No need for a tumble drier. I have floor level storage for cleaning materials, toiletries etc, and then the Hoover lives in the middle.

This IS the excellent idea!😁

What was it used for before @Yayyayitsaholiholiday?