What time do with under stair area

[HarryPotterCupboard]

Hi all, hoping for some help/advice. Layout of house is such that the understairs cupboard will always be behind sofa as this is the main wall to seating area. Is also load bearing for stairs. We had extension 6 years ago and best we could do was put the fridge freezer here as it's in the dining area adj kitchen, kitchen has an under counter fridge too. But there's so much storage we cannot easily get to! Hallway is too small to go the fancy stairs drawers thing, I think. I think breaking through behind the f/f would create a huge space but then need to move f/f and where too??! We have an insulated brick shed a few steps outside to do this then this would be a huge pantry type thing?! Any ideas! Have some funds to do best option but need ideas!! I hope I've explained, pics attached or to follow. As you can see radiator also mounted to part of wall and cannot move it either due to lack of walls (open plan layout). Apologies for typo in heading, can't edit it!!?

I would rather have the fridge indoors than a cupboard.

I use the fridge many times per day but we only use our understairs cupboard (which is huge) to check the gas meter. Yeah we store stuff their but its like a loft, you put stuff in a generally don't need to think about it again.

Use the under stair cupboard for things you only need once or twice a year. Christmas decorations and suitcases. Keep the room as it is.

put a bunch of other useful storage in your brick shed - tools and wine and stuff.

Thanks, I do get that, but I think I'd like the space to be more useful in a daily weekly basis as we are always short on storage! Just a bit stumped! Maybe even just taking out the back wall area to make it accessible, I can squeeze down the side to access it?! Or get a slidy trolley maybe for down the side if it's opened up??!

How about some nice looking doors along the wall above the settee but under your pictures? You could have accessible shelves behind for everyday stuff and a lower door or two hidden by the settee for rarely used stuff underneath.

What is the other side of the stairs? Through the open door it looks like the kitchen.
Could you open the under stairs cupboard from the other side

And is there enough headroom to turn the fridge round and change the opening so fridge is in the same space, back very slightly and turned 90 degrees to the left so it is in the kitchen?

You could just remove the wall, ours was open plan behind the sofa as a kid, it use to be my play area when little.

like this

I have this shape of cupboard off my kitchen and it can be awkward as you need to move things out the way to access anything put at the back 🤷🏼‍♀️
I’m planning to put a row of high shelves along the top left side with hooks on the wall underneath so I can walk right in (I’ll hang some coats and bags there plus random kitchen bits). Also a wee wheeled trolley I can move around.

Thanks all, and yes @Studyunder I think this could work well if we open the space behind the fridge freezer. If/when the f/f goes kerpop we won't replace it here which would open it up for use, maybe a small chest freezer shoved further back then decent shelves and perhaps a proper door so it's more of a store and pantry! I still think I might now move the Xmas deccys now so thanks for the suggestion. Weirdly our loft is more accessible!! Thanks again for ideas!

Yes, I’ve also thought about putting a wee chest freezer (with drawers for easy access) at the back of ours. We have a door on ours which always sits open, so I’m possibly going to take it off. It’s nice to shut stuff away out of sight, but it feels more part of the kitchen storage and more usable when I can just walk in… or maybe I’m just way overthinking about a door 🤷🏼‍♀️

It depends what other levers you have. What we have done - and would recommend - was sacrificed kitchen worktop to put a fridge freezer into the actual kitchen. A 70cm wide fridge freezer is perfect for us - the volume is significantly bigger than a standard one for only a small change in footprint. Then no need to faff with multiple fridges.

Our understairs cupboard is the same orientation as yours with a door on the front. It goes further back. We have shelves at the far end for occasions things like wrapping paper and light bulbs h but TBH little used because other stuff is in the way. Shelves on one side for iron etc, and brackets for ironing board and sweeping brushes on the other wall. The main space is taken up by the vacuum cleaner and my rebounder. Where does all this sort of stuff live in your house? Could that space house a freezer, and you manage with just the under counter fridge, or do you need to keep a second fridge near to the kitchen?

Alternatively if you're really happy with the function of the fridge freezer there, swapping it for an integrated one and boxing it into the existing space might just blend it in a bit.