the "Hiding Stuff in Plain Sight" thread

Post links or DIY how-to's about how to conceal things in plain sight.



Using stair risers as drawers.
Basement Steps Secret Storage » Saving 4 Six


My basement steps were foul! I mean nasty. I have evidence…brace yourself, it’s bad!!







Hello, hello, are you still there or did you pass out??
I took a nasty fall down these steps a few weeks back and so it motivated my Better half and I to get busy making them more user and visually friendly.

First, we removed that awful carpet and the treat that was waiting for us underneath was well… DISGUSTING!!





After removing the carpet from these bottom 3 steps we realized how unsafe these steps actually were.


The treads on all the steps were only 7 inches wide so we repurposed the treads from the upstairs steps that we replaced last summer.




The steps are now covered with carpet so it didn’t matter what the treads looked like, just that they were wider than the previous 7 inches.




Ahhhh, isn’t that wonderful!
I saw the idea to add drawers under our steps and was convinced to do this!!!


Thankfully My Better Half is a genius and was able to take this dresser and turn it into…


Drawers in the steps!!
This is the pictorial of the building process:










After new carpet and some paint, they are not just beautiful but extremely practical.







I love, love, love all this extra storage.

 

I will not be posting to this thread due to OpSec. If we show how we are going to hide our stuff, they are going to know where to look first. So, cool idea but that just killed a very similar hidey hole for me. I guess I'll just put non-essential items there now.

 

When my grandparents built their house in the late '20s they did something similar,but different.
Instead of installing drawers, they hinged the stair treads.
Matt

 

Were their names "Lily" and "Herman" and did they have a dragon named "Spot" who lived underneath?

 

watch out for Uncle Fester.....

 

You guys to funny.. I just have 50 cal cans lining one side making dangerously narrow stairs even more narrow..

 

Where are your hand rails? W/O them you are asking for a fall. Ask me how I know--lol. Putting one on the basement stairs and front stoop steps along with a railing.

 

Actually my loving Grandpa Bernhardt was a very successful long haul trucker who hid out on the road,Grandma Lois was the evil witch,and 113yo Great Grandma Weimer who outlived five Great Grandpa's (All died mysteriously)was the evil Dragon who lived in the room under the stairs that is thought to have been dispatched with a pillow in her sleep by Grandma.
Then there was Uncle Peter who was the conniving worthless,one legged,evil troll who lived in the attic apartment.
I'm glad I'm just a step kid.That whole side of the family were either evil or screwy except my Grandpa.
Matt

 

Nice work there

 

Had a great grand father that was rumored to have been "tricked" into a marriage..
Hand rails ? Not enough room. These stairs are more like ladder steep. Not much room for any thing in this old shack..

 

Even ship's ladders have railings. Add a pair of rope rails. Take nearly no room at all. Much safer.

 

Just grab the sides like a ladder when going up, hang on to the opening on the way down.. Only fell a couple times, usually bumped down the steps o my butt..

 

Not really.. Very limited room. Really small shack. And the place was designed for a loft that was accessed by a ladder. A ladder that could slip and fall, and had.. I had eliminated the loft by extending its floor and fitted the stairs into a corner.. Stairs would not fit any place else...

 

A ship's ladder, is a halfway point between a staircase and a ladder. They are made for tight quarters. I have one in my hunting cabin. There are also circular staircases, which use even less space.

 

These stairs very much remind me of a ships ladder.. Is supposed to be only until I can build a better place..

 

Stairs work as long as you don't get in no hurry. 900 sq ft of living space, storage, and work shop. Is tight quarters.

 

I love this idea. My neighbor did this with some of their stairs. They did a few drawers and I was amazed at what they could fit in there.