Sorting a stair bulkhead

[dougzy]

We're slowly sorting our house bit by bit. The previous owners had done a nice job superficially, but one room that had been fairly neglected was the box room. Cheap bookcases were fitted in a weird arrangement, and I'm determined to convert the space into a proper library but after pulling out the shelves I've got the bulkhead to contend with.

My main question is, what can I take out? I understand the bulkhead itself is necessary to give the stairs adequate headroom, but is the pictured wooden frame just to support a previous box? Is any of it necessary? Otherwise I will remove it and attempt to make a better job of integrating the bulkhead into the design.

I'm going to have to do a tiny plastering job too as the bookcases were hiding some damage.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone has had a good cosmetic result integrating a bulkhead into their space. It's just very ugly at the moment and not as functional as it could be.

Cheers in advance for any advice/tips.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Do you have a photo from further away?

 

[dougzy]

 

[dougzy]

Is that any clearer? It's a tiny room and currently filled to the brim with stuff.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Ahh I get it now, the white things that look like stair treads are actually not proper steps. So you can remove the weird boxing bit at the top:



This assumes the radiator is not being relocated? If it is you can remove part of the partition it's fixed to and that gives you a few more options. As for how you finish it that's up to you, is this the wall you're building your new shelves on? Some people build a bed over it or just have a big flat shelf, a house I lived in effectively built a large wardrobe with partition walls over it but the doors were full height (set in front of the bukkhead) so it didn't look odd.

The options are endless: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s...SbsAKHa4mB5sQ_AUoAnoECAEQBQ&biw=1920&bih=1058

 

[dougzy]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, they're faux stairs which I assume were used for getting books off the top shelves.

I'm considering relocating the radiator to the back wall as it's in a rather awkward position at present. It's not something I've done before, so it would be a toss up between DIY and just bite the bullet and get a plumber in.

Yeah I'd like to do shelves along that wall, extending potentially to above the door as well. If I could integrate the bulkhead into the design that would be ideal. I think it's going to take some creative thinking. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[dougzy]

This was the old naff bookcase. I realize I missed out putting an update on here. It wasn't a perfect project but I'm quite pleased how it turned out. This was the finished (almost) project.