Home office gets tucked under basement stairs

When Kitka Galvin got a new job that allowed her to work from home, she looked around for a place to put a home office.

Like many homeowners seeking "new space" in their existing homes, she didn't want totake a bedroom from her children or impinge on the basement family room.

Afterbrowsing online for ideas,she hit on the perfect solution: opening up the space beneaththe basement stairs.

In the Galvin home, the stairs are built against a basement wall, and the side opening into the basement room wasdrywalled shut. An opening in the back allowed Kitka and her husband Mike to use theunder-stairs space for storage, but theyfelt they easily could part with that.

Remaking the space was a do-it-yourself project that began with removing the drywall on the side that opened into the basement room and then installing plywoodon the underside of thesteps.

The family room has laminate flooring, and to keep it from shifting once the original drywallwas removed, the Galvins installed a threshold. The floor inthe office area isconcrete, butGalvin has covered that with arug. The area already had wiring.

Although the space is small about 7 feet long and 3 feet deep it holds everything Kitka needs to do her job as an insurance auditor. Furnishings include a desk from Target, a computer, two monitors, a phone and a wood steamer trunk that belonged to her great-great grandmother on her mother's side.

Look closely and you'll see the words "Johanna Johanson, New Britain, Connecticut, 1863," painted on its side.

The area doesn't feelcramped or closed in, she said. "It might if I was just sitting there and relaxing, but I'm working. I'm focused on what I'm doing, which is all on the phone and online."

"Houzz" is one of the online sites Galvin used for ideas, and a tutorial helped her through the project.

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Home office gets tucked under basement stairs