Add a Room Without Adding On

Blank Wall to Bookcase

The Challenge: How can you liven up an unused staircase wall while following a development's design and architecture regulations?

The Solution: Add a unique built-in bookcase for style and function in an unexpected place.

Instead of serving only as a path from one floor to the next, the savvy stairwell in this home offers creative storage and display space. "The requirement of having windows in the stairwell left us with a strange transition between stair treads and wall," says interior designer Lila Adams. To avoid ordinary linear shelves, boxes were built to fill the gap between the steps and the window. "Using random sizes and shapes, you obtain an artistic and visually stimulating stairway and a great place to stop and ponder your next beach read," Lila points out.