How to Design Deep Under-Stairs Drawer Systems That Do Not Catch on Carpets

Standard carpet pile heights in Berkshire homes range from 8mm (loop pile) to 18mm (deep cut pile). Under-stairs drawer boxes must have a minimum of 5mm clearance between the base of the lowest drawer and the carpet surface at full drawer extension — meaning the drawer bottom must be at least 23mm from the floor for deep pile carpet. This is achieved by raising the drawer unit on a plinth of appropriate height or by fitting the runners at a height that creates the correct clearance.

On-floor-level drawer systems — where the drawer extends directly over the hallway floor rather than within an enclosed carcass — require runners with a lower profile to minimise the floor-to-drawer-bottom distance. Undermount runners, which attach to the underside of the drawer box, provide the lowest possible floor clearance and are the preferred specification. The soft-close buffer on the runner must be tuned to the drawer weight — too stiff a buffer on a heavy drawer slows the close excessively; too light a buffer on a heavy drawer does not fully absorb the momentum.