What still puzzles me about this stair is that given a 9ft. ceiling height and 7 3/4"+ risers, the thickness of the second floor (ceiling to finish flooring) would be over 16" if there were 16 risers and it would be about 8" if there were 15 risers. For the smaller floor thickness the floor joists could not be larger than 2x8's and for the larger floor thickness the floor joists would be about 14" Since a typical floor thickness is about 12" I am greatly puzzled about your stair construction. Is there something unusual about the floor joists at the second floor? Is the ceiling height 9 ft. plus a tray or coffer? To accurately define the stair riser height you should give us the floor to floor height and the number of risers. To increase the distance from the front door to the stair by turning it, you must put one more riser at the lower run which would extend it farther into the lobby. If this doesn't make sense to you, you should ask your designer to draw the two conditions to scale before telling the builder to modify the stair. I could draw it if I knew all of the dimensions of the existing conditions but what you have posted doesn't seem to add up.

WHOA! FREAKY! My kitchen is almost the EXACT same size (12ft. x 13'-6"), AND I am INSISTING on separate fridge and freezers - I've been to hell and back making it work! Also L-shaped, fully open on North into family room (continuous floor) and West into dining room. Imagine the front of your house is the backyard (but my house is straight across), and my family room is where your hallway / pantry is, but there is no wall where you have pocket doors - the kitchen/ family room has no partitions. My sliding patio doors start about where your front door is, and my fridge and freezer will be on the wall where your ovens are (12 ft. from South corner to a narrow cabinet that will face family room to hang coats and stuff next to door). Now, I also have two cooking units (that is if I put the ovens in the pantry - HOPEFULLY future baking center), and this has been a very tricky design endeavor. In fact, my insistence on having BOTH the fridge and freezer IN the kitchen is causing consternation, BUT, I know it works - having the freezer in the pantry (the current original 8' long galley kitchen - next to (west of) the dining room and behind the new family room - so diagonal from new kitchen) will DRIVE ME CRAZY! The separate fridge and freezer I want are each just over 32" wide, so take up 33" each or 66" if put together. Everyone else is INSISTING that we put a window facing the backyard (EAST) to pass food out to the deck (yeah, right!), so I am separating the units. The South wall will have 2 windows facing into the kitchen / family room. This is my layout: Sorry, I don't have a computer layout program - I do all my work by hand on graph paper and right now I'm on a new laptop without a scanner / camera hooked up (house is under construction, old computer got killed). First, these are my appliances: a vintage Chambers Range 37-1/2" wide, a 51" wide extra electric cooktop (27" 3 burner) / pot and pan storage unit (Fagor - waiting for this to arrive - was supposed to be in stock, but apparently it is on a ship in the Atlantic coming from Spain), and the fridge / freezer units I want are Frigidaire 33" wide, 26" deep. 24" wide dishwasher drawers (probably FP), and if I get my way Frigidaire double ovens will go in the pantry / baking center - otherwise we must get a single oven and install in kitchen under the counter (annoying and a major waste of storage space). I opt to keep laundry in the basement - the major bone of contention - I'd rather have a serious baking center than laundry in the pantry area (there is a breakfast room on the other side of the original galley that will become obsolete once the kitchen moves to the other side of the house, but the table is where we currently do baking prep, so it makes sense to turn the galley into a baking center / pantry). The East wall is 12 ft long (length limited by sliding door / outlets) and the South wall is 13'6" long (ends at studs holding up header between new kitchen and dining room). This is my plan for the South wall starting at the dining room (162" long): Base cabs: 24" dishwasher, 36" sink base (with smaller 24" sink to leave some counterspace next to range), 39" space for Chambers Range and countertop edges, 18" drawer base, 45" space to corner for 42" blind cabinet. Wall cabs: 18" wide cabinet (custom height to meet window ledge that will float beyond window under what-not shelves), 12" space between cabinet and window for trim and what-not shelves (probably 3" trim, 9" shelves), 24" wide window, 3" window trim, 45" space above range for custom range hood (another bone of contention - I want to try and build the hood cover myself to fit the odd space), 3" window trim, 24" window, 3" trim, 30" space to corner to be filled with 27" corner unit (either full-height tambour or upper cab with garage below) extra 3" to be filled with either wider trim or by pulling corner unit out 3" from wall. Note that I want small 15" high pull-up cabinets at the ceiling above the two windows (lining up exactly with 3" trim each side of window = 30" wide cabinets), and another matching one 18" wide above the wall cabinet above the D/W, with the what-not shelves custom built to fit the space between. Note that I will need 27" deep countertops - in order to support the 27" corner unit that sits on the counter because the counter will not wrap around to the other wall. My Chambers range is 26 " deep, so this actually works out well. BUT, we are tall, so reaching the back of the counter will not be a problem for us; my only worry is how an undermount sink will look set back 6" from counter edge (I'd install an apron sink, but because the sink base is right next to the range I need an undermount to get at least 9" of counter between the range and actual sink). East Wall starting at South corner (145" long to a 12" deep tall cab that will face family room next to door): Base cabs: 24" blind corner (same cabinet from above), 3" space for counter overhang, 1" thickness fridge side panel that above fridge cab and countertop corner units will attach to, 33" space for fridge, 51" space for cooktop / storage unit, 33" space for freezer. Upper cabs: 27" wide corner units (same as above), 1" thickness for floor-to-ceiling fridge panel, 33" wide 21" high above fridge cab (24" deep), 10" wide 36" high shelving unit (starts at ceiling, flanks window), 30" wide 12" high (ceiling) cab with 30" under cab range hood above 24" wide x 28" high window with 3" trim each side centered over 27" electric range top, 10" wide 36" high shelving unit (starts at ceiling, flanks window), 33" wide 21" high above freezer cab (24" deep). Next to the freezer will be the back of a 12" cab that faces the family room, probably framed out 30" into kitchen with 2x4's so a switch panel can control the main lights from either here or on the dining room side of kitchen. This cabinet can be made even narrower if required to allow freezer door to open (space limited by existing outlet and switches to outside lights next to the patio door). Island: There will be an 8 ft long x 5 ft. deep 2-tiered island in the kitchen that goes lengthwise from South to North towards the family room. It ends about where the patio door switches start, so it does not block the patio doors, but it does go in front of the doorway to the new pantry / hallway (that is the existing galley kitchen - the doorway is the old back door) - this pantry / baking center (or laundry) will be the main hallway / entrance to the kitchen / family room from the front door - through the living room and breakfast room, right turn into pantry / hallway, left turn into kitchen / family room (or straight into dining room). The alternate route is from the front door down an 8 ft. hallway on the other side of the staircase from the living room, through the dining room and into the kitchen. The doorway is really the separation between the kitchen and family room areas (no partitions between them, and one continuous floor). I replaced the old 32" doorway with a new 40" headered opening, extending the studs between the corner where galley meets dining room load-bearing wall that goes towards front of house. There is now a 13-1/2" solid mass of 2x4 studs between the pantry / hallway doorway and the large opening to the dining room from the new kitchen (this was created by the original load-bearing wall - 4.5", the 3 studs holding up the new LVL between the dining room and new kitchen, and the 3 studs holding up the 40" opening I built - I added an extra stud because the original door was literally in the corner - it drove me crazy because it could not have full-size trim on the galley side (it is still a corner on the galley side because that is an opposing load-bearing wall between galley and dining room). So, the new doorway from the hallway / pantry will be about 38" wide after trim, and next to that will be a 36" wall (solid studs then extended 24" between dining room and new kitchen to have a small separation from kitchen) and then a 6.5 ft. opening between kitchen and dining room with another matching 30" wall protruding from the South wall between dining room and kitchen cabinets (so you don't view the sides of the cabs from the dining room). The dining room is only 11 ft. wide because of the load-bearing walls / 1" thick plaster. On the 36" long wall between the 2 doorways I will be putting a 24" wide floor-to-ceiling dish cab with doorway trim butting it on either side. The framers royally screwed up and installed the LVL header INTO the new space, as opposed to inset between the two dining room walls, so the stupid header jets out into the kitchen a good 1-1/2", so I MUST build a custom cabinet with one side deeper than the other to hide this mishap. (the bolts holding the steel inside the LVL require firring out, so that's why it sticks out so much - it "floats" off the family room wall. Because I need dish storage it must have 12" deep drawers, so that means the cabinet itself must be 15" deep - the absolute MAX I can get away with - this only leaves 21" of walking space between this cabinet and the island bar counter. This cabinet will face into the kitchen between the two doorways, so if you are standing at the patio doors looking in you see (from the south) the range wall, a 6.5 ft. opening, a 36" wall with dish cab, a 38" opening and then a solid wall to the end of the family room (I might put in a pass-thru above the old sink if I get my baking center). The island actually continues beyond where the doorway to the pantry / hallway begins, so you kind of have to walk around it to get to the patio doors. It extends about 18" beyond the start of the 38" doorway, and the bar counter begins 36" in from the doorway wall. I had no choice - all the ceiling lights were already wired, and as it was I had to re-do all the outlet wiring, so ripping out all the insulation and ceiling wiring just to shift the doorway was not going to happen - I did get lucky that there was enough slack to shift the wires that dropped to the switch box to the other side of the stud and then I ran a new homerun - that was the only way to enlarge the doorway at all. The island workspace starts 42" from the cabinets on both the South and East walls. The workspace part will be 7.5 ft. long and 36" deep. This will be a 24" deep cabinet facing the Chambers range (or single 30" under cab wall oven and 6" wide spice pull-out facing Chambers if I don't get my baking center), a 42" sink base with a large sink facing the cooktop / fridge wall, and a 24" deep 36" wide compost / recycling cabinet facing the family room (the side of the cab will be next to the sink with a towel bar mounted). Both side cabinets / counters will be 36" wide (from sink front to raised bar), and I want a back-channel behind the sink. Then I will have a 12" deep cabinet with 1/4 round shelves on each side to support the 8' long bar counter. The bar counter will overhang 10" or so and bar stools will pull under; butcher block with curved ends. So, as you can see, even in a small space you can have a LOT of appliances, sinks, prep space and seating for guests! Granted, this design REQUIRES a separate pantry for dry goods - mine will be in the old galley kitchen / new hallway, just like yours is in your hallway. I just would go crazy if the fridge and freezer items were so far away. There are just enough cabinets to store the pots and pans (cooktop storage unit; cast iron in storage area in Chambers) and dishes (dish cab and above D/W) and glasses (corner upper cabs next to fridge), coffee mugs (narrow shelves above cooktop), small appliances (appliance garage) and rarely used appliances (blind corner), stock pots (above fridge deep cabs), food storage containers (drawer base next to range) and rarely used stuff that you don't know where to store - pull-up cabs near ceiling. My extra dishes will be stored in cabs facing the dining room (in the narrow "partition" walls I plan to install 12" deep cabs). In the old galley / new pantry / hallway / HOPEFULLY baking center will be a decently large dry goods pantry and a cleaning supply closet. If I don't get my baking center the pantry will be even bigger (then the 30" oven space will become just more storage) with laundry on the other side. Function - the best part about this layout is that two cooks can EASILY work as if in their own kitchens because of the locations of the two sinks in relation to the cooktop and range. The Chambers has a sink right next to it on one side, prep space on the other (this is why I am considering two compost drawers - the one in the island and another next to the Chambers, but that could get icky, so I might just go with a Bain Marie dropped into the counter next to the Chambers instead of a pan in drawer that can be forgotten about if not used often enough). The cooktop has built-in space on each side, and the big main sink is behind it (offset 2 feet from center of each, so one person at cooktop, one person at sink will not bump butts), plus two people can prep veggies at the compost counter - one next to the sink, one standing on the family room side. So, easily 5 people can actually cook / prep and clean all at once - one at the Chambers, one at the cooktop, one washing dishes, two people chopping. In theory you can have someone else at the other sink and yet another at the other prep space, but now we're getting a bit too crowded ;)

Ha it is starting to resemble a mini waiting room! I toyed with the idea of adding a little magazine basket or a small reading table but not sure if that's too much. The previous owner is the one who built the house, and later divided it into apartments. He (large property developer in the area) had put in the false floor and told us it was stable and we could put furniture there - we felt it might not be strong enough, as it felt a bit weak when we walked on it. We pulled up a section of the floor to examine the structure, and the engineer who evaluated it told us we need further reinforcements, but it's just adding in additional beams between the existing ones, something a carpenter could help with. The engineer provided exact plans to give to the carpenter, of the size of supports needed, the necessary spacing between supports, and the method to attach them. To be clear there is a false ceiling in the entry hall for the building, then above the false ceiling, a plexiglass window that the balcony looked onto originally, and then on top of that, the false floor in our apartment. We won't at any time actually break through into the common entry hall. We're doing a full renovation of the apartment, adding a mezzanine library in the double height living room and redoing the attic space (the attic is private to our apartment but we will need approval from the other owners for skylight/velux windows). For the attic it's similar to the false floor in the entry, we must add additional reinforcements in between existing floor supports per the engineers recommendation. We are also converting the long and narrow walk-in closet from the bedroom into the front hall closet, with one end of it becoming the stairwell for attic access - which is perfect because there is a nice tall window in that section that will brighten up the hallway now instead of being in the closet. We are working with a qualified architect on this, still only at planning stage. We are not making any changes to load-bearing walls and very minimal impact on party wall. The front entry area is the easiest fix, just reinforcing the floor and removing the balcony guard, so we're trying to move forward where we can easily make some progress.

I think you're giving the taper too much power. If something needs to be in a bin, that bin doesn't need to exactly fill up the whole shelf. Lots of stuff may not need to go in bins or baskets anyway. You could get 12"-deep boxes and put them on the deeper side, and leave the rest of the shelf for setting things that don't go in bins or boxes. Or, if you do need a bin that exactly fills the shelf, can't you use your plethora of woodworking tools to make your own in a trapezoidal shape? It's just an oddly shaped wooden drawer, which is itself a lidless wooden box. (I made a storage box/bin for an oddly shaped space by cutting up foam-core board and hot-gluing it together. Now and then I have to reinforce it, but it works great! I'm too lazy to make it out of wood, and I don't have a lot of experience using thinner wood like 1/4" luan or masonite, and 3/4" stock would be too heavy) You could install shelves, or you could make "pockets" to hang on the wall based on what's going to go in them (if you make your own pockets, you can make them as fat as you need for whatever you're going to put in them). I'd say: First, figure out how to put a single hanging rod on the 24"-deep side (and limit how many coats can go in there--everybody in the family gets two hangers, and any other outerwear goes in the bedroom). Or, put in one hanging rod (those Closet-Maid/Elfa wire shelves?) for long coats, and install second one halfway down the wall to convert one half of that space for jackets? My experience is that especially in winter, there are more hip-length coats than short jackets, so plan for winter, not spring or fall. Then see what sorts of other storage needs you can fulfill there--would the vacuum bit on the coats side? Can you put pockets on the side wall for gloves, hooks for umbrellas and dog leashes? Can you put a tray or basket on the floor to hold boots or shoes? Or something on the shelf above the hanging rod that would be useful for what you store there? Then stand in front of that tapered side with all the stuff you're going to put in there, and see what inspires you. Do you want shelves you can put boxes on? (You could make a small trapezoidal bookcase and bolt it to the wall, leaving space below it; or use brackets on the back wall to install tapered shelves--you can buy brackets of varying lengths.) Would pockets or baskets on the side wall be useful for stuff like cleaning supplies or shoes? Would hooks allow you to use the most shallow section for hanging the vacuum hose?