17 Oct Tall and Broom Cupboards for Utility Storage

Brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners, ironing boards: every home has tall, awkward items with nowhere to live. They end up leaning in a corner or crammed behind a door. A tall cupboard, often called a broom cupboard, gives them a proper home behind a closed door.

It is one of the most practical storage upgrades you can make, and it works in more rooms than you might expect.

Where tall and broom cupboards work best

Whether you call the space a scullery, back kitchen or utility room, a tall cupboard belongs there. A scullery handles the messy side of cooking, so cleaning supplies and mops fit naturally. Our scullery ideas for South African kitchens show how to plan one.

A laundry room is the other obvious home, with space beside the machines for a floor-to-ceiling unit. We cover this in our laundry cupboard ideas for SA homes. A tall unit also works at the end of a kitchen run, next to the fridge, and in the garage, where our garage storage cupboards that last post has more ideas.

What a broom cupboard holds

Brooms and mops stand upright, a vacuum cleaner needs floor space, an ironing board stands on its end, and cleaning products sit best on shelves at a sensible height. Hose pipes and garden tools can live there too. Put heavy items such as a bucket low down, and keep cleaning chemicals high and out of reach of small children.

Tall units to choose from

The 450mm Kitchen Grocery Unit is the tall unit in our EXPRESS Kitchens range. It is 2090mm high, 450mm wide and 560mm deep, with a white melamine door, self-closing hinges and adjustable legs. It was designed for groceries, but the height makes it a neat home for brooms, mops and cleaning supplies too.

If you need more width, the 900 Combo is 2100mm high, 900mm wide and 520mm deep, with adjustable shelves. It is popular for mops, brooms and tools, and our post on why the 900 Combo cupboard is so popular explains why. Both units arrive flat-packed with assembly instructions and hardware, and handles are not included.

For the finishing touches, a tall end panel covers an exposed side and a white kick plate hides the legs.

Sizing your tall cupboard

Measure before you order. Start with the tallest item the cupboard has to hold, then check the width of the space and the depth available. Both units above are 520 to 560mm deep, so make sure the door has room to open.

If your ceiling is about 2.4 metres high, expect a gap of roughly 300mm above either unit. Our measuring tips take you through it step by step, or you can talk to a designer for a free 3D design of your utility space.

Ready to get the brooms out of the corner? SHOP TALL UNITS