I cannot wait for this portion of the house to start!
Clarifications for staircase added 1-08-2009, and again on 3-29-09.
Latest update is 8-18-2009.
I have just posted the latest staircase plans below.
The staircase concept for this house....
We have hoped for a very wide step staircase since the beginning of this design process. I love U-shaped staircases because I think they are both beautiful and safer. We want the stairs to be inviting to both the upper floor and the basement, but I want to avoid the "open hole" created by opening the stairway to the basement for safety reasons, so we are designing a wider first set of risers with a platform that fills in the space on the first floor. This little spot will be decorated with plants or art, and will allow us to put a more prominent newel post higher up as a focal point.
I have done a little mock drawing below. We are waiting for a detailed elevation drawing.
Main level elevation
Main level plan
Second Level Plan
Basement level plan
In this drawing (above), I drew the platform on the second step, with the next two steps gradually decreasing in size, and a large central newel post anchoring the fourth step and butting right into the 5th step/landing. This newel post may have a lighted feature, and will be similar in stature to this central newel post, also shown below. The rest of the newels will be smaller in stature, similar the these newels.
The photo below shows the second step platform.
The rise can be no more than 7" total. I want these stairs to feel comfortable. The tread should be about 11", but I am somewhat open to suggestion here. I just want it to feel substantial and safe. The wood species will most likely be oak. We are looking at aged white oak wide plank (6" and greater) for the floors
This photo is very similar to what we are incorporating into our master architectural plan. Our staircase is set back into a space with three exterior walls, so it wont be open on the sides.
I want to do the stair treads and railings in wood, probably a darker wood. The rest would be painted wood, with possibly and antiquing glaze.
Theses photos are a pretty good representation of the style direction. I also love the collection of prints on the wall, which is something I pick again and again.
These next two photos are both staircases designed by an architect Mark Finlay. They are probably the closest we have found to the style and look we want. In the first one, I like the three sections, the dark newel posts, and the wainscoting. The second photo shows the a version of the platform idea for the first (in this case, the second) step we discussed.
This is one of the staircases our architect designed. We love the whole thing. I like that the second set of risers is set into the first set, eliminating the opening to the basement.
I have also considered doing a runner. Elizabeth Eakins has some very appealing striped or plaid runners in great muted colors. Cotton may not be very practical for us right now, so I am open to other options. I just love the casual, youthful, yet sophisticated, feel it can lend to a room.
New notes added 8-18-2009
These are samples we have been viewing in our home. The first step shows two wool woven carpets from Merida, and the rest are from Elizabeth Eakins. I particularly like the Wool/Linen Seed option. I feels much more durable and tighly woven than the cotton or patterned wool options pictured. The background wool color is dark teal, and there is gold, creamy yellow, silver and smokey gray linen thread. It has that high -end "grandmother's house" look I love. We could do it in any color combination, but seeing how the colors work in this one makes me realize there is an art to selecting the threads, and they look much differnt from across a room than they do close up. This color combo happens to blend with everything I own, and all the samples I have chosen, so I would be inclined to just go with it rather than risk ending up with something not as pretty as this sample.
Older Notes
These are some of my older notes. I will update these soon, as we finalize the design of the newels and rails.
- For the dominant newel, I would use something in the 7-8” size range, and maybe the 5-6" range for the other newels. Alternatively, I could do them all as 6” newels, similar to the first picture in my blog. In LJ Smith’s catalog, the 4094 recessed panel box newel is more of what I was thinking, but maybe with a large ball finial.
- For the balusters, I am not sure if the 1 1/4 square will look big enough with the handrail and posts, unless we did more of them. I think the first picture on my blog shows 3 balusters per step, rather than two, but they look a little bit tapered to me. Here is another view of the same staircase that shows it better. The newels on this staircase look to be at least 4- 5”.
- For the handrails, I like the look below. I saw this at a local home, and I believe it might be walnut in the 6400 profile from LJ Smith stair systems.
- I like the Coffman catalog #6719 handrail very much in photos, but the profile might be a little bit too high. In the LJ Smith catalog, I like the 6900 handrail, but again, it might be too high.
- I would also like to do the hand return on the side of the post, like this picture. I have no idea how this affects the construction of the stairs, but I like the look a lot. It reminds me more of an old staircase.
For the wood species....
- Treads will most likely be white oak. We have looked at Hickory too. The flooring will be wide plank, probably in 6-7" widths
- Handrails and newels will be mahogany, walnut, or white oak. I’d love to know what the cost difference is between them. I prefer the wood species look in picture below for the handrail. I do not know what kind of wood this is, but I would guess mahogany
- Balusters and the risers will be painted.
Note: Some adjustments have been made from my meeting with Geri last week that are not yet reflected in these plans, but are reflected in the discussion and drawing below.
See the staircase plan for the main floor, and the upper floor, and basement level.
Basic Requirements:
- Substantial feeling, like an anchor for the home, with wide steps and bulked up handrails.
- SAFE. Risers at 7" total. Steps at least 48" wide in all locations, with about 11" treads.
- Classic U-shape with two decently sized landings.
- Inviting
- Sunlit, while maintaining privacy
- A focal point in the home
These next two photos show the wide step risers termination in the 2nd set, but without the open basement wall. The first photo shows the more prominent newel post at the first landing that we spoke about.
Some background on the decision leading to the new staircase......
We planned to remove our current staircase before we even bought the home. We did not like the open foyer and curved stairs. The risers feel quite steep at 7 7/8", and there is no landing at the top, just a long hallway....not much room for error when it comes to stumbles. The whole think just feels "lite", not solid.
This photo shows our current staircase. I did a cream glaze and dark wood finish to hold us over until the renovation. This staircase will be entirely removed and a new one built in another part of the house. It will enable us to close off the space to increase the size of the master bedroom suite, and will eventually become a grand kitchen/family room area on the main floor.
Lastly, I do not like closed door basement stairs, so the new staircase will have wide inviting stairs to the new basement recreation room, in-law suite and therapy rooms.
I like the idea of a grand staircase, similar to friends' homes in Scranton PA where so many beautiful turn of the century homes were built. The staircases in these homes really felt solid, like an anchor for the home.
Basement steps in a Sutton Yantis home.
We definitely want the inviting opening to the basement. I have therapists and kids in and out of my basement all day long and I do not want it to feel like a dark dungeon anymore.
