Good Questions: Stairway to Heaven?

Hello AT,

Please help with a small stair design idea to replace the ladder under the left door. The door is 39" from the ground and it leads to a roof deck off the master bedroom. We are looking for a simple, modern design, possibly a wooden staircase with metal railing. We would go for a floating stair look or a clever, closed stair look with under-stair storage as long as it doesn't look too boxy.

Thank you, Ana & Shawn

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Anyone?????

Comments (7)

Check out theironshop.com - they have a great straight stair kit with a center beam. We just got a metal spiral staircase kit from them and are very happy with it. Their main shop just happens to be 1/2 hr away from Philly so we lucked out.

http://www.theironshop.com/metal_straight.htm

How about a tonsu-type stair? Also, you could do a stair without railings (just the risers) as long as they are firmly affixed to the wall. This is very beautiful and was widely used by Luis Barragan.
See http://www.cultureguide.gr/events/details_gr.jsp?Event_id=80276&catA=6 and http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/brg1.html (the second photo has a visible support structure).

How about an alternate tread design? It can move you up to the deck in a much shorter space and comes in some pretty interesting styles.

Check this one out
http://www.loftshop.co.uk/products_detail.asp?catID=3&typeID=27&pID=77

This could be interesting along the wall rather than a straight up to the door.

We've also seen boxed out styles where you alternate blocks for each step rather than the traditional rectangular tread, if finding storage is important.

I agree with Stella-Rondo on both parts. There was an alternate tread stair in the May 2006 small spaces issue of Dwell. It was made of galvanized metal or something like that. It looked like something you could buy in one piece, but I'm not sure. But it seemed to save space.

If you can afford the space, I would run the stair along the wall. 39"H makes me think a stair would jut into the room at least 48" which seems intrusive It's not like you are using the space below the other door. Then you can have a landing right at the operable door where it would be easier to store things underneath.

Here' an alternating stair manufacturer - not sure if they will sell to individuals, though: http://www.lapeyrestair.com/

Dear Anna and Shawn:

I hope you see this posting; it's been a few days since your question appeared.

I found some cubes which may work for you at Overstock.com. They're called "Hand-painted Wooden Stacking Cube" and the link to them is http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1848745.

Good luck with your problem!!

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and useful comments. We still haven't decided exactly what to do with the space but once it's done, we'll send a picture.