Dwell Magazine's daily blog featured these very cool sculptural stairs from Swedish firm Taf. A ladder was first placed in the spot to set the placement then the zig-zag chunks of wood were placed to create the stair variation.
Although really beautiful to look at, we're not so sure it would work in practice. We have had experiences with even just a narrow step with our big ol' feet and the combination wasn't such a good mixture. But...bravo for thinking outside the box!
photo credit: Bobo Olsson
A. Would hate to maneuver up or down those bad boy steps
B. Would hate to be wearing stilettos and maneuvering up or down those bad boy steps after a few dirty martinis well after midnight (note: no stairway light)
Fancy footwork required....
view 2009sunshine's profile
These are like the stairs invented by Santos Dumond. These kinds of stairs are very comfortable on the way up but they feel a bit steep on the way down.
view JulieR's profile
And to add injury to insult, there's no hand rail!
view Anne in Chicago's profile
I don't think you'll need handrails with those narrow walls! ; )
but it's a challenge nevertheless.
view joel maria pirela's profile
These remind me of, I think they are called, ship ladder steps or captain's steps or something like that, where there were alternating square steps in a similar arrangement. They were a fairly common space saving stair one would see for attics and such. I want to say Thomas Jefferson invented them, but I might just be making that up. God, do I sound like Cliff Clavin or what?
These are insanely dangerous and though beautiful, totally impractical. I gasped when I saw them in Dwell. Gorgeous form, horrendous lack of functionality.
Becky
view becky's profile
At least you've got walls to clutch on to!
It pains me to see stairs that clearly don't meet building codes in design magazines. It makes me wonder what else in the house is potentially unsafe.
view vespabelle's profile
Does this come with it's own insurance policy?
view anne's profile