Designed Stairs

Designed Stairs has the experience to design structural, open-riser staircases that are also beautiful works of contemporary art.

  • Stair Styles for the Arts and Crafts Style Home

    Prairie

    Craftsman

    Arts and Crafts styles have had resurgence in recent years. The Green movement of today emulates many of the same principles of the Arts and Crafts movement of 1900. The simple and modest style, in form, function and efficiency appeals to many in our modern society. When it comes to stair selections for your Arts and Crafts home, here are some of the basics you should know, and a few extras.

    Historically, an Arts and Crafts style stair was oak, stained, and often stained very dark. Today we want lighter and airier interiors; therefore oak is often being mixed with painted wood. It is not uncommon in Art and Crafts homes today to use cherry and maple. Rails were very simple as were the newels.

    Today decorators are choosing a molded rail and newels with decorative trim applied to add interest and sophistication. Balusters are most often square. Adding interest to your balustrade can be done through one of these designs:

    • Use small balusters and tighten up the spacing so they are very close together
    • Put the balusters in groups of 2 or 3 leaving a larger space between each group
    • Put a horizontal cross bar connecting two balusters

    Whether you are leaning toward the country charm of Craftsman style, or toward the sophistication of the nearly modern appeal of its later sister — Mission style, it is no wonder why this flexible and comfortable style is popular today. Find More Arts and Crafts Styles ….

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  • 6 Keys to Hiring a Stair Builder

    1. Buying a stair

      Seek a Full Time Experienced Stair Builder. Experience can’t be overrated. You don’t want an excellent handyman trying to build your stair. How many years experience does their designer have? How many years install experience does the installer have?

    2. Request References. When asking for references, ask for one in your town. Do they know the building codes for stairs in your town? Can you look at a similar type of job, something that would demonstrate they can handle your job.

    3. Make sure they can be easily reached! A truck and a cell phone do not mean they will be found next week, or even be around to finish the job. Do they have a permanent location — a shop and a showroom?

    4. Are they on their own, or part of a team? It is nearly always beneficial to use a firm with at least a few people. The old phrase; jack of all trades, master of none …. It’s hard to find one person who is good at selling, customer service, technically detailed and a good craftsman. You may be talking to a great salesperson — but can they build a stair? Odds are, working with a team will give you a higher degree of quality overall.

    5. Building a stair

      Do they have a woodworking shop? Shop fabrication of your stair will give you a much better fit of the joints and construction. A carpenter building a stair on site with hand-tools simply can’t get the precision fit that a woodworking shop can.

    6. Get commitments clear. They should be offering you a written estimate. If every detail isn’t spelled out — add your own notes on the contract. If there is a problem or misunderstanding later, it will be too late. Making additional notes can simply make expectations clearer and better communicated.

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  • The Simple Beauty of Modern Stair Styles

    Modern design is simple, which is why it amazes me how many forms of modern styles have developed over the past 100 years. Modern stairs come in forms for all tastes and preferences. It can be the simplicity of a shaker style stair, or the stylistic design of a metal and glass stair. Modern styles can be organic or reflect modern technology.

    Modern

    Traditional modern

    Common themes of modern styling include:

    • Form Follows Function — the design should fill the need of the purpose
    • Simplicity and elimination of unnecessary details and ornamentation
    • Exposed Structure (as opposed to hiding the structural elements)
    • Truth to Materials — the material appears as it is naturally

    When planning your modern stair, consider the shapes your stair and rail create naturally. In the stair shown above, we merely accentuated the basic stair shape by adding visual weight to the rise and run of each step. The function of the stair itself creates its interesting lines.

    If you are starting with a traditional stair design, and want to make it modern, there are many modern style balusters and stair components that are readily available and will give you a great modern style. Nearly every material thought of can be used in used in modern styling — from wood to metal to glass. The options you have with modern design go as far as your imagination will carry you. See more custom stairs.

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  • Setting Design Goals Helps to Select Your Stair Styles

    Buying a stair

    With the endless choices we have today, making the many decisions required for a building project can be overwhelming. It’s easy to make decisions based on “I like it”, but if that is your only criteria for selection, it is unlikely that you will end up with consistent design. Establishing design goals can help keep your selections on track for a fabulous end result.

    To establish design goals look through many magazines and find a dozen or more images of rooms you like. These are not rooms to copy, rather they are rooms that have a feel and look that you relate to; rooms you can see yourself living in. Select images of different rooms and even the exterior of homes you like. After you have a nice collection of photos, analyze them and understand what you like about them. Determine which images have a common thread of design elements that you like and discard any that are not in alignment.

    As you go through this process you will see your design evolve. It will change from a pile of beautiful pictures, to a clearer visual of the style you want to create. As you make each selection for your project, use your concept photos to guide you. You are not trying to copy them, but use them as a visual design compass. As you shop for trim, doors, cabinetry and stairs, ask yourself, does this selection fit into one of my concept rooms? Do they look like they all belong in the same house? Do the elements align?

    By keeping your concept photos close by and using them with each selection, you will end up with a much more unified design and an end result that aligns with your intentional goals for your project.

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  • The Entry Experience — Incorporate Top Stair Trends

    Stair trends

    Open the door and …. WOW!!

    Whether you are listing your home for sale, remodeling, or building a new home, you want to make choices that increase the value of your investment. How important is your Entry Experience to the value of your home?

    Research indicates that a home-buyer makes their buying decision during the first two to three minutes upon entering a home. The entryway sets the expectation for what your visitor will experience in the rest of your home. It is the first and last impression you make to your guests.

    Entryways can be over looked in this day of designer kitchens and baths. This gives us an easy opportunity to make a knock-em-dead impression, with far less effort and cost than other rooms.

    Your stair is likely the natural focal point in your entry. It sets the tone for the room. Update your stair style, just like you update furniture or cabinetry. Make sure both the color/finish of your stair and the style of your balustrade is up to date. The two most popular balustrade styles today are: metal balusters and boxed/trimmed (square) newels.

    Increasing the WOW of your entry will not only create a more inviting welcome for your guests, it will enhance the marketability of your home.

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