Stairs & Staircases

Modern Staircase Design

What describes modern staircase design? Elegance, clean and crisp lines, sharp, simplicity, minimalist, quality… Modern stair design is restricted only by the designer’s imagination but should strive to achieve function and style. Complex structures and geometric shapes should appear effortless with broad flowing lines and clean edges. Elegance without extravagance.

When choosing a modern staircase design there are few things to take into consideration, including style, function, lighting, flooring surface, safety and tripping points. …

Modern Style

Combinations of materials

Storage

Floating staircase

Collapsible staircase

Stair Design

Apart from considerations of headroom and stair width, stair pitch can also be tricky. A low riser height or a wide step does not necessarily make for a more comfortable stair. The tread is the part of the step that is stepped on, the depth is the measurement from the outer edge of the tread to the vertical portion between each tread, known as the riser. The width is measured between the left and right of the tread. The combination of riser height and going (width of step from nosing to nosing) is what makes for a comfortable step. It is important to get the ratios right, for example a 160mm rise with a 280mm going would be very comfortable, while a rise of 190mm and a going of 240mm would be walkable but quite steep. However a stair with a 280mm going and a 190 rise would not be walkable.

On that note, when ordering stair components it should be taken into consideration that the specification that you order is not the finished size. So, for instance, if you order a newel post at 100mm x 100mm, it will bought raw by the manufacturer at that size, but after it is machined it will lose 10%. Even if manufacturers nominate finished sizes, some tolerance should be allowed for.

Timber Stairs

Timber is a beautiful material for constructing staircases, and hardwoods are best. While not all hardwoods are necessarily harder than softwoods, the hardest hardwoods are much more so than any softwoods. Common hardwoods include oak, beech, ash, maple and cherry. More specialty hardwoods include holly and boxwood, while tropical hardwoods include teak, mahogany, ebony and lauan. The suitability of the hardwood to being used for stairs will depend on density, grain, pore siza, flexibility and growth pattern.

It should be kept in mind that since timber is a natural material, the colour will vary and total colour match will never be achieved. But it can be admired as part of the character of the overall product.

Staircase Design

There are numerous types of staircase designs, from all the spiral shapes to variations on straight staircases. For example, straight staircases  can be dog-legged, L-shaped or horseshoe shaped. A dog-leg staircase is one that has a half-landing mid-way between two flights of stairs. So a flight ascends to the half-landing, turns 180 degress, then continues upwards. The advantage is that it occupies a shorter, though wider floor area that a straight flight. As a result, the staircase is more compact. Another benefit is that the upper floor is not directly visible from the bottom of the stairs, giving more privacy.

An L-shaped staircase is a configuration with two straight staircases mounted perpendicular to one another. The landing is one of the stair treads if it was a simple straight staircase. The landing is usually halfway between the upper and lower floors, though the flights do not always have to be equal. Often the staircase is flanked by the adjoining walls. Again, this type of staircase is more compact than a normal straight staircase, though it is also often considered more aesthetically pleasing as well.

A horseshoe staircase has two flights of stairs, both ascending parallel to each other from the ground floor to meet on the upper floor. The flights curve inwards slightly as they rise, forming a U-shape staircase. This type of staircase is often used as a feature staircase as it is very auspicious and often used for grand entrances. 

Staircase Builders

Slattery & Acquroff are Australian stair builders that can design and construct a large range of staircases. From traditional and classical staircases to modern and contemporary designs, this company has a wealth of experience behind them as Australia’s oldest staircase builder. Established in 1920 by Ted Slattery (born in Melbourne, Australia) and Alec Acquroff (born in Edinburgh, Scotland), the company now has over eighty-five employees. 

Slattery & Acquroff can build spiral stairs, straight stairs, curved stairs and more. In addition, they design a large variety of balustrades using wire, glass, stainless steel, timber, concrete and wrought iron balusters. Their expertise also extends to a variety of handrails, including continuous handrails, wall rails, and feature ends.