Hallways & Entrances Guide To Stunning Stairs

Date Published:

09/06/2008

Stairs are undergoing a revolution. The combination of complex engineering and clever design is giving us increasingly dramatic, often gravity-defying bespoke staircases. Climbing steps has become so complicated it's spawned a new breed: the specialist stair designer.

A staircase like this glass curved number is designed specially for an open-plan building and allows light to penetrate every part of the stairwell and beyond. With glass treads and balustrading, the original brief was focused solely on providing the maximum amount of light possible. How much would it cost to buy? Somewhere in the region of £55,000-£60,000!

There are cheaper options. You can buy a bespoke staircase for about £5,000, which is a bargain when you consider how they set the tone and style of a home. Of course you can spend a lot more - these stairs set the owners of this contemporary building back a cool half a million pounds. While that is an extraordinary amount of money, the drama they provide is immeasurable: the stairs define the building.

Anthony Payne, a London resident, bought his new flat and gutted it, all apart from the staircase. 'As far as I know there's only two other stairways like this in the world. They were custom made for this development and represented a third of the original build cost', says Anthony. And the cost? 'About £2,000-£3,000 per stair,' he grins. For Anthony, these stairs are worth every single penny.