Choose bright, clean colours for the staircase

For people with disposable incomes, preferences for housing types are getting more specialised. Single-level apartments are considered passé by many and choices are shifting to duplex and triplex apartments, penthouses and independent bungalows. Needless to say, staircases and landings take on a major role in these types of houses.

Stairs as decoration

You can make the ground floor of your house look more spacious by knocking down partitions separating the living room from the hall and staircase, provided they are not load-bearing. (In that case, you need permission.)

Incorporated into the living area, the staircase is now ready to be made into a main feature of the decorative scheme.

If the staircase is narrow and unattractive, you can ‘add on’ to it. Or you can even put in a new one. Pick up some lovely old stair furniture such as handrails and banisters and use them to transform a plain staircase at minimal cost.

If your style is modern, go for the trendy less-bulky ‘open-riser’ types. Fit glass shelves into the angle of a staircase, and make a feature of the half landing.

Add space

There are several ways of adding character to small, narrow and dark staircases and landings. The first and more obvious solution is to make everything seem more spacious by choosing bright, clean colours like white or soft pastel shades.

Keep patterns simple and small. Choose wallpaper with delicate patterns on a white background rather than one with outlandish geometric figures. The woodwork should also be white, with the minimum of fussy details. A plain blind at the landing window can be either the same colour as the paint, or in a fabric to match the wallpaper.

The second method is to aim at a more dramatic effect and not try to deceive people into thinking there is more room than there actually is. For this, look for art nouveau wallpapers in deep rich colours, dark blues and purples. Put a blind or curtain of matching fabric if possible, or a plain toning colour on the landing or staircase window.

Handrails, banisters

Many of the accidents that happen in the home occur on or around the stairs, so it is essential that handrails and banisters are stable.

Safety is all the more important if there are children or old people in the house. So don’t make any modifications that might make the banisters shaky or hard to hold.

If you strip the old paint off handrails and banisters in an old house, you often find surprisingly attractive wood underneath. You can make a solid rail from planks of wood nailed to the staircase wall so that there is some support on both sides.

Anti-skid finish

Forget stair carpets, they are not meant for our surroundings. Go for anti-skid vitrified tiles (these last longer) or stones. If you insist on added flooring, go for rubberised matting, cork flooring or jute carpets. On a narrow staircase, it is best to have full-width flooring. Not only is it safer, it also makes the stairs seem wider than they are. Of course, stair flooring must be fixed very firmly to ensure that it does not work loose.

Spirals

There is divided opinion here. One either loves spiral staircases or abhors them. Look out for decorative old spiral staircases made from wrought iron; they are really attractive and you can make it a focal point by painting it in a brilliant colour.

(The author is an interior design consultant, specialising in the design of corporate and residential interiors. As a senior faculty member at a Calcutta institute, she has delivered lectures, guided research and conducted projects in the field of Housing & Interior Design for over two decades. She can be contacted at kusumsmail@yahoo.com)