7 Brilliant Ways to Elevate Your Home's Staircase Interior Design

The staircase is one of the important components in most homes. However, it rarely gets much attention unless it starts feeling unsafe, such as when the banister starts feeling loose, or when the steps squeak at the weight of people using the stairs.

A staircase is usually one of the most durable elements of a house, which is probably why it’s easy to take for granted. But if you’re keen on upgrading the look of your home, including it in your list of home areas to upgrade can provide great style and functional benefits.

So, what are the different ways to step up your staircase design? A renowned interior design and fit out company offers the following ideas:

1.     Place lights on the steps.

This is one easy way of taking your staircase to a whole new level. Installing small lights on every step of your stairs can make the staircase look fancy, and at the same time, much safer to use in the nighttime. This design idea will bring a dramatic change to your home’s staircase.

There are different ways to incorporate lighting into your stairs. You can place a flexible strip of LED lights on the edge of every step. Alternatively, you can use LED miniature bulbs for recessed lighting in the risers of your stairs. You could also try replacing the tread with translucent fiberglass and placing lights underneath for hazy lighting.

There’s no shortage of ideas to illuminate your staircase and transform this essential pathway in your home.

2.     Turn a few steps into storage provisions.

If your household can use extra storage to manage clutter, the stairs are perfect for the storage job. Turning a few steps of the staircase into secret storage spaces, however, must be done by interior fit out specialists because you don’t want to compromise the durability of the stairs.

The most common ways stairs can be transformed into secret storage include turning a few of the bottom steps into drawers, or into chests.         

3.     Transform the space under the stairs into a cubby or small home office.

You can get more functional mileage out of your stairs by making use of every space it occupies for a specific purpose. According to the Apartment Therapy website, the underside of a staircase, be it open or closed, offers a lot of possibilities.

Here is two smart interior design ideas for this space: (1) place compact office furniture in the area, and (2) install a cubby to serve as bookshelves, as an entertainment center, or as the kids’ cozy reading nook.

4.     Add a runner.

This can help make the stairs considerably safer because of the cushioning the runner can provide. What’s more, it can make for better indoor acoustics if you have children constantly running up and down the staircase.

Adding a runner can also make the stairs much prettier to look at, especially if the runner has a lovely pattern or the color contrasts with the dominant color of the home’s interior.

5.     Inject character with molding.

Molding can easily spruce up the look of your staircase, and it’s not even difficult to install. You can choose from a variety of designs to make the different surfaces of your staircase look more appealing. Molding for the staircase can also be used to create continuity of design throughout the house.

6.     Add a fancy piece to the newel post.

A bust or other piece of sculpture, a small decorative lamp, a bell, or even a plant attached to the newel post can take your staircase from blah to beautiful. Just make sure to take proportions into consideration so the fancy piece doesn’t overwhelm the space.

7.     Paint or wallpaper the riser.

This easy makeover can instantly make stairs look more interesting. Paint the riser a bright hue or glue different designs of wallpaper or washi for a pop of color.

While this design idea seems like a purely aesthetic-focused effort, it can actually make the stairs safer to use as well because the break in color can improve people’s depth perception of the stairs.

There you have it — seven brilliant ways to make your staircase look great and even more useful. Use one idea, or use them all, when you carry out your home improvement project, and behold the positive difference in your interior space.

AUTHOR BIO

Shane Curran

CEO at Interact Group LLC

Interact Group is a design-led interior fit out company that aims to set new standards in the UAE interiors market. Driven by their dedication to total customer experience, the company's mission is to bring truly specialized teams to complex design and fit out challenges, utilizing their unmatched ability to deliver spaces efficiently and above expectation.