Builders & Renovations FAQs

What are the different styles of stairs?

As the name suggests, a staircase is a stairway to one or more flights of stairs leading from one floor to another. It's worth mentioning, stairs are one of the oldest architectural aspects of a building. If you are building your dream home or renovating your existing home, the stairs you choose will play a big part in your home's design.

There's no doubt choosing the most suitable and practical style can be a little daunting, and consideration needs to be given to practicality, style, safety, and budget.

Whether you choose contemporary, classic, or modern, each style, has its own unique set of features and benefits and making the right stair shape choice will definitely add to your comfort and enhance your home’s appearance.

Visualize how your stairs will enhance your home

No matter what style your home is there will be a staircase design that will be a beautiful addition to your decor. And a perfect option for your needs. Sometimes stairs are not just stairs, they are so much more. When we talk about staircases we need to consider not only the actual stair but the shape that will enhance the design and functionality of your home.

With so many options available, it can be hard to decide which style of stairs is right for you.

To help make your decision we have put together this guide to the different stairs styles.

Stair designs explained

Straight stairs

The name speaks for itself. Straight stairs feature a single linear flight with no change in direction.

L-Shaped (quarter-turn) stairs

With this classic straight-style, with this design, the stairs make a 90-degree turn at some point, going left or right after the landing.

Winder stairs

This design is slightly more complicated than the L-shaped staircase. It has a set of winders - treads that are wider on one side than the other and takes the place of the landing to save space.

U-Shaped (half-turn) stairs

This design is considered basic. The bend is taken even further to form a full U shape, and similar to the L-Shape staircase, a landing separates the two parallel flights.

Spiral stairs

Spiral staircases look impressive, the design is compact and centred around a single pole. When looking at it from above it would form a perfect circle. However, the spiral staircase’s narrow wedge-shaped treads are not the easiest to transverse.

Curved stairs

A curved staircase has no landings. Instead, the stairs are continuous, following the bend of the bannister to make a striking architectural statement.

Bifurcated stairs

This is the grandest of all staircase designs. This style is often used in cruise ships, including the iconic Titanic. Bifurcated stairs include one sweeping set of steps that splits off into two smaller flights going in opposite directions.

Outdoor Stairs

When stairs are used in an outdoor area, they are generally referred to as steps. This is due to the fact that steps are a single structure that is the riser (the bracket creating the distance between each step) and the tread (the horizontal part of the step that your stand on).

Outdoor steps are usually made of timber, steel, and concrete. Not all homes need to have steps outside, however, if you have a deck, or patio or your home is elevated steps usually are required to enter or access these areas.

For professional advice on staircases or outdoor steps that will suit your new home on the Gold Coast, contact Symcorp at 07 5558 3812 and speak to our home design team or complete our online inquiry form.

Reference

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/types-of-stairs-explained