Floating Wooden Staircase in Double-Height Hall

Open risers leave a gap where the back of each step would normally be, so light and sightlines pass right through the stair. In a double-height hall that matters, because it stops the staircase from walling off the seating and the window behind it. The whole space stays connected. The trade is that open risers are less suited to very young children, who can slip through the gaps, so a gate helps while they are small.

The guard is built from slim horizontal metal rods with a wooden handrail on top. Thin rods were chosen so the railing barely interrupts the view through the stair, unlike a solid glass or panelled balustrade. The wooden handrail warms it up and gives a comfortable grip. A curved wrought-iron scroll at the base adds a softer, hand-worked detail against all the straight lines. Metal railings like this are hard-wearing and easy to wipe down.

It is the same white veined marble that runs through the hall, which keeps the floor looking like one continuous surface. A bright marble under an open stair matters, because the floor stays visible through the treads and becomes part of the view. Marble is cool underfoot and long-lasting. Its one demand is care, since it marks and stains more easily than tile, so spills near the stair want wiping quickly.

A brass cube pendant hangs in the double-height void beside the stair, filling the tall space with light that a low fixture could not reach. Track spotlights and an arc floor lamp cover the seating at the base. Because the window is so tall, daylight does most of the work by day. Lighting the void itself is the key move, since a double-height space goes dark up top if you only light the floor.

They are, provided you treat the open risers with respect while children are small. The railing here meets the guard it needs, and the treads are solid walnut with a firm footing. The gap between risers is the only real concern for a toddler, and a removable stair gate handles that for a few years. Once children are past the crawling stage, an open-riser stair is no less safe than a closed one.

Usually yes, because the load that a normal staircase spreads through its risers and stringers now runs through a single engineered spine. That steel has to be designed and fixed properly, which is where the cost sits. The treads themselves, in solid walnut here, add to it. What you buy is the light and openness a closed flight cannot give. It is worth getting the structure engineered rather than trimming that part to save money.

The floating design itself works at any height, but it gives the most in a tall or open space where the see-through effect really shows. In a normal-height home with walls close on both sides, much of the airy quality is lost, though you still get the clean, light look. If your stair sits in an open plan rather than a closed shaft, it is well worth doing. In a tight enclosed stairwell, a simpler flight makes more sense.