Are your stairs a major design feature in your home? If not, they can be, and should!

Stairs present so many opportunities!  Special treatment can be given to the:

• Stair Tread – This is, obviously, the part you walk on….the step itself.
• Risers – The part of the steps you look at straight in front of you as you climb…the piece between each tread and the next.
• The Landing – In stairs with more than one section, like the picture here, the large area where you stop and change direction is the landing.  There is also sometimes a landing at the top.
• The Stringer – This is the board that runs the length of the stairs, on an angle…it’s against the wall in this picture.

And of course there are umpteen little trim pieces in there too!

If  you want to do more than play around with the stairs, how about “stepping-up” your railing a bit! There are numerous opportunities here as well:

• Newel Post – Is the big post seen in this picture at the bottom of the steps.
• Balusters - Are the little spindle-ey things that keep little Johnny from falling off the stairs.  They make up the beef of the overall railing and are spaced differently in different areas based on the building code.
• Handrail – I guess that one is easy enough to figure out, but the design options are extensive!
• Balustrade – Is another name for the whole shootin’ match, as a unit.

Maybe you want to get crazy with the design of the stairs themselves.  Maybe you want to throw your design a curve-ball.  How about Spiral Stairs?

Available in kits or custom made, spiral stairs are just plain cool! I hear they aren’t the best for kids though, so think this one through if you’re raising your own crew!

The options are endless and the project scope can be as small as painting your handrail black like my Mom did, or completely tearing everything out and building them new!