If your new home has more than one floor or sits on an extremely steep block of land, you will need a staircase. Staircases are more than just a way to connect floors in a building. They’re also an opportunity to express your personality, enhance the style of your home, and, when designed well, can operate as a storage space or more.
Choosing the right staircase for your home is a little tricky—you need to understand how the staircase will affect how people move through the space of your home, safety, and what your budget will achieve.
Here at Icon Homes, we specialise in helping you to create your dream home, including your staircase. Thanks to our years of experience, we know the first step to finding the right staircase for your home is understanding priorities. Do you want to prioritise your new staircase’s shape, material, finish, or budget?
Understanding what will be your main focus can be incredibly confusing, which is why it’s so critical to get the help of an experienced home builder like Icon Homes.
How to choose the correct staircase for your home
1. Decide on your budget.
It goes without saying that the budget determines which staircase gets built. After all, if you’re building a second-storey home, you’ll need some way to travel between floors. Your budget helps you to decide how elaborate or eye-catching you want your stairs to be, whether you can lean towards higher-priced materials or if you want to keep your stairs simple.
Calculate and understand the costs associated with staircases and materials. Once you have an estimate, you’ll be able to start researching and brainstorming your dream staircase.
2. Positioning within the home
It’s important to consider whether you want your staircase to be a focal point in your home or seamlessly blend into the interior.
Ideally, your staircase will be in a central location or a common area to ensure that all levels of your home are easily accessible. Speak with your homebuilder about staircase positioning to find out where your new staircase can fit and, more importantly, how it will look in its new position.
Additionally, the space below a staircase can be the perfect storage solution. This space could be used for shelves, cupboards, or even a small bathroom, depending on the type of staircase you choose.
3. Research the types of staircases, and create a mood board.
There are plenty of different types of staircases that you can choose from. Depending on your budget and the space available in your new home, some staircases may not work.
- Straight staircases: the most popular type of staircase and the easiest to install, these staircases travel in a straight line with no curves or corners. Icon Homes’ design Killarney 49 is an excellent example of how an ordinary straight staircase can be extraordinary.
- Spiral staircases: this iconic staircase style generally wraps around a central pole, moving upwards in a circle. Spiral staircases have the added benefit of needing less space and support structures.
- Curved staircases: similar to a spiral staircase, curved stairs follow a helical arc, yet they do not typically make a complete circle. Our Wentworth 46MKI uses a curved staircase to make a bold yet elegant statement.
- U-shaped: this type of staircase has two parallel flights of stairs joined by a landing with a 180-degree turn. They are great for homes optimising limited space, such as the Iluka 46.
- Winder staircases: popular in townhouses, this compact style of staircase turns corners and takes up less space.
4. Decide on your materials.
Again, depending on your budget and preferred style, you’ll need to decide which materials you want for your new home.
Timber, steel, glass, carpet—every material adds a different look to your overall staircase and can even set the mood of your entire home. As some staircase styles need certain materials, it’s always advisable to speak to Icon Homes to see which materials are possible and which will help elevate your home’s style.
Did you know that Icon Homes can customise your new home to transform it from just a house to your dream home? If you’re looking to build new stairs, transform old ones, or just wondering which material or style will work in your new home, we’re here to help! Contact one of our talented team members today to find out how we can help you up the first step of your new staircase.
