We finally (finally!) finished the basement stair. It’s a small portion of the big 2010 project, but looking back at what we started with, it’s come a long way! A couple of photos from 2006 (before we moved in):
Seriously, stair of doom! When our house was built in 1910, there was no interior stair connecting the two levels (access to the basement was through an exterior door). Sometime around, oh…1964 or so, part of the kitchen was given up for a funky L-shaped stair to get to the basement. (I can only imagine that the stair was halfway built when someone noticed that pesky chimney.) Needless to say, it all had to go. During our basement structural remodel in 2008, we tore out the chimney and the old stair and Kyle built a temporary stair that we’d been using since. But now we have a real stair with a handrail and everything…I can even carry a basket of laundry up without having to duck or turn sideways!
Even though the stair is more or less in the same location, we basically started from scratch. Since we plan on finishing the basement (someday!), we wanted the connection to be as open and inviting as possible. The new stair also needed to be code compliant (since the old one was obviously not!), which meant making it wider, the treads and risers bigger, and providing adequate head clearance as you come into the basement.
In terms of design, we wanted to keep things simple. We used vertical grain fir for the risers and treads (treated with OSMO hardwax oil) and Kyle made a custom handrail out of steel and fir. We’d like to do a big piece of art on the handrail side, and we’ve talked about doing something on the opposite wall (which is also the back side of the stair cabinet), but no brilliant ideas just yet.
One of the challenges with taking out walls and making our house more open is that it was difficult to decide where to stop (which also explains why we couldn’t really do the rest of the main floor on a room-by-room basis). We decided that our goal would be to do enough so it looked finished from the main floor, while minimizing the line between “done” and “definitely not done”.
…and this is that line! Fortunately, we bought some inexpensive IKEA curtains and rods a few years back and they’ve been migrating around the house, serving as temporary doors, room dividers and window curtains depending on what the current project was. So we’ll just mount the rod to the underside of the beam at the bottom of the stair and hang a few curtain panels and boom! Instant hide-a-basement!
[We’ll put together a separate post with detail shots of the handrail and stair construction.]
The new stairs look really fine. I think it was a lot of work 😉
I love before and after shots. I for one probably wouldn’t have considered buying a home if it had stairs to the basement looking a bit like the after effects of an apocalypse. But thats just me who thinks that a renovation is giving the walls a fresh slap of paint and purchasing new door knobs.
I love how beautiful the stairs look like in contrast to the basement. It’s almost as if you’re entering another dimension once you hit the bottom of the stairs. 🙂
Great job guys! Congratulations too on the Dwell article! I am officially addicted.
Ahhh, today is the day where I find like-minded souls and can prove to my husband that I am not insane for for tackling projects like this! Great job!
Beauteous! I am jealous of your new stairs. It really is coming together in the spaces you use on a daily basis, isn’t it?
You guys are geniuses– totally inspirational when it comes to DIYing your home. I always look forward to your next blog posts. Keep up the amazing work.
New to chezerby but will definately be hanging around. ( already picked your brains on the basil planter and purchased the small one!) You really do tackle some major projects and you certainly tackle them well. I love your home and what you have done to it and will be returning for further inspiration : )
Thanks Catherine! Good news, after a shaky first week (I didn’t water it enough), the basil seems to be thriving!
Ha! Do not fear the sledge hammer! =)
I know, the basement does feel like another dimension right now…can’t wait to at least get it cleaned up and organized again. And speaking of apocalypse…did you see the furnace that came with the house (on the basement before page in the house tour)? Scary!
i see you puppy!
awesome redo!
WHOA! those before shots! You know, the best part of your new stair is that shot looking back toward the front door as if you are about to go down the stairs. I LOVE that all of your circulation happens on that axis. whether you’re going up, down, inside, or outside, it all happens along that line. SEXY!
Ha! I’m pretty sure we’re violating some feng shui, but you’re right…an axis of circulation is sexy!
Great work as always!
love the new stairs! so warm and yummy!
[…] month we finished the basement stairs. We used VG fir for the treads and risers and Kyle designed and fabricated the handrail out of tube […]
Brilliant! How great job you did! My family are planning to move out to old Victorian house, and I want to renovate basement. I think your post will very help me. Thank you for sharing and I’ll keep read your blog.
My husband and I have just purchased a home in Saint Paul, MN. It was built in 1911 and I have been thinking it would be nice to open the staircase to the basement up to the rest of the home. But the railing is so beautiful (original) on the staircase above it. Very similar layout to your stairs. Also, I would need kid friendly. So the search goes on… 🙂