Loading summary
Transcript189 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Welcome to Dear Alice, A lifestyle approach to interior design.
- [00:23]
B
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today we're going to be talking about stairs. We have a listener question.
- [00:30]
A
Yeah.
- [00:31]
B
Which really lit us up. And we said we've got so much to talk about and show. So if you guys are. If you can tune in to. To watch, we're going to be showing you the anatomy of the stairs. Lots of examples, lots of examples of our work and some other examples of things that we hope to try in the future. So I think this is going to be a visual feast.
- [00:51]
A
It is. And I think it's like, it's the personality flavor, you know, like, you can do a lot more with stairs than I think people. People realize or give themselves credit to express. Because your stairs, I'm like, it's one of the few architectural things inside the home that you get to experience from like plane to plane and walk by and like, I don't know, it does a ton. So, yeah, I'm really excited for today.
- [01:11]
B
I also feel like stairs are a real signature element of the homes we work on. We break our brains over custom newel posts, custom balustrades, really making a fashion statement because the stairs are usually a central location or at least central to the entry, and they are a moment. And so we'll usually really break our brains over a custom floor tile installation and custom stair balustrade situation.
- [01:39]
A
It's a memory point.
- [01:40]
B
It is.
- [01:41]
A
Oh, do you remember holiday?
- [01:43]
B
Yes.
- [01:43]
A
And everyone's just like, okay, we'll talk about the holiday. And then it always goes to, how about that striped runner?
- [01:50]
B
Yeah.
- [01:50]
A
In the English cottage, you're just like, I know, small. It's like most humble English cottage. But the stripe runner gave back that much that we all talk about it still.
- [01:58]
B
And speaking of striped runner, at the very end of the podcast, Suzanne threw in a few little favorite resources for striped runners at the end because the staircase wouldn't be complete without getting the right thing on the stairs too. Yeah. So we're going to be breaking that down today.
- [02:15]
C
Yeah. So our question came from Karen Sambonga, but she also left us an amazing review, so I thought I'd share that first and then we'll get into her question.
- [02:25]
A
Karen.
- [02:26]
C
Yes. Thank you, Karen. She wrote in and said, I just love your show and will forever be eternally grateful for it. And you? I started listening about a year ago and have binge listened to every episode on my morning walks and runs, repeating shows on YouTube and re listening to many episodes over lunch, driving and even while dyeing my hair. I feel like I've taken a crash course or masterclass in design and I've needed it a.
- [02:54]
B
That's the best.
- [02:55]
C
Super nice of her. So thank you so much.
- [02:57]
B
I can picture you, Karen, dyeing your hair, doing this. You're. You're like me. I'm a multitasker too, and I love listening while I'm doing something.
- [03:05]
C
It just takes the boring out of it.
- [03:06]
B
It really does. I thought.
- [03:08]
A
I thought it was dying. Exactly. Drying her hair, like, I'm like, she's dying.
- [03:12]
C
I'm sorry.
- [03:13]
A
No, but I'm like, that sounded really fun.
- [03:15]
B
Yeah.
- [03:15]
A
You're dying your hair and listening to us at the same time. How creative is that?
- [03:19]
C
I wouldn't put it past Karen, though.
- [03:21]
A
I know.
- [03:21]
B
Karen.
- [03:22]
A
Karen, Karen, Karen.
- [03:23]
B
Thanks for the great review.
- [03:24]
C
That's so n. Great. So, yeah, like Jess said, our podcast today is from a question that Karen gave us as well. So this is the question she wrote. I need your help navigating one of the major design points in my home. A set of floating stairs that are. Are part of the entry and the main living area. The living room is a two story room with large glass sliding doors overlooking an infinity pool out to the lake. Sounds amazing.
- [03:53]
A
Hello.
- [03:55]
B
He has a pool and a lake. Yeah.
- [03:57]
C
It's a transitional style home and I am worried that the floating stairs will make too. Too modern of a statement and start dictating other design elements in the interior. The fireplace is a real wood burning fireplace with a French country mantel cast in limestone. I know, right? Most of the floating stair designs I see use glass handrails. Every stair design in my inspiration deck before we decided to do floating uses metal balusters attached to the treads or on top of the stringer or on the side of the stringer. I'd really like to have balusters as I. As I think this adds a. An elegance to the overall design. At the same time, I worry I'm not embracing the floating stairs and letting them be the statement element that can. That they can be. If I try to hide all the things that make them in fact, floating. Do I just need to let go of my lovely balustrades?
- [04:56]
B
Okay.
- [04:57]
C
That's a lot. It's. It's a lot to unpack.
- [04:59]
B
Sue, go.
- [05:00]
C
Yeah.
- [05:00]
B
Sound off, girl.
- [05:01]
A
No. With everything you've said, Karen, I feel like you play this a couple different ways. If you do a floating staircase and we're going to show you some pictures, all the research that we've done is that when I see Just a floating staircase. And floating staircase, just so everybody knows what we're talking about is when the actual tread is essentially looks like a floating block, it'll usually have like an iron, like base stringer underneath. And you often, like she said, you'll have like a glass rail that's just like going. So it really does appear to be floating, which is really, really beautiful. Whenever you see iron balustrades, like hooked to those treads, it kind of takes the float away from it. Like, it. They're just. It feels like off weight. It feels unbalanced. And so with floating staircase, I like glass the best. And if you wanted to do this, it is modern and like, if you play it right, it could be cool. Like. But it's the mo. It's the modern thing. It's like the French. Oh, the, the awesome Parisian apartment that has modern elements with the super traditional. Because, I mean, architectural pieces. Your fireplace is traditional. Wood burning, limestone mantle. And then you have a glass staircase. And it's almost like it wants to be the only thing that is modern amongst all those. If you move forward with it, or we would say ditch the floating staircase and like carry with the rest of the architecture. So it just depends on your, you know, your transitional. So you could probably pull it off the glass, but there's going to have to be a lot of different efforts you put into the overall aesthetic to make it make sense. Otherwise it will feel like a miss.
- [06:34]
B
It feels like from you describing your home, Karen, that you should go with the set of stairs, just regular stairs, not floating with that iron balustrade that you're craving that attaches to the stringer. Like, that feels like the right thing.
- [06:49]
A
Most authentic. Yeah.
- [06:50]
B
The floating staircase thing, you've got to be all in with it because it is an architectural feat. You want it to look weightless and to float. And like sue said, you put an iron balustrade on top of floating staircase, and it's a little bit of an oxymoron because you're adding a lot of weight to visual weight to the stairs. Iron balustrades are heavy looking and it has all of this railing now that this floating element is supposed to uphold. It's just, it's. It's the right. It's trying to combine two things that don't go together. We did find, we did. We did a little bit of research and we did find some images just to sort of show you the difference. So those of you that are tuning in and, and watching this is on screen right now. This Is a floating staircase, if you will. And it does have a handrail on top of it that's iron. And then it looks like we've got aircraft cables that are strung through horizontally. You just don't need all of this. We really don't. I think this horizontal line on the railings is also kind of a dated thing in contemporary design.
- [07:53]
A
And a liability.
- [07:54]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [07:55]
B
Both sue and Corey have little kids. Why is it a liability, Sue?
- [07:58]
A
That is a ladder to launch, is what that is like.
- [08:02]
C
Yeah.
- [08:02]
A
I've seen it before, and I've rescued children before from these things, because it's just. They're ladder rungs. They're gonna fly, like. Or they will fall, actually. They're. No one's flying.
- [08:13]
B
Don't you think, too, like, the stairs have enough beautiful rhythm. That is happening. You don't need to add all of this in the mix, too. You just need to allow them to float.
- [08:23]
A
And I will say, majority of plans, when we get elevations, like, this is like, the basic thing that architects probably had in their system for a long, long time. They know that we're gonna do something new, but the client sees it, and they're like, well, should we go with this? And I'm like, no. You could do so many more neat things, like, don't just call it in. Don't phone it in with the ladder.
- [08:41]
B
Yeah, yeah. Opposite of the ladder I have on the screen right now, this is a floating staircase, and they went with vertical metal balustrades. And it just kind of makes the staircase feel ordinary. You forget the fact that it's floating because your eye is going to the handrails and whatnot. And then you're like, oh, yeah, that is. Look at that. That is floating. But you don't get the credit for it that you deserve, because I feel like all of the weight of the handrail is taking away from the floaty effect.
- [09:09]
A
And you kind of get competing rhythms, because your vertical repetition and then your other repetition of the floating stairs, when if those were, like, running into, like, one solid stringer. That's the thing that has the rhythm.
- [09:20]
B
Yeah.
- [09:20]
A
Not competing with the treads.
- [09:22]
B
Yep. Okay. So this is a great example of a floating staircase. This is a home that we did in Dallas. It's our St. John's project on the portfolio. This is shooting the home at dusk, and you can just see the lights on inside, and you really get this floating staircase effect because you don't have handrails in the mix. You do have a little thin wood handrail on top of the glass sort of pony wall, if you will, just to be able to hold something as you go down these stairs. But you can see it's an architectural feat. And that is just such a highlight. It feels like a backbone in this home. It's just stunning. And then this is a shot from the interior of the home during daytime. Again, you just want that really floating effect. You get that vertebrae coming down that center spine. All of the handrails are floating. Of course, you're up against a two story glass wall, much like Karen has a two story glass wall. So Karen, if this is a look that you like, if you can envision this and then your infinity pool and then the lake, I. I think it's visually stunning. But you do have to sort of got. You check yourself and go, yeah, that's the feeling I want in my house. This is very chic. Right. And contemporary.
- [10:32]
C
Yeah. Would you guys say, like, even though even like this home is transitional, it may. The entire home may be leaning a little bit more like contemporary? It's. Yeah. If, if you're. If, yeah, if you're leaning like traditional, it's probably, you know, if you are transitional but leaning traditional, probably not the right call to do floating.
- [10:52]
B
Yeah.
- [10:52]
A
And also, and also thinking, Karen, because it has such a view of a lake and a pool, you probably don't have window grids. But if this stair, if that whole wall had window grids, it would complicate the floating stairs.
- [11:04]
C
Yeah.
- [11:05]
A
Again, definitely don't do the battle streets on the floating stairs if that's the case. And it's just, I don't know, you wouldn't get near the points if you did have grids on your window, like with a floating stair.
- [11:15]
B
Yeah.
- [11:15]
C
So, yeah, I think this to consider. I think this home, like, illustrates that point like, exactly. Like, it's giving the stairs, like that system all of the credit because. Yeah. Of the. The two story glass wall, but also the glass pony wall down it.
- [11:31]
B
So it's this big. Ta da. This big vibrato. This is what we're celebrating. And when you walk into this room, you're like, you get that, oh my gosh, this is incredible. You would just complicate it and fuss it up. And I think you lose that, that big aha moment with even more rhythm and complicating because it's just supposed to be this effortless, chic architectural feat, you know?
- [11:54]
C
Yeah.
- [11:54]
A
The architect, like, place on that home of the exterior desk. Like the architect placed it so that as you approach the street, that's the first thing you see is that end of the house with the staircase. So. So definitely something to boast. I love it. But I think there's definitely rules that go along with floating stair.
- [12:11]
B
Yeah, for sure. Here's another floating stair. If you're watching. This is in a project we did actually here in Utah. This home is contemporary, very black and white and still really chic. Um, so that gives you that feeling. And now we're going to get into your. The other look that you really like. Karen. And this is the iron set of balustrades and newel posts and handrails. This is in Rachel Parcel's home. We've got the. The fittings that attach to the stringer. The stringer. For those of you. We're going to. Just really quickly, let's go through the anatomy of the stairs so that. Just so that everybody is familiar with this. So if you guys are watching, you'll be able to. To see exactly what we're talking about. So the parts of the staircase. Corey, will you take us through this? You're a. Yeah. You're a shop guy.
- [13:00]
C
Let's start with the newel post. That is what the handrail runs into. So it's like typically like a bigger. Let's think of it as like a bigger balustrade.
- [13:10]
A
Yeah.
- [13:11]
C
And then the balustrades obviously run from the handrail to the stair of some kind. Whether that's the tread itself or the stringer. Stringer. Um, so those run vertical up or down the stairs. Uh, and then the tread is like what your foot is stepping on when you're going. When you're walking up, up or down the stairs. Uh, the riser is pretty self explanatory, but it is the part that goes from one tread and then rises up to the next tread.
- [13:39]
A
A little vertical flat number that like connects the two treads.
- [13:43]
C
Yep. Um, and then the stringer is like. It can either be on the wall on the inside or most commonly on outside of the like an exposed staircase. And that just runs up the same pitch of the stairs and it's below the tread. And again sometimes the balustrades are connected into the side of it. So I always think of it's like.
- [14:06]
A
The baseboard for the stairs.
- [14:07]
C
Yes, exactly.
- [14:07]
A
You know, like that's how I like visually.
- [14:09]
B
Yeah.
- [14:10]
A
Explain.
- [14:11]
C
Yeah. And then. Yeah, that's pretty much the. The anatomy.
- [14:16]
B
Yep. Okay.
- [14:17]
A
Rules for the. I will just say for the tread and the riser, it's a 7 11. Usually like you have an 11 inch deep tread and you have a 7 inch. So easy math. 711 is your riser and tread if you ever need to remember that.
- [14:28]
C
Great. Yeah, that's. That's awesome.
- [14:29]
A
Because we've always. We've all stepped on stairs that we're not that ratio. And you're like, that is not especially.
- [14:34]
C
Homes built back in the day, you know, where it's like we got to get up in that attic somehow. And it's like more like a ladder.
- [14:39]
A
Yeah, it's like a seven. Seven.
- [14:41]
C
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
- [14:43]
A
Okay.
- [14:43]
C
Jess, we've been getting a ton of questions on who makes your glasses.
- [14:48]
B
Oh, really?
- [14:48]
C
Yeah.
- [14:49]
B
Oh, my gosh.
- [14:50]
C
Everyone wants to know.
- [14:50]
A
You guys.
- [14:51]
B
I'm so. I'm at this age now where my near vision is leaving me. You're not quite as old as I am. Yeah, but sue, you're experiencing this 40.
- [15:00]
A
Hit and like, yeah, I needed my glasses before, but I really, really need them now.
- [15:04]
B
Yeah, between 40 and 45, that cell phone type gets really tiny. So I was in search for the perfect pair of readers and I tried Look Optic. And I have to say I've loved them so much that I've actually began working with them a little bit as an advisor. And my dad's an eye doctor, my brother in law is. I really, really love eyewear and it's been really fun to be back in the game. And I love the readers. I love the fashion frames. It's not a pair of frames that looks like I'm wearing something made for men. You know those readers when you go to Walgreens or. Or when you go to the grocery store or somewhere, and they're just like a three pack and they all look like they were made for men. Look Optic actually has really cute frames that are made for women, especially for.
- [15:48]
A
Again, those ones that look like men's. They look like a giant man on my little head.
- [15:52]
B
Yes. Suzanne small. Suzanne has a child sized head and they actually have minis at Look Optic. The Diane Keaton collection. I gave you all my Diane. Diane Keaton.
- [16:02]
A
I love the Diane Keaton collection. They fit my, like, head great. They're comfortable. They have the cutest colors, like some from a matte. They have the bone ones. I love them so, so much.
- [16:10]
B
Yeah, they're cute. And one of the, one of my little, like fast passes, I want to tell everybody is that if you do the progressive lens, it's clear up top, you just get magnification in the bottom where you need it, because that's how you're looking at a cell phone or you're reading paper down here or on your laptop, you don't need magnification out the top because that's going to make your eyeballs look huge.
- [16:30]
C
Yeah.
- [16:31]
B
And then you really look like you're wearing a reader. So we're trying to like keep this low profile. And so I always go with the progressive. My favorite styles, I really love the Laurel. And they have this cool one that's like the Muse. It kind of looks like a 70s update. It's cool they have one with the pink lens too. In fact, my daughter stole that one from me. It's great. Anyway, you guys can discover your own styles. But I will say Look Optic has been such a gateway for me as I've needed to jump into that reader category.
- [17:00]
A
Right now you can receive some free glasses from Look Optic. All you have to do is text ALICE to 21252. That is text ALICE A L I C E to the number 21252. The first 20 new customers will get a free pair of readers. And if you're an existing customer, we also have an amazing discount for you. If you go to lookoptic.com you can use the code ALICE15 for 15 off.
- [17:25]
B
So here we're in Rachel Parcel's house and this was. This is a really special detail. Most of the time you're gonna have a balustrade come down and really connect into that tread. That's the most common thing that you see in all homes. So this is like the extra credit thing that you can do and more European. I think this definitely has an old world feel to it.
- [17:46]
C
And I think if you're going to do this, you have to have a lot of interest in your balustrades. It can't just be like a. It has to have something unique to it or there's no point in connecting it to the stringer. It should just run into the tread at that point. So, yeah, if you're going to do that, create some interest with your balustrade, let's say.
- [18:05]
B
And when you listen to the description of Karen's home with like the limestone floors and the French country mantle cast in limestone like her real wood burning fireplace. I look at this set of stairs and I think this would be so charming with the aesthetic that's already existing in the home. So I think, yeah, it really is. It's so elegant in European and black iron and so very pretty.
- [18:34]
C
Probably easier to kind of tie all of that together with, you know, a more like traditional staircase. Right. Than like floating. The. The floating maybe could be Done. But it's going to be a lot of work trying to make that fit with. With everything else. Would you guys agree?
- [18:49]
A
Yeah, I think so. Especially with all those traditional architectural elements, matching that traditional element and then taking your transitional. Some more modern, like, cleaned up moments that becomes more topical, at least architecturally. It's all speaking the same. The same language.
- [19:02]
C
Yeah, that's a great point.
- [19:03]
B
Yeah. So I'm going to show you one more set of stairs that we did in a project here in Utah. And this is a similar idea, but a much more straight design. Where Rachel's were had a lot more soft lines. This we're attaching. It's a black iron balustrade. We're also attaching to the stringer, but we're offsetting it with a little brass detail there.
- [19:28]
A
And this is part of our Windsor manor project on our portfolio, if you want to go look at it. And the rhythm of this was so much fun, even though, like, she's a little bit more transitional and the straights. But those little brass, like, she. Those brass fittings were like. It wasn't like this came from a stock catalog. It looks simple, but the brass little knuckles and stuff, those came from England, I think. And just anyway, it was. It was still complex, but still very, very unique. If you. Not if you're listening to this, definitely go check it out on the portfolio because I think how we did those, remember when we were sketching this out, just those horizontal, like, little connections and things, those details is what makes us so special. That follow the tread.
- [20:06]
C
Yeah. I mean, it is. It is simple and kind of like we were just barely talking about. Has to have some interest if it's going to go into. Into the. Be tied into the stringer like that. One thing I think it's amazing about this is how it's in groups of three. You have two mounts into the stringer per tread, but it's a rhythm of three. That's what I think makes it. Yeah, that's what I think makes it unique and interesting. And also the little detail that's like 8 inches down from the handrail kind of ties into the stringer mount as well. It kind of just plays off of that. So I think that's really cool. Again, super interesting. Which. Yeah, yeah. Needed to happen with tying the stringer.
- [20:46]
B
Yeah.
- [20:47]
A
One thing as. Sorry, Justin, go ahead. One thing as you guys are designing your, like, custom your balustrades in this, like, really big showcase of a stair right in your home is that you'll see things that, like look really beautiful. But there are certain codes here in the US that you have to be. You can only have four inches between each ballast. Any. There can't be any width up the stairs that's bigger than 4 inches because your kids will stick their head in and they'll get caught and hurt. So if you see something that's wider than 4 inches, it's international, and we can't do it here or.
- [21:19]
B
Or congratulators. Or grandfathered in.
- [21:20]
A
Or grandfathered in anyway.
- [21:22]
B
So you might want to keep those old handrails because grandfathering is really fun.
- [21:27]
C
That actually happened to me at our house. We had a rail built for outside walkout. And the guy, the inspector came and he had a ball that was 4 inches, and he would, like, put it through, and it slid through, and he was like, you gotta. Gotta redo that. So shoot. Yeah, don't try to get away with it because you'll end up rebuilding your handrail. So there you go.
- [21:46]
B
There's that. I was gonna point out that these are all customers, so you're not going to find these pieces and parts available on a catalog for you just to put this together. You're going to work with an iron worker in your town, somebody that's really good with metal, and you're going to. You're going to work out all of these details, which is, again, a real signature element of the home. Yeah, yeah. And I want to say for Karen out there, this. I think this application on the one that's on screen right now with the more straights, this could lend this little bit simpler, could lend a little more transitional, where I feel like I'm going. Going back to Rachel's. This feels a lot French. French, yeah. A lot more French, a lot more European. A bit more feminine and fanciful, if you will. So if you're craving something a little bit more transitional, this could be a way to still get that European feeling that you already have going in your home, but modernize it a little bit. Make it transitional.
- [22:47]
A
This could live really nicely with your French fireplace.
- [22:49]
C
Yeah, super cool.
- [22:51]
B
Yeah. Another. Another view of that space. And now we're getting into our Washington, D.C. project. This is Capitol Heights on the portfolio. Those of you tuning in on YouTube or Spotify can see this. Sue, tell them what they're looking at here.
- [23:07]
A
Okay. When we pitch this to the client we had, we always try and do a high and a low because we're responsible. So this was the high.
- [23:15]
C
Good for them.
- [23:16]
A
Good for. And, like, we all fell in love with it. And so What? This is custom balustrades going directly into the tread. Um, that is one thing I just want to point out. Like, all these go into the floor to the tread, which I think is a more expensive look than having an iron, like, solid piece that runs, like, all the way up the angle of the stairs. That's a less expensive way to do it than doing it directly into the tread, which, again, I think feels a lot more custom into the tread or obviously onto the stringer. But this was a hundred percent custom. This is all brass, antiqued brass. And that as far as, like, the full. What is that length of the balustrade is like this fluted brass.
- [23:58]
C
I didn't notice that.
- [23:58]
A
Cylindrical. That's cylindrical. And then it goes into, like, a little knuckle on the top and bottom. And then we, like, straighten out into those blocks, those brass blocks that go into the handrail and then go down into the tread. So the whole thing is custom. It was very expensive, but it looks very expensive, and it is one of my favorite to date.
- [24:16]
B
I agree.
- [24:17]
C
I was gonna say, like, taking those balustrades so they're on the tread coming down the stairs. Obviously that's normal. But then kind of continue on that landing, then going back down, like having them run into that marble and just, you know.
- [24:31]
A
Yeah, that's like, ditch the new post, guys.
- [24:36]
B
Oh, gosh.
- [24:36]
C
And then. And then you didn't lay same material down. It just went into the material that was the floor on the landing or. Yeah, whatever floor. That's. That's awesome.
- [24:45]
A
Make sure you have a good builder. This is one. I mean, there's a lot of, like, out of state ones that were, like, really hand holding, like, making sure the builder knows it too. The builder, like, was able to execute this so beautifully without, like, with just the images, the drawings and stuff that we handed them to. So.
- [24:59]
C
That's so cool.
- [25:00]
A
I just love it.
- [25:01]
C
Suze, we were just barely talking about the cozy earth sheets and how much you love them. Tell the people about it.
- [25:06]
A
Yes. Okay. The cozy earth sheet set I'm so passionate about because my husband, he sleeps hot. I usually sleep cold, but this is, like the grand temperature regulator. I love these. I love them in the summer months especially because, like, we can both sleep really, really comfortably. You know when you hang, like, one leg out of the sheet and you're trying to, like, regulate, that doesn't happen. They're so good. I love them so much. They're temperature regulating. It's guaranteed to give you a comfortable night's sleep. They're made from viscose from bamboo and they naturally wick away the heat and the moisture from your body, helping you sleep several degrees cooler. So we're not all fighting over the thermostat anymore. We just got Cozy Earth sheets. It's amazing.
- [25:43]
C
It's the way to go. And they also have a hundred night sleep trial so you can try them during the hottest nights of the year. If you're not in love, return them hassle free.
- [25:52]
A
That's proof positive that these things work.
- [25:54]
C
Yes, luxury shouldn't be out of reach. Go to cozyearth.com and use code Dear Alice for up to 40% off Cozy Earth's best selling temperature regulating sheets, apparel and more. Trust me, you'll feel the difference the very First Night. That's cozyearth.com code Dear Alice Sleep cooler lounge lighter. Stay cozy.
- [26:16]
B
Okay. This is such a hard highland manor on the portfolio. This is a home where actually the limestone stairs existed. We got rid of all the railings and then we created a custom design for this one. This is so special because we've got circles and we've got curved shapes interacting and it's. This is a really real geometry of a thing. And, and I think a favorite too amongst, amongst all of ours.
- [26:44]
A
You know, the continual line drawings that where you never lift up your pen and it just continues. And it's like this eternal round that was part of this. Like this was actually one of our dear friends we've done a home for before.
- [26:55]
B
She's in my neighborhood. Yeah.
- [26:57]
A
And she. Anyway she found her person later in life and they just had like so much as far as at when we went into this she had a lot of feedback as far as this eternal round and never starting, never stopping. And, and that influenced like her, this relationship influenced the stair railings. That's how personal. That's crazy you can get with your home guys. So that's why this is so special that never once does it start, stop. It just continues, isn't it? This eternal round.
- [27:24]
C
So I also love that there's no like standard newel either that it just, it doesn't, it kind of makes it feel like that rhythm just keeps going on forever because a big like hefty new would. Would be like this is a period on the end of that sentence, you know. That's really cool.
- [27:40]
A
I think this is also very reflective of the client. Not only that story, but in the fact that when you look at it in first glance like it's beautiful. It's contrasting with everything around it. But when you start to look up close, you realize how magnificent it is. And I feel like that's how everything she does. She's, like, magnificent at all the details. Like, she's an executive, she's an engineer, but, like, just even how she dresses, you're just like, it is luxury to the nines, but she does. It's not bright fuchsia. Like, it is sophisticated as you can get. And I feel like that is completely represented here.
- [28:12]
B
Changing gears, we're going to go into a home that was recently built, but reads like a historical home. This is our Lindenart Manor in the portfolio, and they have a really special staircase.
- [28:25]
C
Yeah, when I walked in and saw this for the first time, I honestly had never seen something like. It's super cool. So kudos to you, your team. So awesome.
- [28:34]
A
There's something very historical about this. She wanted to feel like an old pioneer house type of thing, you know, with the rock and the overgrowth. And so when we're trying to, like, we. This is like, right when you walk in, the stairs are right there, and we're like, doesn't need to be iron. Doesn't need to be like, what? And should it be? And like, it's not the exact same, but do you know, like on the Mark Twain boat at Disneyland.
- [28:54]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [28:54]
A
You know how that's wood cut out, right? It's like that. But this is a much more simplified motif, and it's in a stain that's. Anyway, so think about that, guys. It's not. So this is a full, like, wood pony wall, for those of you listening. That goes, you know, from the actual, like, skirt to that 36 inches or so. And we did like the CNC cutout with the builder along this whole thing. And then we curved that Noel post down so it kind of like pulls you back towards the hallway that you need to go through to see the rest of the house. So this is such a cool application. I just. I love it so much. We've done this a couple times with two different clients. We'll show you the next one. But it is like, people, this is such a memory point because you just don't see it that often. But the shapes aren't complicated. I mean, not to say that this is an easy or inexpensive thing to do, because it's not. But it's like the shapes are. I don't know, they're simple, edited. But the rhythm is just so interesting. It's like when you get that light shadow play when you see all these verticals and things happening, like with the wall treatment or architecture, the stairs can do that same thing.
- [30:01]
C
Talk to me about like using. Because what I think a lot of these rhythms and kind of the common denominator I'm seeing, all that's like is our circles. So like you're taking. Yeah, you're like pretty, you know, basic shapes for the most part. Rectangles, obviously they're, you know, angle, because they're going upstairs. But like you use circles a lot in that. And I think that does like a. A great job to kind of give it more interest, but also kind of doesn't make it feel so blocky, you know? Yeah. So like when you're like creating a rhythm, like, are you intentionally like, oh, this needs some like roundness to it. So let's. Yeah. Like what's your thought process in that?
- [30:41]
A
Yeah, I think in anything. We talk a lot about non directional objects in general just to take the edge off. And like with stairs, you're dealing with 90 degree angles over and over and over as you ascend a staircase. And so again, those that radius, that round, it just softens everything. It allows us to kind of create those shapes on the, you know, on that new post and the art man, or linden art. But yeah, and they're just fun, like dots to play with. I don't know. At the end of the day, we're just like kids drawing. And so.
- [31:10]
B
Yeah, I think that softens it.
- [31:11]
A
Softens it.
- [31:12]
B
Yeah, it takes direction away. And you can see too, the light fixtures are going to give you some of that soft shape too.
- [31:18]
A
So now we're looking at a picture of tiger oak. And this one was really fun because it. Where we could have gone with like a traditional iron, we did stay complete. Wood paneled pony wall going all the way up the stairs and then on an actual breezeway that hits at the top of the stairs.
- [31:36]
C
How do they. And sorry, continue. I was just gonna ask, do you know how they make that new. Like, is that. So this is tiger oak. And the newel is kind of like the Linden art manor one where it kind of is a radius, but it's obviously a straight wall that kind of turns into a radius on the last tread. So like, do they make God's hands okay? Yeah.
- [32:00]
A
I don't know somehow.
- [32:02]
C
Sorry. That's just like the engineering part of my brain just being like, how. How's that done? How would I do that? But I think it's really cool because again, that's like adding a radius to finish work that is, you know, rectangular. So it's just like. Yeah, it just. That's where my eye goes. And I'm like, that's just really the raddest point.
- [32:21]
B
And it's also kind of the part that's at human scale because this is a two story entryway. And you do see that pony wall and all of this beautiful finish work. But that radiused lowest part of that whole design is where the human enters. And there's like that softness as you kind of come in and kind of walk around the arcuated part and you interact with it.
- [32:41]
A
You hold that as you go up, and I'm like, that's a really fun.
- [32:45]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So great. And this is. I feel like this isn't done as often either. So it's really fun to be able to see this in a space. And it's very continuous. And yeah, I think there's a lot of sort of mystery and interest, like what's around that corner? And yeah, I love the any. I love the paneling details, the sconces, everything. For those of you that can see this, the pony wall is a really, really fun idea on the stairs.
- [33:12]
A
And I like that we didn't like, stop it at the stair, like, elevation. It goes all the way down, which I think is like, what makes like this space. It's the only spot in the whole house that's two story. So, like, that verticality is just so, so much more enhanced than if we, like chopped it short, you know, at the ankles and just let it drip. It's so good.
- [33:31]
B
So good. Yeah, lovely. This. We have an example on screen. This is a remodel, and I think a lot of us can relate to. To this idea and this image. This is a client that really want go for it on the interiors. She left the exterior of this 90s home, beautiful brick home. And we were trying to figure out in the budget what would make the most impact. And at the end of the day, she just has a set of stairs that go down to the basement. They don't go up. It's a. This is a Rambler type home. And in the end, we just said, let's just spray the existing oak balustrades, handrail, this whole stair system. Let's just spray it all black. And then let's really put the money into this new marble floor and some of the other things that we were doing. So I wanted to just show you the impact that just painting something existing that has a. In a beautiful silhouette. It really pulls the rhythm out. It made it feel a lot more fashionable, like a Great necklace or something like that. And it, it completely took away the 90s spirit of this home. So this is a really affordable trick to do if you're not going to be doing custom is. Could just really figure out an awesome stair runner. You could pull a great paint color and just celebrate the rhythm of a staircase and sink your money into something else. And this is what this looks like.
- [34:54]
A
I'm. I just want to say, like, just make sure it's glossy.
- [34:57]
C
Yes.
- [34:58]
A
Oh, say if that was flatter satin, it'd be like such a bummer. They just painted it. But when it's glossy, it feels new.
- [35:04]
C
Yeah. And it's going to soak up all like, if you just. If it's not glossy, it's going to soak up all like your oils from your hand and stuff when you're going up and down the stairs. Yeah, that's probably it. From the sheen of it, it kind of looks like a lacquer. Is that.
- [35:16]
A
Yeah, I think they sprayed it.
- [35:18]
C
Yeah. So if you're going to do that, you can actually do a tinted lacquer. So you pick a paint color, go to. I always do use Sherwin Williams, but yeah, they can take a lacquer and tint it with whatever color, you know that you specify. So.
- [35:35]
B
Yeah, total squirrel. But in that same note, that's what we do in kitchens as well. Like remodeling. Kitch is a tinted lacquer because it's so hard wearing and you are going to be inter interacting. I mean, it's the hardest working room or bathroom in the house. Yeah.
- [35:51]
C
Yep. So true.
- [35:52]
B
Okay. Back on task. This is one more historical staircase. This is existing. This is. This home's on the national registry in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is early 1900s. And just the rosettes and the beautiful big oak newel post here. Just so special.
- [36:10]
C
If you're going to do a box newel post, like, that's the way to do it. Yeah. That's amazing.
- [36:17]
B
Even. Even the balustrades. Yeah, even the balustrades are so special. It doesn't read like from Home Depot. You can tell the turnings and, and all of the special detail and rhythms in this are just. I don't know, they just don't make them like they used to.
- [36:32]
C
Yeah. Yeah. Even just the size, like the thickness of that, I can tell that that's not like a. Yeah. Big box store.
- [36:38]
B
And in a remodel like this, you're like, whoa, that is gonna stay. We are gonna celebrate that. Choose a runner. We're Going to furnish this. We can paint other things, but that needs to just remain as is.
- [36:51]
C
On the opposite side of that, though, on the wall, though, like taking that curvature of that, like Wayne's cotton coming down and not just doing like a miter, you know, that'd probably be like 22 and a half degree, but, yeah, just kind of like having it curved down. Super cool.
- [37:07]
B
So cool. Yeah. Really beautiful. So that hopefully answers your question, Karen, about what we would do at your house. And hopefully the rest of you on for this ride, got to see some really great stair rails and ideas for your own home and just see the impact that a really incredible, inspired set of balustrades or a situation like what's on screen right now could do to your house. This is an absolute iconic moment for you. So if you're maybe living in an older home, this could really inspire something new that helps you leave your mark on it.
- [37:45]
A
Let's say one more thing.
- [37:46]
B
Yeah.
- [37:46]
A
Stairs for those of you again, that, like, as far as we all have a budget, we get it. We have gone through catalogs and just, like, looking for the more interesting balustrade that has, like, more like, unique things, like ones that have, like, a tulip, repetitive shape or, you know, just like, just be brave and do something interesting. Like, even if you're, like, looking through a catalog, we've done it before. There's different pairings and fittings and things you can do to make it a stocked piece a lot more interesting.
- [38:15]
C
So that is. Yeah. And also maybe take about, like, balustrades that are from different sets, and then you can create like, an. Your own rhythm. Because a lot of the times, like, when you go to, like, a. Like a. A door shop or something where they sell balance, they'll be like, this is the package that you get with this. It's like, well, let me get, like, some of those and then, you know, some of these other ones that have, like a. A shape to them, and then, like, create your own rhythm with that. You don't have to just, like, buy the package that they're selling you, you.
- [38:46]
A
Know, and you can always, like, chop again, like, versus creating a custom balustrade. You can take one that's in stock, you could chop off a portion of it and have them solder, you know, one that you actually like anyway, that's still less expensive than making a whole new one. So.
- [39:00]
C
Yeah.
- [39:00]
A
Anyway, there's ways around it. Be creative and. Yeah.
- [39:04]
B
Yeah. Good. Well, you guys, thank you for listening. And we have our summer sale going on right now. So it's a really good time to shop. If you are working on a project and needing anything, furniture, accessories, it's site wide. It's 20 off alisonehome.com so go check it out. Get yourself something really nice. No code needed. We would love for you to comment below and review. This is how we can grow the show. And if you have any interior design question like Karen's, we would love to hear them. So you can send those to dear Alice alicelanehome.com and we'll catch you next time. Hey thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.