Your staircase is one of the most visited areas within your home, providing a convenient means for your family to transfer between the rooms on the ground floor and upper levels.
It captures the attention of visitors when they first enter your home, so it needs to be looking its best. After all, a tired and outdated flight of stairs can quickly become an eyesore and potentially lower the value of your house, should you decide to put it on the market.
Below, the team at Abbott-Wade share some of our top tips to take your stairs from basic to brilliant – without spending a fortune!
6 modern staircase ideas
1. Replace the bannisters and spindles
A fantastic way to freshen up the look of your traditional balustrade is to swap old-fashioned, scruffy-looking spindles with modern alternatives.
For example, black metal spindles will change the character of your staircase and make a stunning statement in your hallway.
Glass panels and rails can be used in place of wooden spindles and newel posts to modernise your staircase. These will allow natural light to flood into your home, giving it a brighter and more spacious feel.
2. Add a fresh lick of paint to your stairs
Whether it be to cover up chipped paintwork or to breathe new life into your tired staircase, adding a new coat of paint is a cost-effective option.
Whilst there are endless colour options to choose from, contrasting colours, such as black and white, are amongst some of the most popular modern staircase ideas at the moment – creating a bold statement.
Before you repaint your stairs, though, you must sand down surfaces to remove old coatings of paint, varnish and oils. And it’s important to use a good-quality primer to ensure a durable painted finish.
3. Fit a new handrail
Replacing a loose or wobbly handrail with a new one will ensure the safety of your household – allowing them to stabilise themselves as they climb up or down the stairs. More than that, though, it can give your home a brand-new look with minimal effort and disruption.
If you want to give your staircase an elegant, rustic feel that aligns with the rest of your décor, you can’t go wrong with a wooden handrail – painted in a colour of your choice to match the treads, balustrades and spindles.
If you’re after a more modern handrail design, stainless steel is a great option that works well with glass panels. Lighter colours tend to offer a more contemporary look and feel than darker hues.
4. Light up your stairs
Stairway lights are a great way to help children, elderly relatives and pets to see where they’re going when using the stairs in the dark – reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. But they’re not just an important safety feature.
When combined with minimalist architecture, a well-lit staircase can give your hallway a modern look and feel, whilst bringing a touch of luxury to your home.
Popular modern staircase ideas include fitting LED strip lights to mark the edges of your steps or using them as a guide along the handrail. Or you could illuminate your staircase with recessed wall lights. If installed at ankle height, these shouldn’t dazzle users but will light up your pathway whilst showing your staircase in the best possible light.
5. Add a funky carpet runner
Some people love the warm and rustic look of wooden treads, while others prefer the softness of carpet underfoot. If you fancy a bit of both, laying a carpet runner down the centre of your staircase – leaving the edges of your wooden treads showing – is a fabulous idea.
We’d always recommend choosing a high-quality carpet with a durable underlay to ensure it stands the test of time. However, when it comes to choosing a colour, pattern and texture – that’s entirely your decision!
You’re sure to find plenty of lovely designs, but if you want to give your outdated staircase a fun vibe, consider animal prints or bold stripes. Not only do these make a quirky addition to your stairs, but they also help to conceal visible signs of wear and tear – meaning you won’t need to replace them for a long while.
6. Reclad your treads and risers
When looking for modern staircase ideas, it’s important not to disregard the functionality and safety of your staircase.
If you’re unhappy with the way your stairs look, cladding them with new treads and risers will help to spruce them up – giving them a fresh new look. Another great thing about staircase cladding is that you don’t need to rip out your existing stairs – the new treads and risers can be fitted to the worn ones in place.
Wooden stairs are notoriously slippy, but our expert joiners can reclad them with non-slip oak – a material which has an attractive grain, is resistant to wear and tear and will provide a little extra grip for your family and friends when going up and down the stairs.
Want to discuss your requirements with a specialist?
The team at Abbott-Wade are always on hand to guide and advise you.
Whether you’re looking for a little inspiration and could do with some more modern staircase ideas, or you have plenty of your own weird and wonderful design concepts in mind, we’d love to hear from you.
Either call us on 01744 634 442, email info@abbottwade.co.uk, or fill out our online enquiry form for a swift response.
