Staircase Design Ideas

The look of your stairs should coordinate with the rest of your house, so don't try to mix two dramatically different styles, like traditional and modern. For the steps themselves, carpet and stone are popular traditional materials, while metal or floating wood steps are trendier options. The stair railings don’t usually get much love, but really are the perfect opportunity to let your creativity flow. While pairing two opposite styles is not recommended, subtling mixing up the rail and tread styles can make for a showstopping effect; for example, an industrial-style rail can help make wood treads contemporary, or an ornate metal railing can help enhance the mediterranean feel of stone treads.

If you don’t want to commit to full-blown carpeting, stair runners are an easy way to mix up your style and protect the material underneath. In the end, even though appearance is important, you should first and foremost think about creating functional staircases. If you have young kids, an open railing or hard metal steps can become a safety hazard, while dogs and common household traffic might scratch up wood. If you’re absolutely in love with a few staircase ideas that might be less that ideal for your families needs, get creative and with faux-look materials and coordinate with your contractor or designer to find a compromise.