Ideas for Modernizing an Old Staircase
Here are some ideas that you can put to use to modernize an existing staircase.
13/01/2023
Your staircase is a focal point of your house, especially if it’s in a main room or right inside your front door. But in many older houses, the staircase was mostly for function and left a lot to be desired in terms of design. While you can hire a company like Royal Oak Railing & Stair to design a custom staircase for your home and completely refresh your decor, there are some things you can do to modernize an existing staircase. Here are some of those ideas.
Add or Remove Carpet
A quick way to change the way your staircase
looks is to either add carpeting to a wooden
staircase or remove carpeting from a wooden
staircase. At one point, carpeting was all the
rage and some beautiful wood floors were covered
up. If you’re lucky enough to have wood floors
beneath your carpeting, removing the carpet and
polishing up your floors can really make your
staircase pop.
Likewise, if you’re tired
of wood floors, you can add carpeting to your
staircase in any color and style you prefer to
get a completely different look. It probably
won’t break your budget to add carpeting just to
your stairs and it will make a huge difference
in sound and warmth. Just be careful not to
create a bottom-stair illusion by blending your
last step in with your landing floor. This can
be a hazard, especially for older people.
Replace Your Balustrade and Newel Posts
The balustrade and newel posts on your
staircase are the most visible parts of the
structure. As such, if you replace these two
components, you are essentially getting a new
staircase without touching the actual steps.
Some of the more creative ideas for a
modern
balustrade include glass panels, wooden
spindles, or intricate wrought iron designs. The
balustrade can have a wood finish or you can
paint it any color you choose to match your
decor.
Newel posts are support structures
for your staircase, but there’s no reason they
can’t look fabulous as well as perform an
important function. If you’re changing your
balustrade, it makes logical sense to also
change your newel posts, especially if you’re
going in a completely different decor direction.
For instance, if you’re adding a wooden
balustrade with glass panels, it wouldn’t make
sense to keep wrought iron newel posts.
Add a Wall Railing
Adding a wall railing opposite your balustrade railing is an excellent way to modernize any stairway and make it safer at the same time. Many older staircases only have a railing on the open side of the staircase, but there’s no reason you can’t have one on the wall side as well. In fact, it will help you with balance issues and just make it safer for everyone to ascend and descend your stairs. As an added bonus, it will keep your wall free from fingerprints, too.
Conclusion
Modernizing your staircase isn’t as difficult as you might think and you definitely don’t have to redo it completely (although that’s always a valid choice). Use one or more of the ideas here to give your house an instant makeover.