8 Cool Staircase Design Ideas That Will Elevate Your Home’s Look

Taking design to the next level.

At its simplest definition, a staircase is a structure that connects two levels within a home – but in reality, it’s more important of a design feature than you think. Whether in a HDB maisonette or a landed home, staircases take up a huge chunk of real estate and can add to the overall look of your home.

Well, these homes certainly got that memo, with gorgeous staircase designs that you can incorporate into your own home:

1. A grand-looking spiral staircase that doesn’t take up much space

You need only look to the famous photo spot in Fort Canning Park to realise that spiral staircases are both grand and gorgeous.

But apart from serving looks, they actually have a functional purpose as well. As there are no landings involved in its structure, they’re more space-efficient than regular linear staircase designs – so for those of you with narrow stairwells, this is the perfect way to create a visual statement without eating up too much space.

2. A staircase with curved edges for a soft, organic look

If a spiral staircase is too overt for your tastes, or if you live with folks who may have difficulty climbing such a staircase, perhaps something subtler would be more up your alley.

Take a leaf out of this maisonettes in Jurong West and Tampines, featuring staircases with soft, rounded edges. Unlike a regular linear staircase, this design adds a more organic, understated feel to the space, which fits in seamlessly with the home’s overall earthy, natural theme.

But aesthetics aside, this design can double up as a safety feature – especially in homes with rambunctious children, who may bump into these edges when they’re running around.

3. A staircase with an adjacent slide

For the parents (and the eternally young at heart), you may not have the space to turn your home into a full-fledged playground – but you can certainly build a slide alongside your regular stairs to inject a touch of fun.

With such a feature, any normally-mundane activity (like getting up for school) can become way more entertaining and put everyone into a more positive frame of mind. It’s also a great feature to have on a rainy day, when your kids can’t head out to play and are stuck at home with little to do.

4. A staircase with glass handrails for a clean, sophisticated look

For a sleek, contemporary look, consider using glass handrails along your staircases. Not only do the sharp lines contribute a sense of sophisticated simplicity – they also allow light to pass through, thus keeping the look spacious.

Or, you can flip the script and create a bold statement with dark-tinted glass panels, illuminated by warm lighting for a hint of cosiness.

5. A staircase with floating steps

Glass is usually the go-to material to let light pass through and enhance the spaciousness of the home, but there’s another way to achieve that with your staircases: floating steps.

Unlike regular stairs, this particular staircase design involves treads that are connected to the stringers (the support beam underneath) or adjacent balustrades instead of each other. And from these photos alone, you can see why these staircases are such popular designs!

6. A staircase in a contrasting colour

Most homes have dedicated feature walls or areas, but in this Hougang maisonette, you’ll find a more unique focal point: a staircase, decked out in a shade that contrasts the rest of your home’s colour palette.

With its deep reddish-wood treads, this staircase stands out against the home’s neutral, muted colour theme without being too overwhelming. It’s a simple, yet effective way of adding depth and visual interest to the space, wouldn’t you agree?

7. A staircase illuminated by strip lighting

On the topic of focal points, one of the most underrated ways to draw attention to a particular feature (or in this case, your staircase) is via lighting. They create ambience, add dimension, and on a functional level, keeps the space well-lit to prevent falls.

It doesn’t matter where you install said lighting – as these images show, they can be placed along the handrails, on the adjacent wall, and even on the underside of the treads!

8. A staircase with classic carved balusters

While we’re living in the age of sleek, modern designs, those old-school, ornate balusters still have a place in your home (and on your staircases) today. This transitional-style landed home proves just that, with carved balusters that play up the vintage aspect of the look.

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