Stunning Staircases: 61 Styles, Ideas and Solutions


One of the things I love the most about my job as programming manager for DIYNetwork.com is discovering the things you love about us, but also the things you want to see. And long have I labored on a piping-hot laptop eager to fulfill a common desire among passionate DIYers: staircases!Let's face it, very few of us could add an interior staircase where there isn't one now or heavily remodel an existing one. More approachable DIY staircase projects are utilizing them for additional storage or painting them. A wooden staircase, especially one that has lost its luster, can be painted with powder-room-esque gusto, as Shannon Kaye demonstrates here.
How to Paint Decorative Stairs 03:49
Shannon's project — coupled with your response to it — caused us to dig around for more painted staircase inspiration, like Bryan Patrick Flynn's step-by-step faux runner and seven more colorful examples.
Staircases Painted to Perfection
See All PhotosAnd then there are those of us who love the infinite design aesthetics of a smartly conceived flight of stairs. Wooden staircases immediately come to mind, but the traditional medium doesn't mean design has to follow convention.
Wooden Staircases for Branching Out
See All PhotosAnother time-honored staircase medium that is enjoying renewed interest is iron. Although the perception of iron staircases can be dominated by the standard bar railing, you'll delight in some of the breathtakingly intricate designs we discovered.
Elegant Iron Staircases
See All PhotosMore and more often, under-stair storage is graduating from standard shelving and cubby holes to more imaginative options that embrace kitchen, home office and family room entertainment.
Stylish Options for Staircase Storage
See All PhotosI don't know about you, but I remember the (shag) carpeted stairs of my youth. They left a lot to be desired in terms of function or looks. Today's runners, however, are a perfect way to enhance your home's style with colorful panache.
Runway-Ready Carpeted Staircases
See All PhotosAnd no staircase compendium would be complete without the most inspirational style a homeowner could conceive of when considering a remodel or build. Although in line with more Modern homes, floating staircases are enthusiastically embraced in most any home style.