Modern Handcrafted Stair
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This was an unusual undertaking: a commission for a unique, artful and thoughtfully crafted spiral stair.
Custom spiral stair; Reproduction of photography prohibited
Creating a Functional and Artistic Staircase
The project required designing a staircase to access a sleeping loft in a small, multi-purpose barn. The client provided inspiration from a hand-crafted spiral stair by Wharton Esherick, seeking a design that would blend rustic charm with refined craftsmanship, and complement the barn’s aesthetic.
Salvaged Oak, Leather, and Glass Integration
The staircase was constructed from salvaged white oak timbers, carefully shaped and finished with chainsaws and grinders. A glass guardrail was seamlessly integrated, minimizing visual competition with the wood, while a hand-stitched leather-wrapped handrail added a touch of craftsmanship and warmth.
Rustic Barn With Refined Spiral Stair
The stair is for access to a sleeping loft in a small, multi-purpose, rustic, but refined barn. A delightful inspirational image was provided by the client of a hand-crafted spiral stair by an early-to-mid-century modernist furniture maker named Wharton Esherick, from Pennsylvania.
The builder, or craftsman I should say, was Nate Holyoke, a builder with whom we have a history of collaboration and trust. Nate has a crew of gifted craftsmen who feed on the funky and unusual. This design is the outcome of searching for the right compositional fit to this space where a stereotypical spiral stair assembly with a vertical center post didn’t feel right. Instead, the space felt like it wanted a horizontal composition, fit, and flow. From that decision evolved the stacked assembly of horizontal parts. Spinal analogies are fitting, with the stair made of organically formed vertebral parts, morphing as they ascended, building on a center, twisting spine.
Innovative Craftsmanship in a Unique Design
The primary challenge was to craft a staircase that diverged from the typical spiral design, requiring innovative methods to shape and assemble the complex components. The builders created a half-size model to study and refine the relationship between the parts, ensuring structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.
The Results
The builders made a one-half full-size model from pine timbers to study the relationship of the parts to each other, and to test their methodology of shaping and finishing each tread. The treads are made from glued-up salvaged white oak timbers, then shaped with chainsaws, grinders, and scrapers. The guardrail, a clean and simple insertion of glass (frameless, cantilevered from a concealed steel shoe), is fully inset into the timbers, minimizing visual competition with the wooden composition.
The handrail follows the natural path of travel and is wrapped with hand-stitched leather. The leather was formed around heat heat-shaped PVC pipe that has been filled with epoxy. Leather rings separate each tread or vertebra. This was a true collaboration of the trades: pen and paper with chainsaw and wood.
