Mr & Mrs King, Merseyside
Why a new staircase?
Over the years we have updated our bathroom and kitchen and redecorated every room in the house, but lived with the same two tired ranch rails on our 1970s staircase. Rather than give them yet another lick of paint this time round, we decided to see what sort of refurbishment would be possible for such a small staircase, to bring it into the 21st century.
Inspiration:
We only had one newel post at the foot of the stairs and two ranch rails that encroached over the treads and fastened onto a batten on the first floor, with no landing balustrade at all and wondered whether a renovation would be viable on a staircase like ours. We wanted to use local company if possible, Abbott-Wade was recommended so we looked them up. We were impressed with what we saw and read on their website so decided to give them a try.
Decision making process:
As soon as Janet came out to see us we knew that we need not look elsewhere. She showed us how we could diminish the balustrade into the ceiling to add width to the stairway and add a matching handrail to the other side as we knew that we would require a full length handrail over the coming years. She also said that the small angular bottom step could be remodelled to be wider and curved to make it more of a feature. Then together we looked at the possible styles available and samples of material that would suit us. There was no hard sell and it was up to us to make the next move. It didn’t us take long to decide.
Style choice:
We chose glass to make the small hallway feel bigger and more open and to complement the use we have made of glass in our kitchen and lounge, and opted for the polished chrome glass clamps and handrail fixings for added detail. As we prefer natural materials we decided on oak for the rails and posts, the colour and grain also suited the flooring we had in the hall and meant no more painting in the future.
End Result:
We couldn’t be more pleased! The transformation is amazing; it gives our small, dated hallway and staircase a real wow factor. We love it for its simplicity and style and have received lots of favourable comments from family and friends, especially when they see what can be done to such a small area. The workmanship and attention to detail is very high. The team of three included one of the directors working alongside an apprentice to enable him to achieve the desired standard. They were all very personable and lived up to and beyond our expectations. Thank you Abbott Wade.
