The Stairs and Galleries Unveiled...

This little post was missed out of the March unveiling. So for completeness here are some photos of the finished staircase and galleries...

I am so glad we had solid slabs of marble laid for the steps, as the join lines in tiles would have done my head in. I am also fond of the non-slip tread which was laser-cut into the top of each of the risers.

The hand rail is not as obtrusive as I had imagined it, which is good.

Now we just need to wait for the art to arrive. In the meantime the upstairs landing and long gallery are rather spartan...

Above: The reflection of the light in the polished marble.

Below: A quiet corner to sit awhile, with flowers and our guest book.

Above: The long gallery, with 2 bronze busts and a large Italian painting. I would like to place a long line of busts down it like this...

And in time swap the painting for a mirror...

Stairs and Balconies....

As we started looking around at options for a staircase last week, I thought I would do a post on the sort of staircase ideas that we have looked at so far...

The stairs have to be a sweeping design, curving up from the foyer to the first floor landing.





Unfortunately there was no room to have a grand staircase rising from the centre of the foyer to a small landing before splitting to either side, so instead, we are looking for the most gracious sweeping staircase that we can find.

The steps will be in the same stone as the foyer, and the balustrading will match that of the Juliet balconies on the front of the house. There is a divine cast iron and gilt balustrade in the Petit Trianon at Versailles:

The detail close up is amazing:

There have been many blog posts about the stairs at the Petit Palais in Paris. This sort of staircase is the one we are likely to settle on.

As the staircase is open to below and the balustrading is continued on 3 sides of the atrium above, it is important to find something which will make a statement.

The other option for balustrading would be ornate plaster work:

But I think that wrought iron is more elegant. What do you think?

Some staircases are more practical than others when making an entrance :-)

Here is a simple example of how the balustrading used on the stiars can be used again for the balconies:

and

If anyone has found a picture of an especially glorious flight of stairs, please feel free to post the URL in your comments so we can check it out :-)