Falls on staircases can be major cause of accidents in the home, surprising it is often the smaller staircases e.g. split level stairs which can be the most dangerous. Often risks to a stairs user can be caused by lighting that falls in pools, leaving other areas dark or encourages shadows when it is necessary to see clearly. It is essential that practicality and safety is placed first over sexy lighting design features.
Staircases should convey a sense of airiness and be welcoming. Quite often, stairwells and landings do not have windows or at least ones that cannot be opened. Even if fresh air is circulating through open doors from ventilated rooms, the air will not appear to be fresh. If a stairwell does have a window, the sunlight streaming in will give the impression of freshness, and these windows should have the minimum amount of curtaining possible.
If there are no openings for natural light, you will have to create the impression of sunlight by trickery. One common trick is the skylight, which allows the maximum daylight stream down the entire length of the stairwell with the added bonus of being toplighting.
Another is to put in plain glass doors that lead into rooms off the staircase and borrow the light from their windows. Finally, in new houses there are small openings with wide reveres which can be designed at strategic angles of the stair. These tricks can be supplemented by introducing artificial light to increase the effect.
Light “borrowed” from other rooms can be enhanced by placing table or floor lamps in areas of the room where their rays can blend with the daylight. The wide ledges created by the obtuse opening angles of the wall slits can be used for table lights or lights concealed in the opening’s top.
With new houses, it is easier to allow the maximum light to flow into the halls and staircase because you are able to construct the house to suit, unlike older houses with other conditions.
Diffused light created by translucent shades or other covers placed in front of both daylight and artificial light provide an overall soft glow. This technique is excellent for halls and stair landings where close work such as reading are never done, but where you need to see steps and obstacles.
Strong lights can be built into the staircase wall at baseboard level, giving the treads a beam of brightness. Modern light fixtures can be mounted into the staircase itself, great care and attention is required when considering this technique.
Author:
Slattery & Acquroff Stairs
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