On most occasions, the most dramatic spaces of houses and buildings are the stairwells. It's remarkably easy to achieve an emotional moment--delight, awe, etc...by designing the path of travel up and down a stair. Commercial building codes have often relegated egress stairs to functional, sterile and miserable shafts devoid of style. At worst, they are intimidating spaces that discourage their use. Residential designers can make a staircase architecturally ineffective by making the transitional spaces at the top or bottom too small or too dark. The detailing--type of railing, colors, flooring, is less important than the sculptural effects and proportions of the transition areas.
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