How Can a Unique Staircase Balustrade Bring Your Home to Life?

Possibly the most impactful feature of a truly unique staircase – yet one that’s often underestimated – is the staircase balustrade. Whilst other aspects of your staircase, such as the treads, lighting, flooring and shape are hugely important, your staircase balustrade can add striking aesthetic appeal and create a grand statement which will help create a lasting impression.

At Bisca, the range of materials we work with is limitless. We can source and craft the right product to complement the unique style of your staircase and home, whether that be glass, timber, metal, plaster, stone or something completely exclusive to your staircase’s design. Your preferences for shape, position, practicalities, and budget will help us guide you to make the right choice for your staircase project.

Choosing the Right Staircase Balustrade for Your Home’s Design

To achieve its potential of transforming the space it belongs to, a balustrade’s design must be seamlessly integrated alongside that of the main staircase structure. By working with a genuine staircase specialist such as Bisca, your balustrade will be considered from the point of planning the staircase’s initial layout – including its form, style and the materials it’ll be crafted with.

Timber spindles will give you a more traditional effect and are a cost-effective option, whilst forged, machined or cast metal balustrades can be as simple or as ornate as you desire, crafted in both contemporary and classical styles. Glass is also a versatile product and gives a more modern touch. It is important to consider landings and galleries when obtaining quotations, though, as well as the staircase’s location and structure.

Many staircase balustrades will combine two or more materials and can be selected to highlight some of the most attractive characteristics of your property:

Enhancing the Sense of Light & Space

A new staircase was required for an ambitious restoration project at Belvelly Castle in Ireland, which dates back to the 15th century. The brief was to create a unique staircase connecting two levels of the castle tower, which would essentially optimise the space and light without intruding on the beauty of the building’s original walls.

The materials Bisca considered were taken from a carefully chosen palette to fit with the castle’s interior. This resulted in a striking raw steel spine balustrade spiralling up the centre of the staircase, featuring industrial-style metalwork that links closely to the castle’s heritage.

With limited natural light in the surrounding space, we incorporated a glass balustrade on the staircase’s outside edge, which improved the movement of available light. This created a greater sense of space in the area, whilst not obstructing any of the castle’s architecture.

Integrated LED lighting adds further interest. Concealed under the leather-clad handrail and treads, it casts a warm glow over the stair as the natural light fades.

Accentuating Your Building’s Unique Features

The owners of this newly built, oak frame home in Oxfordshire were after a unique feature staircase that would combine soft and minimalistic qualities.

The materials used for the staircase needed to enhance the building’s characterful oak frame and interior design. The inner balustrade is hand-crafted with forged and textured steel uprights with a satin finish, absorbing the colours from the surrounding interior scheme. The staircase is finished with an oak handrail which flows along the entire length of the balustrade, creating a wow-factor sculptural addition that enhances the home’s design.

The outer balustrade is made from glass, which hangs from the first-floor landing. This opens up the entrance hall and frames the unique external views, creating an elegant transition towards a soft feature newel at ground level.

Using Your Staircase to Create a Sculptural Presence

This spectacular sculptural staircase takes pride of place in the centre of this large, open property.

Aspiring to create a curvaceous silhouette with the staircase’s structure, this homeowner’s vision was realised by crafting a carefully-designed, white-painted parapet balustrade on the outer edge, acting as a seamless continuation of the ceiling itself. Oak treads wind through the free-flowing space up to the mezzanine level overhead.

The staircase is framed with full-height windows that illuminate its entire structure. An inner glass balustrade magnifies each glimpse of natural light, making the staircase look almost like it’s floating. As the day comes to an end, the staircase’s integrated lighting shines onto the glass balustrade and oak treads, portraying it as genuine sculptural masterpiece.

Bringing Your Property’s Character to Life

A rustic staircase was commissioned for this conversion to a listed property, playing both a functional and aesthetic role in modernising the building while remaining sensitive to its original character.

The naturally-curved timber beams and uneven cob walls inspired the staircase design and crafting techniques, incorporating chunky green oak treads which will eventually show cracks and twists comparable to those of the existing timber in the property.

From the upper floor, you can see the spiralling effect of the balustrade with tapered steel uprights. Each of these have been hand-forged by an expert blacksmith and crowned by a bespoke leather stitched handrail which leads to a feature newel at ground level.

The staircase continues up to the landing where its metal balustrade transitions to glass at the bridge, illuminating the property’s unique characteristics.