Escalier

While right now it’s all a happy blend, Vanbesien has made considerations for a future where he might not necessarily need or want to work a staircase away from his bedroom. “If I stopped working in that office, or we outgrow that office, it wouldn’t necessarily be easy to rent this space to someone else, so we have thought about how we can close it in a bit if we ever need to.”

Johan built the stairs himself. Marble for the kitchen was sourced from a quarry 10 minutes away, as were the limestone floors.

Removing a wall beneath the stairs opened up the interior from the foyer through to the rear patio.

The main entry opens to crisp white living room, which merges with the kitchen beyond.

Weightlessly floating across the interior, the FLIGHT Stack staircase becomes a sculptural centerpiece of this modern home.

“A floating stair system doesn’t have to equal open risers,” says Johnson. “For instance, our FLIGHT Stack system still has a feeling of lightness and geometry without being an open-riser stair.”

Warm and timeless, this FLIGHT Stack staircase from Viewrail incorporates completely hidden stringers and stacked wooden treads.

Viewrail FLIGHT Mono is the first-ever ICC-certified floating stair system. “From a safety perspective, all of our systems are rigorously tested and ICC certified,” says Johnson, “and working with our national team of certified installers ensures the installation of each made-to-order stair system goes as planned.”

Though handrail choice typically boils down to personal preference, a cable or rod railing may be more practical than glass in fingerprint-prone areas or high-traffic locations with kids and pets.

Viewrail FLIGHT Duo suspends stair treads between parallel steel stringers—allowing ultimate transparency through the riser-less backs.

FLIGHT Mono—Viewrail’s flagship stair system—employs a single steel stringer and open-riser design.

One unexpected quality of floating stairs is that they interact visually with the wall and ceiling even more than the floor. “You’re able to create some really extraordinary spaces when you use floating stairs as the unifying element that ties these different dimensions and surface materials together,” says Johnson.

“Viewrail floating stairs work really well with many different styles and design influences,” says Will Johnson, Viewrail’s Director of Design. In this home, rich wood treads and a complementary handrail give these floating stairs a weightless, modern look.

The stairs are hidden behind a core wood block with a high gloss finish for a mirror-like reflection. Fortuitously, there is a window at the top of each run. "They're not perfectly aligned, but they bring light down at every level,

The renovation took seven months to complete.