stair

The home’s entryway features fly-ash concrete floors and stairs cut from recycled steel.

Still life with IKEA lampshade and ventless fireplace. The unfinished, black, welded-steel railing borders steps made of framing lumber, which emit a friendly, old-fashioned creak as Walz treads up and down.

Adding to this visual effect are the rich woods of the FSC walnut cabinets and Engineered Bamboo Nave used throughout the house in the flooring, as well as in a striking feature connecting the lower and upper floors. To help separate the kitchen from the dining and living areas, Nave used the bamboo on the kitchen ceiling. At the edge of the kitchen, the bamboo wraps the vertical wall leading to the stairs before turning horizontal again as the upstairs hallway ceiling and ending in the ceiling of an extra bedroom.

Reaching for the skylight, the five-story staircase is met at the top by the custom bookcase. The skylight opens and closes automatically in response to temperature and weather. This integrated structure is the spine of the house, off of which all other spaces are arranged.

A staircase forms the core of the 1,800-square-foot home, with a symmetrical alcove on either side. The steps, hardwood floors, and slatted bridge on the second floor are made of white oak, providing a rich contrast with its white walls.

The couple connected several of the shipping containers, hollowing out the sides to form large, open living areas. “I’ve always been a loft guy,” says Mathesius.

Confronted with limited space to build the staircase needed to access the living area and bedroom on the second level, General Assembly designed a custom solution. "These stairs are not an ideal design for everyone and shouldn't be used as primary stairs—we like to think of them more as millwork with a little bonus to it, than an actual staircase," Zames says. "The cube construction of the stairs actually came from a budget standpoint. We were very tight on budget and wanted to maximize the material as much as possible."

For more on General Assembly's work, read our story on a Brooklyn loft renovation.

The upper level of the 5,300-square-foot space is accessed via a slender stair with reclaimed-wood treads.

This staircase connects the common area to the guest suites above and the wine cellar below. The interplay of glass and metal on the handrails is a one of the architects’ favorite details.

Another peek at the perforated interior windows, which are made from cropped sections of the steel wall in the courtyard.

The stairs are made of iron, which was coated with white paint from San Marco.

Stainless-steel cables along the stairs function as a second railing without blocking views through the adjacent windows.

Stained oak flooring was used throughout the home’s ground level, and continues up the main stairwell. Painted steel was used for the guardrails.

The architect minimized costs by keeping the detailing relatively simple. That naturally led to simple shapes and clean lines that enhance the home's minimalist feel.

From the second level of the house, Griffin climbs the stairs his own way.

The second-floor family room is fronted by an L-shaped staircase with an opaque guardrail that provides some privacy for the front facade.

Fabricated by Stocklin Iron Works and designed by Nebolon, the orange staircase features steel railings and treads made from IKEA wood butcher blocks. “We designed the open staircase to make the trip to the second floor fun,” the architect says.

The main staircase consists of simple oak treads that cantilever out from side walls sheathed in natural vertical board and are supported on the other side by a continuous grill-like railing truss.