In a small house, the stairway is a
great place to create spatial drama,
and needs room to breathe. On the
other hand, reducing a stair to its
minimum possible size makes room
for other important spaces. These
forces are not necessarily contradictory.
My strategy is to make the
stair as compact as possible, to save
space; then bend the stair and
leave some space around it, to
create some drama.
This article deals with the first
step, making a compact stair. Next
month I will sketch out some ways
to make a compact stair graceful
and exciting.
Setting the Tread and
Other Dimensions
The first step in designing a stair
is to set the dimensions of the
treads and risers