The switchback.
A white oak switchback for a family home, with hand-shaped newels and integrated safety gates.
Some clients want sculpture. Some clients want a stair their kids will run up and down ten times a day for a decade. This Lincoln Park family home wanted both, and a switchback in white oak with hand-shaped newels was the answer.
The stair threads through a tall, narrow stairwell with winder treads at the turns, a closed-riser white-painted structure, and a continuous oak handrail. The shapes are classical — but the wood is light, the balusters are slim, and the overall feel is closer to transitional than traditional.
The detail to study is the newel post. Hand-shaped from solid oak, with a tapered body, a small chamfered cap, and a stepped base, it reads as a piece of free-standing joinery — almost a piece of furniture. Two of these posts anchor the main run, and a third sits at the upper landing where the railing terminates.
The other signature is the safety gates. The home has small children, and rather than bolt on an off-the-shelf gate, the family asked for something that would belong. We built two custom oak-framed gates, balustered to match the railings, with black hinges and latches. They're the kind of detail you only notice once you start looking — and once you do, it's clear someone thought about them.
Two oak-framed safety gates, balustered to match the railings — built to belong, not to bolt on.
Lower flight — winder treads at the turn, balusters at full pitch.
Wider view of the lower run with the closed wall on the inside.
Mid-stair detail — slim balusters against the white-painted risers.
The closed-riser construction in white oak and painted white.
Looking up the multi-story stairwell to the daylight at the top.
Mid-flight closeup with the hand-shaped newel anchoring the rail.
One of the custom oak-framed safety gates — built to match the railings.
Looking down the run from the upper landing — both gates visible.
The upper landing, with the gate closed and the run heading down.
Tell us about the stair your house deserves.
The switchback.
A white oak switchback for a family home, with hand-shaped newels and integrated safety gates.
Some clients want sculpture. Some clients want a stair their kids will run up and down ten times a day for a decade. This Lincoln Park family home wanted both, and a switchback in white oak with hand-shaped newels was the answer.
The stair threads through a tall, narrow stairwell with winder treads at the turns, a closed-riser white-painted structure, and a continuous oak handrail. The shapes are classical — but the wood is light, the balusters are slim, and the overall feel is closer to transitional than traditional.
The detail to study is the newel post. Hand-shaped from solid oak, with a tapered body, a small chamfered cap, and a stepped base, it reads as a piece of free-standing joinery — almost a piece of furniture. Two of these posts anchor the main run, and a third sits at the upper landing where the railing terminates.
The other signature is the safety gates. The home has small children, and rather than bolt on an off-the-shelf gate, the family asked for something that would belong. We built two custom oak-framed gates, balustered to match the railings, with black hinges and latches. They're the kind of detail you only notice once you start looking — and once you do, it's clear someone thought about them.
Two oak-framed safety gates, balustered to match the railings — built to belong, not to bolt on.
Lower flight — winder treads at the turn, balusters at full pitch.
Wider view of the lower run with the closed wall on the inside.
Mid-stair detail — slim balusters against the white-painted risers.
The closed-riser construction in white oak and painted white.
Looking up the multi-story stairwell to the daylight at the top.
Mid-flight closeup with the hand-shaped newel anchoring the rail.
One of the custom oak-framed safety gates — built to match the railings.
Looking down the run from the upper landing — both gates visible.
The upper landing, with the gate closed and the run heading down.