Walk into almost any well-regarded hotel and there is a reasonable chance the staircase will stop you briefly. Not because it is necessarily grand or ostentatious, though sometimes it is both, but because it has been considered. Positioned deliberately. Made from the right materials for the space. Designed to do something beyond getting guests between floors. Hospitality has, perhaps more than any other sector, understood that a staircase is a design opportunity rather than a

There is something quietly bold about choosing concrete for a staircase in a family home. It is not the obvious choice, and I think that is partly why it tends to work so well when it is done right. Concrete carries a kind of considered confidence; it does not try to blend in, but in the right interior it does not shout either. Concrete-clad stairs have become increasingly sought after in contemporary Irish home design over the past decade, and the reasons are fairly easy to

A timber handrail is one of the most handled surfaces in any home. It gets touched dozens of times a day, by multiple people, often with damp or dirty hands. In high-traffic households, that adds up to a considerable amount of contact over the course of a year; and wood, for all its warmth and beauty, does feel the effects of that if it is not looked after properly. The good news is that maintaining a wooden handrail is not complicated. A consistent routine, the right product

There is a moment, walking into a well-designed home, when something stops you. Not always the furniture, not always the view. Sometimes it is the staircase. And that reaction, that pause, is rarely accidental. In high-end interior design, the staircase has moved well beyond its original purpose. Staircase design has evolved towards something more intentional: a structure that sets the mood before a single room is entered, that defines space in a way no wall hanging or light

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about their staircase and very little time thinking about the handrail. Which is odd, really, because the handrail is one of the first things you touch and one of the most consistently visible elements in any staircase design. It runs the full length of the stair; it sits at eye level; it connects visually to the balustrade, the treads, and everything around it. Getting the handrail wrong does not ruin a staircase, but it does create a

Commissioning a staircase is not like buying furniture off a shelf. There are materials to choose from, structural considerations, building regulations to meet, timelines to coordinate with builders and architects, and sometimes a fair amount of money on the table. Getting it wrong is expensive. Getting it right takes a bit of preparation. So before you sign anything, or even shortlist a manufacturer, it is worth having a clear set of questions ready. Not just the obvious one