Why You Never Notice a Good Staircase

You only notice a staircase when it is bad. Climbing a well-designed one you feel nothing at all; a badly designed one you feel every day, on every step.

Comfort is hidden in a few centimetres

The comfort of a staircase is in its proportion, not its ornament. Two things decide it: the rise (the height of each step) and the going (the depth your foot lands on). The generally accepted balance is a rise of roughly 16–18 cm and a going of around 28–30 cm; when “two rises plus one going” comes close to 63–64 cm, the step feels natural. Get those few centimetres wrong and the body knows it on every climb.

Fatigue comes from the total

A few centimetres on a single step look unimportant. But you climb a staircase dozens of times a day. Over the years that adds up to thousands of tired steps. A good proportion does not tire you; a bad one tires you without your knowing why.

It is a question of safety too

The staircase is one of the places in a home where accidents most often happen. Uneven step heights, a shallow going and the lack of a proper handrail are a risk, particularly for children and older people. A good staircase is not only comfortable, it is safe.

The sum of right decisions you never see

A good staircase, like a good home, is the sum of right decisions that go unnoticed. If you do not remember it, it was designed properly. That is what comfort usually is: a detail that works quietly.