10 Vintage Staircase Design Ideas

Stairways can be things of great beauty if given the proper care and treatment. When designing a staircase, it is essential to remember that stairs are not merely passageways from one part of the home to another. Instead, they are integral for setting the feeling of a home. Fortunately, there is no shortage of ways to design a staircase to make it a charming, alluring part of your home. If you want to give your staircase a vintage vibe, check out these ten vintage staircase design ideas to achieve that feeling.

One popular approach to beautifying a staircase is to give it a vintage look and feel by procuring the right stair hardware and balusters, giving it an appropriate paint job, and using the correct kinds of materials.

1. Go with Wrought Iron

Wrought iron immediately evokes a sense of the classical with its elaborate, ornate designs. Therefore, installing a wrought iron banister is a fantastic way to convert your staircase into one that immediately conveys a vintage feel.

2. Install Decorative Balusters

Maybe wrought iron isn’t your style. However, if you want to create a vintage-looking stairway, installing decorative balusters is a must.

For those unfamiliar, a baluster is a term for the spindles that live between the handrail and the stair tread. Much of the charm and creativity of your staircase will be derived from this.

The implementation of more plain balusters is a recent development. Therefore, installing some stylish balusters helps create a vintage staircase that stands out from the crowd.

3. Paint Your Wooden Staircase

While the natural look of an exposed wooden staircase is one way to get a vintage feel (more on that shortly), painting the stairs can also meet the same end. Moreover, painted stairs can still provide many of the design qualities of wood while still enabling you to personalize your home.

The best way to go about this with a painted staircase is to have the step painted one color and the riser painted another or left natural. The two-tone appearance can add an elegant, vintage look to your steps while making them slightly safer to navigate, assuming that no carpet is present.

4. Paint It White

Another way to transform a staircase into something that looks a little more vintage is to paint it white. However, some folks aren’t too keen on a purely white staircase.

That’s okay. A great way to utilize white paint without overwhelming it is to paint the riser white and allow dark wood treads to remain exposed. This will help to give your stairs a look of sophistication from a former period.

5. Have an Exposed Wood Staircase

We told you we would come back to this point. If you want to achieve a vintage vibe bursting with character, strip your staircase down to its bare wood. This look is not only vintage but rustic and warm. Just give them a rich stain and coat them to protect them from foot traffic.

6. Get a Newel Post

Since a staircase is often visible from the entryway of a home, installing grand entry elements like newel posts is a fantastic way to impress visitors while also achieving a vintage look to your staircase.

A newel post is the main post at the bottom of a staircase. It is typically much bigger than all of the other posts (balusters), which is excellent for drawing attention to your beautiful staircase.

Additionally, modernization has largely done away with newel posts. This means that installing one is a great technique for giving your staircase a more traditional and mature appearance.

7. Include a Runner

Maybe you like the idea of a painted or exposed staircase but don’t think it to be practical. Simply including a runner up the middle of the steps can help protect the stairs (and the people who use them) while still allowing the stairs to show through on both sides.

8. Curve the Case

If you are looking to go all-out with your staircase redesign, a great way to get a more vintage feel is to add a slight curve to your staircase, with the last step being rounded off to support the newel post.

9. Build a Double-Ended Staircase

Again, if you are looking to completely redesign your staircase and have the room, a double-ended staircase with two newel posts is a grand thing to have in your home.

However, while these will give a vintage feel and appear rather regal, they can take up a lot of space and be quite expensive.

10. Make It Spiral

Much like the two aforementioned vintage staircase design ideas, this requires a whole new staircase. However, these take up far less space than curved or double-ended staircases.

Spiral stairs have a long, storied history but are not often seen in the modern world. So, if you want to install a vintage staircase in your home that doesn’t take up tons of space, this is your solution.

Step Up Your Vintage Staircase Design Ideas

Vintage staircases are a fantastic way to increase your home’s character and value simultaneously. By embarking on this project, you are sure to make your abode unique on the block.

No matter your taste or budget, there is sure to be an idea that suits you and your home’s needs.