4 Timeless Wood Stair Ideas That Will Never Lose Style

Wooden stairs are one of the most common staircases found in residential UK properties and it’s no wonder why.

Your staircase is one of the main focal points of your home, so it’s important it looks great, right? While there are many wood stair ideas to consider, you will need to take a few things into account agreeing on an idea. Budget, aligning your staircase design with your current decor, bannisters and our speciality, carpet runners and stair bars and rods.

These are crucial factors to consider before you start seriously considering your wooden staircase Below, we have outlined the four core wood stair ideas, taking into account budget, style and staircase type.

Oak Wood Stairs

One of the most common staircase designs is the L-shape and lends itself towards all staircase materials. They are a variation of a straight staircase but with an L-shape, typically located near the bottom or top of the staircase. 

L-shaped stairs in oak offer a timeless and truly authentic appearance and usually take up less space than straight staircases as they’re able to bend with the shape of the house. This makes them ideal for the corner of a hallway or room. Oak as a material is also incredibly versatile and it is easy to paint and decorate if this is something you’re considering.

You can also choose to add carpet runners, door bars and rods to L-shaped stairs, despite their shape. If your L-shaped staircase is a natural oak colour, we’d recommend a pale blue or cream carpet stair runner with jubilee stair rods.

Maple Wood Stair Designs

Maple offers a lighter, tanned hue that truly shines in homes flooded with natural light. Like oak, maple is extremely versatile and is able to match most interior design elements of your hallway or the room where the stairs are located. 

Alongside its aesthetic qualities, maple is also an extremely hardwood floor, almost as much as hickory, which we’ll talk about further down. Maple will withstand heavy foot traffic for decades and are about the same price as oak stairs (the middle range of staircase material prices). It’s also worth noting that maple has its own sub-categories or species, mainly soft and hard maples. Each species comes with their own durability and aesthetic benefits depending on what wood stair idea you’re looking for. 

Hickory Wood Stairs

Hickory is arguably the most durable wood stair idea on our list. If you’re concerned about durability, maybe you’re installing wooden stairs in a high foot traffic space, like a restaurant, office or cafe, then hickory is a popular choice. 

It’s slightly more muted in colour when compared to oak and maple but still looks very smart. Hickory staircases work best in rustic decor, so bear this in mind.

Walnut Wooden Stairs

Immediately walnut harbours key aesthetic differences to oak, hickory and maple. Walnut is naturally darker and harbours a warmer tone, ideal for traditional homes. Walnut falls into the more expensive wood stair idea category, especially if you’re combining it with staircase railings and newel posts made from walnut.

Walnut is a great wooden stairs idea if you have kids and/or pets, as it hides scuff marks and general wear and tear very well thanks to its darker colour. The only addition we’d suggest making to walnut stairs would be a lighter carpet runner and country pewter stair rods.

Unlike oak and hickory, we’d strongly recommend not painting walnut staircases. This is because the natural colour is so iconic and timeless, you don’t want to ruin it with a white paint.

Despite walnut being one of the more aesthetically pleasing wood floor and stair ideas, it simply is not as durable as hickory, oak or maple. This, combined with being on the more expensive list of wood floor and staircase options can deter some people. You will need to weigh up the importance of durability vs aesthetics in your home or commercial space.

Additional Design Tips for Wooden Stairs

If you’re looking to add something a little different to your wooden staircase, we explore bannister and railing designs as well as transforming stair risers.

Tile onto the wooden stair risers

Following on from painting the treads a different colour to the risers, why not consider tiling your stair risers? This can be a great design option if you have leftover bathroom or kitchen tiles you’re looking to put to use. You may also find that the design of your kitchen or bathroom tiles nods to other design elements in the house.

Adding tiles to risers does require some DIY skills. You will have to measure your risers and cut your tiles accordingly to fit flush in the risers. You will then need to glue or use mortar to fix them onto the risers and wait for them to set before using your stairs. For a full guide on how to do this, take a look here.

Don’t neglect bannister or stair railing designs 

Stair bannisters and hand railings play a crucial part in the safety and overall appearance of your wooden staircase. The type of bannister you go with depends on your design plans. For example, you may want to consider a wrought iron railing for industrial or commercial spaces like pubs, restaurants and bard. For residential properties, traditional wood or glass hand railings are a popular choice.

Lastly, why not consider adding stair rods and carpet runners to your staircase?

A traditional and versatile design element that works well with every wooden staircase. As experienced providers of carpet runners and stair rods, we can  help you choose a design hat will work best with your wooden staircase. Take a look at our range of carpet runners and stair rods for yourself.

Why Wooden Staircases Reign Supreme

Wooden staircases offer a timeless and – for the most part – durable solution to both domestic and commercial properties. The main factor to consider is what you want out of your staircase, is it durability? Aesthetics? A mixture of both? These questions will help shape your final choice. 

For domestic homes, we’d personally recommend an oak, maple or walnut staircase paired with a neutral carpet runner and door bars. The runners offer a classic look without taking too much attention away from the natural wood staircase. The door bars are the cherry on the cake, an attractive nuance that won’t be missed.

For more information on our runners and rods, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today.