Wooden spiral staircase and other material variants

8 March 2023

How many combinations of materials are possible within a project of a modern spiral staircase? 

Nowadays, the possibilities in the design of indoor spiral staircases – e.g. a loft spiral staircase- and spiral staircase for outdoor use are almost unlimited, thanks to the latest technologies, which have greatly expanded the use of materials never used before for structure, steps and railings.

Choosing to combine this or that material in a given colour or finish is not at all a trivial detail in the study of a spiral staircase, not only for reasons of structural functionality but also for the aesthetic importance that a well-designed installation can have in an environment.

Modern stairs, especially  a modern spiral staircase, can lay the foundations for a particular atmosphere, an attitude that invests the whole environment and the remaining furnishings: for this reason materials and colors must be chosen with care, and not only thinking about aesthetics but also about use.

This speech concerns both an external spiral staircase and a spiral staircase plan for your interior, a wooden spiral staircase or a metal spiral staircase, a compact spiral staircase or space saving spiral staircase but also a bigger helical staircase.                  

The perfect modern spiral staircase: the wooden spiral staircase and other variants  

The spiral  staircase is not only the element of vertical connection between different levels of a building, but, if well designed, can become a central point of style and design for all the space that houses it.    

If we think about a spiral staircase, we could display an indefinite number of options, details and materials; spiral staircase dimensions could be very different, an essential  small spiral staircase or monumental baroque staircase, with neutral colours or vibrant combinations, with modern railings or traditional details and so on.

There is no perfect modern spiral staircase: there is the spiral staircase perfect for you, for your living room, for your office, for your store, for your garden, for your terrace.

The choice of materials, finishes and colours is fundamental so that your indoor or outdoor spiral staircase can become an artistic and functional masterpiece, excellent for your specific needs.

Let’s see what are the best options to create the right combinations, from the wooden spiral staircase to all the other best versions, and what are their characteristics.

The wooden spiral staircase   

The wooden stairs and the wood spiral staircase are perhaps the most traditional choice, in fact wood in the various essences (oak, walnut, cherry, ash, mahogany, iroko, fir, pine, beech, ebony and many others) is the material that has been used for more time in architecture, building and also in interior design.

Let’s see its features as we find in a wooden spiral staircase:

• ease of working together with its natural qualities make wood the most widespread option for many types of stairs

• strength and robustness, and the elasticity of which it is equipped make wood the favourite for the construction of various furniture elements, including spiral staircases

• it expresses a warm sensation, difficult to replicate by other materials, in its naturalness is able to give to a wooden spiral staircase elegance and modernity

• wood may occur in linear or round shape,essential and clean forms or sinuous and full, generates sensations of strength and tranquillity, it retains in the new form its natural memory

• depending on the colour and material combinations, with glass, steel, iron, etc. the visual impact can really change a lot, and this generates various possibilities of aesthetic results. for this it is appreciated even in modern spiral staircases

Timeless style icon, from classic to modern, today is also the protagonist of the latest trends in eco-friendly sustainable architecture; wood is back in vogue, also chosen when the planned installation is a modern internal staircase in a non-traditional context. 

The wood is alive, therefore also subject to slight changes (it is unfortunately subject to a strong capacity of absorption of liquids and water vapour for example) and subject to wear, and therefore needs some care and attention, despite its naturalness, to keep him in his best state.

It’s possible to have a rustic loft spiral staircase made in wood, a small classic circular staircase, or a spiral staircase square based for modern spaces (exploiting the angular spaces); it’s also possible to preserve a wooden spiral staircase for outdoor with impregnating and protective varnish.

Not only wooden spiral staircase: what do you think about a glass spiral staircase?

Not only not just a sure choice of a wooden spiral staircase, you can throw yourself into very different materials for your spiral staircase… as glass!

• although it appears visually light, delicate and fragile, glass is a very solid, strong, consistent material

• its use in indoor construction, as well as for various balustrades, is able to take advantage of the passage of natural light creating visual lightness and a sense of sophistication

Thanks to machined glass, such as laminated safety, you can create wonderful structures obviously up to standard, increasing the brightness and making the spaces appear much larger.

So you could have a spectacular effect for the spiral staircase, especially for the spiral staircase that wants to attract attention.

Glass offers many creative opportunities and design possibilities, although in combination with steel it seems to express one of its best languages, so really perfect in modern contexts for an internal staircase that you do not expect.

Not only wooden spiral staircase: steel, iron and other metal for the spiral staircase (for an outdoor spiral staircase too)          

Obviously also used for railings, handrails, various metals are highly appreciated in many furnishing elements including modern stairs, some metal spiral staircase for interior or some external spiral staircase (cast iron spiral staircase and more).  

We’re talking about, for example, the typical small spiral staircase, streamlined and essential, but also elaborate modern stairs. 

The appreciable features are many:

• metals are versatile, solid and resistant

• can blend with any colour and give character to other materials such as wood and glass

• the metal even rough hard in the time with very little maintenance

• is durable and reliable

• metal plays with light and reflections, and lends itself to various modern, industrial, contemporary stylists

Perfect both in curved lines (therefore perfect for the spiral staircase) and in straight ones, the metal in various finishes creates a particular allure that embellishes a modern installation.

Among these finishes the COR-TEN metal finish has taken a prominent place, the layer of which not only produces a remarkable mechanical strength, but above all gives particular chromatic nuances thanks to a desired but controlled oxidation. 

This rust patina is blocked at the right point, avoiding the advance of corrosion, but sublimating a special aesthetic effect, warm and uneven, which goes well with a plurality of projects.

As an alternative to a wooden spiral staircase, a spiral staircase made in iron, or steel, or a cast iron spiral staircase steel has found its place in the staircase sector, perfectly suited to a variety of different contexts, sometimes in harmony but also in contrast, as is often appreciated in interior design.

Not only wooden spiral staircase: marble, granite and stone for a modern spiral staircase

Precious materials to cover the steps of a spiral staircase for indoor (and if well managed also for outdoors), even in strong colour contrast, are marble and granite.

Of various shades and homogeneity of veins, they can have a very different colour effect depending on the type of material chosen, so even a spiral staircase stone made can have an extremely different outcome.

In general, however, I can confirm that a spiral staircase stone covered and well designed, certainly has one feature:

• marbles and granites give a precious aura, a timeless charm; natural stone is an element that retains, in the gloss and solidity, some reference to luxury

Being a porous material must be chosen carefully and possibly treated with resins to avoid deterioration, for indoor use but especially if used for external stairs.

As elegant and refined as it is delicate and in need of proper maintenance, be it white and regal or dark and majestic, it promises a powerful scenic impact, in a very different way from a wooden spiral staircase. The magic of the natural stone has few rivals in interior design.

Resins, micro-elements, porcelain stoneware and others are very common as coverings in general and therefore also for stairs, often used for environments with minimal and contemporary design. 

Characterised by the ease of maintenance and cleaning, more or less resistant to scratches, in some cases the prices are more affordable, in fact, chosen to cover modern interior stairs designed with greater care to save.

A note apart deserves the new generation high-tech plastic, which winks at the eco-sustainable, perfect for an innovative, modern spiral staircase.

The final result of your modern staircase really depends on many factors that start from listening to your needs and pass, with a carefully designed, through the study of the environment to which it will be inserted, the choice of materials, colours, textures and finishes.

So green light to a wooden spiral staircase but also to all possible variations, on condition that the spiral staircase is right for your project!

Find out more about the wooden spiral staircase and others.

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