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Staircases That Wow

Staircases that are in themselves prodigious focal points, joining floors with unrivalled glamour

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By Lisa Wallace | April 5, 2016 | Interiors

Serene Spot 

 An elegant staircase in the double-volume entrance hall of a former 19th-century homestead in Constantia. 

Pure and Simple 

 This family home in the heart of Hyde Park, Johannesburg, celebrates a mix of classic Italian craft and forward-thinking design for a luxury aesthetic that works. A dramatic spiral staircase makes a sculptural statement in the entrance hall. 

Seaside Chic 

The four-storey staircase in a John Jacob-designed Llandadno home. The interior was designed to be a ‘nightclub by the sea’. 

French Connection 

Two unique visions – one French, one African – meet in a Joburg home that pays tribute to the owner’s heritage and the house’s location. Here sits the architect Angele Whittaker-designed balustrade. 

The Grand Scheme

Photograph: Elsa Young

Interior designer John Jacob uses a modern approach with classical inspiration in this Constantia villa. The staircase and door in the entrance hall were reconfigured to create a sense of unity between them. 

 

Paradise Found

In this East-inspired Clifton villa, the dramatic scale of the spaces sets off owners Robert and Lee O’Brien’s statement pieces to perfection, while floating stairs offer a Zen feel. 

A Grand Understatement  

 

Photograph: Elsa Young

For a toned-down take on classical, Cécile & Boyd introduced unassuming neutrals to gracious architecture in this Joburg home. In the entrance hall, designer Paul van den Berg honed the marble floors to remove the shine and sanded the stairs to lighten them, after which he installed a bitter-chocolate sisal runner edged in charcoal linen. The owner’s trio of William Kentridge works adds a sense of gravitas to the space while the signature Cécile & Boyd nod to nature lightens the mood, complemented by a Philip Jeffries sand wallpaper. 

Urban Legend

Photograph: Greg Cox

A high-end penthouse in the heart of Joburg’s city centre. A spiral staircase acts as a focal point in the open-plan kitchen and living area.

Elemental Exchange 

 

 

Straddling Joburg’s Linksfield Ridge, this glass house demonstrates how architecture can create a showpiece of nature’s elements. The indoor staircase allows unrestricted views. 

True to Form

 

Photograph: Elsa Young

A Joburg home that flies the flag for modern living is an exercise in three of architecture’s most supreme elements – light, proportion and balance. The smoke-oak staircase infuses the space with organic warmth and the owner’s horse-riding saddle serves as a sculpture draped over a beam. 

Simple Elegance

In Bantry Bay, designer Mario Rodrigues creates an artfully composed home through timeless but eclectic pieces and precision tailoring that’s all about elegant comfort. A sense of space was achieved with the modern staircase where a Günter Herbst artwork hangs. 

 

Modern Beach House

 

Beautiful views were the springboard for a beach escape that finds a blissful medium between natural beauty and bold lines. Natural light bathes the secondary family room from several directions while a sense of luminous space is amplified by the abundant use of glass, white finishes and sand-coloured upholstery. 

 

The Next Level  

 

Photograph: Adam Letch and SAOTA

Surprising spaces and raw textures combined with family-oriented thinking up the ante in architect Stefan Antoni’s home. The entrance on the top floor winds down to the living level and then down furhterto the bedrooms, by way of granite staircases that accentuate the long lean spaces of the L-shaped family wing.

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