Sunday, May 11, 2008


Custom Staircase & Lighting Designers
Some artists or architects might go a little far in the pursuit of creating the “glory piece” of a house, building, or room. With custom houses come custom features and appliances. You would have to be able to incorporate the flow of the rooms when you design a staircase, and be able to fit with the style of the home, i.e. a grand staircase like the one pictured would not have a place in a traditional southern mansion. This particular one is crazy! Think of the liability if someone was to fall. This house would not be one for the elderly or kids.

Dale Chihuly, artist, and Paul Gregory, designer of the Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball, are two people that have created unique lighting fixtures that have to be equally cognizant of the surroundings, purpose, and manner in which they will be displayed. Since their pieces have to be lit up they have to take an account of how light will bounce off and transcend into the room below. Obviously the Chihuly piece that is pictured looks really hard to install because of all the glass pieces that are spiraling outward. He would have to think ahead to what it will look like from all sides and what it would look like illuminated and not illuminated.

By the way if you type in “creative staircases” into a Google search you will come up with some amazing, and seemingly dangerous, staircases. One was carved from a tree trunk in the middle of a house. Another one was a slide and stair combo. And one was even retractable!

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