Attic Stairs

How to Choose the Right Design for your Attic Stairs

It is important that all areas of your home design are in sync with each other, from furniture to wall paint and even theme rooms. That is why it is also important that we carefully choose the best furniture and add-ons in our house, even the design of our attic stairs.

Attics may serve various purposes for different home owners. It can be a place for a home office, a guest bedroom or even a playroom for your kids. It is important to understand the purpose of the attic space in order to determine and carefully choose the design of the attic stairs so that will lead up to it.

Designs in attic stairs have evolved over the years. The great thing about it is that you can experiment with the design and even customize certain options in your attic stairs. Here are some suggestions:

Pull Down Attic Stairs

If you don’t have enough space at home and want to use every inch of the house, a pull-out attic stairs is perfect for you. Not only will this help in saving much needed space, it also gives an element of surprise to house guests who won't know that there is an additional room on top of the house. This is perfect for any type of space.

Wooden Attic Stairs

This design is a classic design among all the attic stairs options. You have to always remember your requirements when using wooden attic stairs. For example, what is the average load that it will carry? Who will use it? What type of materials will be carried on to it? What type of wood would go best with your decor? Will you plan on painting your wooden attic stairs or staining them? Wooden stairs may last long if they are well taken care of.

Steel Attic Stairs

Steel or metal attic stairs are very durable. This design can carry heavy loads compared to wooden attic stairs. If you are in a loft type space, metal might be a good option and go well with your decor. A more modern and contemporary feel will be had with the addition of attic stairs made from metal. The steps will be cold underfoot, but maybe that is what you are looking for.

Telescopic Attic Stairs

One of the most recent and up-to-date designs is the telescoping attic stairs. This design does not consume too much room and is ideal for homes with small spaces. Some designs even includes hand rails for home safety.

Folding Attic Stairs

You can now find this design online and in home improvement stores. Folding attic stairs often come with a steel handrail for safety. The most common material used for folding attic stairs is steel, for the most durability.

If you are on a budget and would like to build your own design for attic stairs, you have to consider several things:

1. Know your area – by knowing the available space that you have at home helps plan the size and design of your attic stairs. Avoid building a huge attic stairs if you have limited space available.
2. Know your budget –You have to carefully plan your budget and stick with it especially if you have other home improvement projects that are on-going.
3. Know where you want to put it. Decide which area you would want the stairs to reside.
4. Identify the users – it is important that you identify who will use the attic stairs the most. If you are planning to convert your attic into a storage area then you would want to use durable materials to enable easy transportation of heavy items. If you are planning to convert it into a playroom, then safety should be one of your utmost concerns. If you are planning to use the attic as your office then you need to design some comfortable attic stairs that will be convenient for the users.
5. Plan the design. Of course you don’t want the attic stairs to just pop-out of style from your over-all home design. Your attic stairs design should blend well in to your home design. Whether it be in choice of materials to construct the attic stairs, colour and design.

It is important to carefully plan out the details of your attic stairs before you build it. This will guide you in creating a set of attic stairs that will both be convenient and at the same time useful for everyone in your home.