Ebony.
A graphic black-and-white stair in stained oak, dressed in turned wood balusters and faceted newel caps.
Strip a stair down to its essentials and you're left with rise, run, and rhythm. This Chicago build does exactly that — but in pure black and white, with the wood doing all the talking and no metal in sight.
The whole stair lives in two tones. Ebony-stained oak on the treads, the handrails, the newels, and the floor itself. Bone-white painted risers, balusters, and trim work. No third color, no metal, no decorative ironwork — every visual move comes from the contrast between the two finishes and the shadows between them.
The newel posts are the project's signature. Massive, faceted, with the distinctive octagonal-cap detail that reads like an inverted finial. They anchor the stair as freestanding sculpture rather than as architecture — closer to a piece of antique furniture than to a modern structural element. Look at the cap and you'll see four shaped facets joining at a quiet center point. That detail isn't ordered; it's made.
The balusters are turned solid wood — the only project in our gallery built without iron. White, slim, with bobbins at the midpoint that pick up the same rhythm as the newel cap above. Run a hand along the rail and your fingers brush only wood, top to bottom. It's a stair that could have been built a century ago and could be built a century from now.
No metal, no ironwork — every visual move comes from the contrast between two tones and the shadows between them.
Mid-flight stepping detail — black tread, white riser, white baluster, repeat.
The newel-to-rail joint in profile, with the wall scribe following the stair line.
Looking up the well — three newels stacked, the whole stair as a piece of joinery.
The stair line in elevation, the contrast doing the work.
Baluster detail — turned wood, bobbin midpoint, no metal anywhere.
The upper landing run, with the sun catching the ebony floor below.
Looking across the upper landing rail toward the window wall.
Turned baluster profile in raking light.
The full elevation from the foyer, both flights visible.
Winder tread detail at a turn, the white scribe following the wall.
Faceted newel cap — four shaped surfaces joining at a quiet center.
Long elevation of the upper rail run, balusters in series.
Looking down the well — the whole stair as a single drawn shape.
Descending past the upper-floor opening.
The deepest view down, where the lower flight turns away.
Tell us about the stair your house deserves.
Ebony.
A graphic black-and-white stair in stained oak, dressed in turned wood balusters and faceted newel caps.
Strip a stair down to its essentials and you're left with rise, run, and rhythm. This Chicago build does exactly that — but in pure black and white, with the wood doing all the talking and no metal in sight.
The whole stair lives in two tones. Ebony-stained oak on the treads, the handrails, the newels, and the floor itself. Bone-white painted risers, balusters, and trim work. No third color, no metal, no decorative ironwork — every visual move comes from the contrast between the two finishes and the shadows between them.
The newel posts are the project's signature. Massive, faceted, with the distinctive octagonal-cap detail that reads like an inverted finial. They anchor the stair as freestanding sculpture rather than as architecture — closer to a piece of antique furniture than to a modern structural element. Look at the cap and you'll see four shaped facets joining at a quiet center point. That detail isn't ordered; it's made.
The balusters are turned solid wood — the only project in our gallery built without iron. White, slim, with bobbins at the midpoint that pick up the same rhythm as the newel cap above. Run a hand along the rail and your fingers brush only wood, top to bottom. It's a stair that could have been built a century ago and could be built a century from now.
No metal, no ironwork — every visual move comes from the contrast between two tones and the shadows between them.
Mid-flight stepping detail — black tread, white riser, white baluster, repeat.
The newel-to-rail joint in profile, with the wall scribe following the stair line.
Looking up the well — three newels stacked, the whole stair as a piece of joinery.
The stair line in elevation, the contrast doing the work.
Baluster detail — turned wood, bobbin midpoint, no metal anywhere.
The upper landing run, with the sun catching the ebony floor below.
Looking across the upper landing rail toward the window wall.
Turned baluster profile in raking light.
The full elevation from the foyer, both flights visible.
Winder tread detail at a turn, the white scribe following the wall.
Faceted newel cap — four shaped surfaces joining at a quiet center.
Long elevation of the upper rail run, balusters in series.
Looking down the well — the whole stair as a single drawn shape.
Descending past the upper-floor opening.
The deepest view down, where the lower flight turns away.