The light well.
A multi-story floating stair that wraps a vertical light shaft through three floors.
This Hinsdale new build was designed with the stair as its spine — a tall, narrow vertical shaft that delivers daylight from the roofline all the way down to the foyer. The stair had to disappear into that idea.
The first thing to notice is what's not here. No chunky newel posts. No anchor blocks. No visible structure. The railings terminate quietly into walls or into the tread structure itself, leaving the vertical void to do the work.
The handrail is slim, rounded, and continuous — formed in shop sections to wrap every landing with a smooth radius corner rather than a sharp ninety-degree turn. Run a hand up it from the foyer and you'll never feel a hard break, only easy curves as the stair changes direction.
Stand in the foyer and look up: three stories of stacked treads, a continuous oak rail wrapping every landing, a slim line of slim steel balusters, and daylight pouring down the well. That's the stair's whole argument.
The stair had to disappear into the idea of a vertical light shaft — and it does.
The main run, looking up from the second-floor landing.
Side elevation with the multi-story void on the right.
Mid-flight, with the continuous oak rail wrapping around the landing.
Looking up at the underside of the run — wood, more wood, daylight.
The entry foyer with the stair rising from the herringbone wood floor.
Tell us about the stair your house deserves.
The light well.
A multi-story floating stair that wraps a vertical light shaft through three floors.
This Hinsdale new build was designed with the stair as its spine — a tall, narrow vertical shaft that delivers daylight from the roofline all the way down to the foyer. The stair had to disappear into that idea.
The first thing to notice is what's not here. No chunky newel posts. No anchor blocks. No visible structure. The railings terminate quietly into walls or into the tread structure itself, leaving the vertical void to do the work.
The handrail is slim, rounded, and continuous — formed in shop sections to wrap every landing with a smooth radius corner rather than a sharp ninety-degree turn. Run a hand up it from the foyer and you'll never feel a hard break, only easy curves as the stair changes direction.
Stand in the foyer and look up: three stories of stacked treads, a continuous oak rail wrapping every landing, a slim line of slim steel balusters, and daylight pouring down the well. That's the stair's whole argument.
The stair had to disappear into the idea of a vertical light shaft — and it does.
The main run, looking up from the second-floor landing.
Side elevation with the multi-story void on the right.
Mid-flight, with the continuous oak rail wrapping around the landing.
Looking up at the underside of the run — wood, more wood, daylight.
The entry foyer with the stair rising from the herringbone wood floor.