In the last twenty years there has been a major shift in domestic staircase design from functional to stylish. In my distant youth stairs were for going up and down on, not for looking at. Now staircases in new builds and conversions are out of the closet, they are works of art designed to show the owners taste and wealth. This is not a new phenomenon, the grand sweeping staircases of English manor houses of the past, were not about access, but about excess and the flaunting of wealth.
Personally, I like the modern trend, it is about time that such an important household fixture as a staircase caught up with its ostentatious cousins the fitted kitchen and the all singing and dancing power bathroom.
The only problem with this trend is the trend itself, which is leaning towards minimalist clean open lines in shiny stainless steel and glass. The stairs look beautiful, and in the ostentation stakes fit the bill superbly. The problem is the more minimalist the spiral staircase, the less likely it is to comply with the Building Regulations, which are about health and safety rather than grand designs.
In actual fact Grand Designs is probably the culprit, whether we like to admit it or not, most of us are heavily influenced by what we see on the telly. What we do see, are modern minimalist design staircases shown on the proliferation of home building or home make over programmes that have been in vogue for some time.
The main area of contention between minimalist stair design and the Regulations is the 100mm (4") sphere rule, which in a nutshell says that you cannot have a gap bigger than 100mm anywhere on a stair. This includes spiral stairs, spacesavers et al.
This together with the requiremnts for guarding of stairs ( balustrades), non-slip treads and non-climbable balustrading severely limits the degree of minimalisation that you can achieve. You will see on television, glass stair treads poking out from a wall with no other form of support or any form of balustrade. They look superb, but believe me you do not want to go there. Without serious modification, like balustrading and riser bars, such stairs will not pass muster with your inspector. Nor should they, I am all for style, but if you can fall off the side of a stair it is dangerous!
No one should be put off looking for a feature modern design staircase, they look superb and will totally change the entrance hall to your mansion. However be realistic from the start and seek advice before you set your heart on that stainless steel fireman's pole complete with leather landing pad that you saw on the telly.