The Best Materials for Handrails
Stairs are a feature of any building which will always draw eyes, not least because it often becomes the focal point of a room. Much attention is paid to creating the most functional and aesthetically pleasing staircase; the design, the materials, the positioning, all given top priority when designing a magnificent staircase. What doesn’t get enough thought is the handrail accompanying this grand piece. Handrails are often dismissed as a utilitarian necessity, something which is there explicitly because it is useful, rather than being an asset of the staircase. This mindset leads to missing a big part of designing a beautiful room. The handrail of a staircase is incredibly valuable for several areasons; first, it is useful for drawing eyes along through the room using its straight, defined edges. This can be useful in pulling together a room, or indeed sectioning parts of a room from a design perspective. Taking advantage of the natural salience of the handrail as a distinct edge in a room, a well-designed bannister can act as a divider between elements in the room; for example, it neatly separates a dark-colored staircase from a lighter-colored wall. Further, a handrail is arguably a necessity for a well-designed staircase; it would be an unusual sight to see a set of steps rising seemingly arbitrarily out of the ground. The handrail is effective at defining the spatial presence of a staircase, giving it a three-dimensional appearance by providing vertical definition as well as a limitation of width which makes a staircase look and feel like an object rather than void space. Plus, a staircase always feels more comfortable and secure when there is a solid border to hold on to and a wall to prevent falling off the edge. A handrail accomplishes this pragmatic function while also providing aesthetic benefits to the staircase itself and the room it is contained in.
So, now that it is clear how vital a handrail is for a functional and beautiful staircase, the question becomes;
