Iron spiral staircases can heighten the look of your living room

WROUGHT iron staircases give the impression of being extremely light and are best suited for homes with a space crunch.

These staircases, which allow sunlight to filter through, are unique in providing an ideal, spacious look. Not only do these stairs provide the luxury of being transported from one floor to the other, they can also serve as focal points for the entrance.

Wrought iron spiral staircases can also be workd of art. Their best feature of these stairs is that they can blend with any look and provide elegance to décor. Whatever your home looks like, be it traditional or contemporary, these stairs can easily become part of one's house. These cast iron spiral and straight staircases were first introduced in the mid-1970s.

Dazil Rebello of DCS Enterprises says they are very popular, especially the Rajasthani ones.

"Putting these stairs at the entrance can change the look of the house."

Rebello says. The staircases cost around Rs 35,000.

Various styles and designs are available. Cast iron staircases offer superb styling with ease of installation. Cast iron staircases are elegant and suitable for both interior and exterior use.

Available in a range of diameters and heights in contemporary steel to traditional timber, spiral staircases can inspire you to enhance beauty of your home, roof terrace or balcony.

They are functional, aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are hand-crafted to perfection.

Combined with wrought iron stair parts, they staircases enhance any room and provide the classical look.

Though Delhi-based interior designer Nilanjala says people go in more wood and steel stairs. Iron stairs are mostly used outdoors.

There are some important things to consider when choosing spiral staircases, such as available space, style and budget. Cast iron spiral staircases can be available in different balusters, top rails, landings and guard rails.

Worldwide, Italian spiral staircases are very famous. Whether the staircase is for use within a house, commercial or public building, the designs can be crafted to create the greatest visual impact.

Cast iron spiral staircases are also available in rising clockwise or anticlockwise designs. The staircases can also be designed to meet building regulations.

The classic forms of cast iron staircases can be painted with metallic colours to match your furnishing.

A special painting treatment guarantees the resistance of components to all environmental conditions.

Stairway design tips In most homes, you will see the standard stairway, which is a simple flight of steps running up to the floor above. But you can improve the look by opting for a spiral stairway. Many contemporary homes nowadays have at least one `L ' shaped stairway, in which a flight of steps descend into a landing, followed again by another flight of steps further down in some cases. Or you could even choose a Ushaped staircase for your home. meenakshidwivedi@mydigitalfc.com Adding some zing You can jazz up the appearance of the stairway temporarily or permanently in the following ways: Garlands The most popular way to adorn a staircase around the world is to warp its railing with beautiful garlands. The garland could be made out of varied materials such as flowers, ribbons, tiny metallic berries and bells.

Door Swags If you have a staircase that breaks into a landing, then you can use door swags at regular intervals.

Potted Plants This idea will work only if the stairway is wide enough to accommodate flowers/plant pots with enough space for one to pass through comfortably. You can use small ornamental flowers for this purpose. It is avoidable if there are small kids in your home.

Staircase as Bookshelf In some homes, you will find a staircase that ends right after touching the ceiling. The real purpose here is to use the staircase as bookshelves.

You can arrange your books neatly along the stairs alternatively. For the bookworm, this is the perfect place to remain engrossed.

Handicrafts on stairway You can hang beautiful masks on the walls or arrange baskets at regular intervals or even position a medium-sized statue where the staircase ends.