Golders Green
Have you ever wondered how wood and glass can be harmoniously combined in a single staircase design? We certainly had,
and now we have an incredible example that we’d like to share with you. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Golders Green
staircase – something we call simply a work of art. You’ll find plenty of other high-quality staircases in the V.PSTAIRS portfolio.
But for now, let us tell you more about the Golders Green project!
The brief for Golders Green was straightforward on paper and tricky in practice. A private home in North London needed a
staircase that worked as a sculpture but didn’t fight the rest of the interior. The hallway already had a strong character
(herringbone oak floors, a round marble table sitting under a tall ceiling void, warm neutral walls). Anything too heavy would
have killed the room. Anything too plain would have felt like a missed opportunity.
Together with a client, we went with a zig-zag profile. Open treads, hidden steel, oak cladding to echo the floor, and a frameless
glass balustrade to keep sightlines clear. The build and full installation ran across roughly 15 weeks from the first survey to
handover. Let us tell you how we did it!
“stbourne staircase is more than just a functional pathway—it’s a harmonious blend of li”
Treads That Float on a Hidden Steel Spine
The zig-zag staircase gets its name from one thing only is the silhouette. Treads and risers fold into each other in a continuous Z-line, with no bulky stringer running underneath. Each tread carries its share through the folded steel core, and the whole thing is calculated to handle full residential loading well beyond Part K requirements. The treads themselves are clad in premium European oak. A few benefits worth flagging for anyone considering this configuration:
- The open-riser layout lets daylight pass through, which matters in a tall stairwell like this one.
- The hidden steel spine means no visible brackets, bolts or supports under the treads.
- Tread depth and rise were dimensioned to feel comfortable underfoot.
Another distinctive feature of this project is that the first three steps are different from the rest. They are made of white marble, blending harmoniously with the flooring in the building. Curious how pricing works on this kind of build? We break down the variables in our guide to metal frame staircase costs in the UK.
Frameless Glass and a Galvanised Handrail
The balustrade is frameless toughened glass, fixed into a hidden channel set into the floor edge and the upper landing. No clamps, no posts, no patch fittings interrupting the panels. The glass reads almost as if it isn’t there, which was the point. The staircase had to remain the focal element, not the safety hardware around it.
Each panel was templated on site after the steel and oak were in place. That sequence matters. Templating early, before the rest of the build settles, is one of the most common ways to end up with glass that doesn’t fit properly. We do it last.
The handrail is where Golders Green departs from the usual playbook. Instead of timber to match the treads, or a slim painted steel rail, we used a custom metallic handrail finished in polished galvanised bronze. It runs along the top edge of the glass and continues up to the first-floor landing. And a small detail worth mentioning: the handrail joints were welded and ground flush rather than bolted, so the rail reads as one continuous line from bottom to top.
Lighting, Finishing and Sitting in the Space
The pendant cluster suspended through the stairwell void is the second main event of this project. Twelve cylindrical alabaster shades, hung at varying heights on slim cables, fall through the full height of the staircase. The light is warm, the shades glow softly rather than spotlighting anything specific, and the composition reads differently from every floor.
We coordinated the cable drop points with the lighting supplier during the structural design phase, which is the part of the job nobody sees but everyone benefits from. Drilling holes for pendant fixings after the fact almost never goes well.
Floor-level uplighting was added at the base of the staircase to wash the lower treads and pick up the herringbone parquet. The staircase lighting is dimmable on its own circuit, so the staircase can be ambient in the evening and brighter when needed.
At V.PSTAIRS we design, manufacture and install bespoke staircases across London and the rest of the UK. Zig-zag, floating, helical, glass, oak, steel, full turnkey delivery from the first sketch to the final handrail polish. Every project is different, and pricing depends on too many variables to guess at over a single message. That’s why the right starting point is a conversation. The first consultation is free. So, you can get in touch by phone, email or through the form on the site, whichever suits you, and we’ll take it from there.
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