Basement Stairway Wall Design Ideas

The basement stairway has several design factors associated with the framing phase of your basement finish project. There are two main stair areas that we must make design decisions about on most basement finishing projects and they are:

• The space underneath the steps (what to do with this space?)
• The wall(s) that boarder the staircase (how to design and open-up the wall(s) at the base of the steps?)

My company deals with these two design factors on every basement project! 9 time out of 10 we are creating closet space underneath the steps in that otherwise wasted space. There are a lot of other options for what can be done with this space under the steps as well. This area can also be used for built-in’s (bookcase, niches, etc.) which add a beautiful custom design element to the basement stairway wall.

The most popular way to handle the area at the base of the steps is to just open-up the wall(s) to the 5th step and add a custom banister rail assembly to finish-off the stairway. This adds a great custom look to the staircase and takes away the “basement feel” that the old basement steps were advertising.

Let your creative juices flow a little when designing your basement stairway and add your own design signature to one of the main focal points in the new finished basement space!