There’s something irresistible about an attractive bookcase and staircase combination. We love getting lost in a good book, so perhaps it’s the idea that a staircase can physically transport us to a different place the way a book can in our mind. These shelf/stair hybrids from designers and architects recently caught our eye — and like all things bookish, we had to share the best of the best with you.
Architect Tamir Addadi integrated this striking bookcase and staircase combo in a private London loft.
A seamless transition between shelves and stairs by Italian architects Massimo Fiorido Associati, using the surrounding pine forests as inspiration.
Bleacher-style seats, books for days, and a play area (a slide) for the children of the house, designed by Moon Hoon.
Floating shelves and stairs that seem to be the inverse of the other, from architect Carles Enrich for a converted laundry house in Barcelona.
Dutch design studio Mieke Meijer made climbing the stairs more fun and a little rebellious by integrating the shelving with the owner’s desk space.
“With regard to functionality, the stair is comfortable, safe to climb, and spatially efficient; the open sides of the stair provide ample and well-placed grip locations,” says nC2 architecture in Brooklyn of their design. “With regard to structure, the triangular geometry of the tread, riser and stringer allows for the tread and riser to be securely and elegantly fastened to a single, central, very minimal stringer.”
Boxy, bookish stairs from Czech architects Adam Jirkal, Jerry Koza, and Tomáš Kalhous for a house in Všenory.
Elegant curves and a cool palette make this open-ended bookcase/staircase irresistible to the design-savvy eye.
Put those unused corners in your house on double-duty.
Bookcase: meet ladder. Ladder: meet skylight and rooftop above. Brooklyn designers WORKSTEAD are great match-makers.