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First Step Designs is a leading UK designer, manufacturer, and installer of bespoke staircases, each a unique piece of functional art that enhances the home, creates striking focal points, and increases property value. We work directly with homeowners, architects, and interior designers, ensuring that every last detail is a considered decision and that nothing has been left to chance.
As winners of the Best UK Staircase award at the 2024 Build It Awards, an industry award for innovation and excellence in our field, having recently been featured on Grand Designs, and consistently working on increasingly high-profile projects for high-profile clients, we're confident that we're the right team to help you enhance your new home or upgrade your existing stairs with a custom-designed and precision-engineered bespoke staircase.
Reach out to our team to discover the First Step Designs difference today.
At First Step Designs, we set the bar for bespoke, offering an unparalleled degree of personalisation. We guide our clients through various iterations of staircase styles, material choices, finishing details, and staircase accessories, ensuring that every element reflects their vision and the character of their home.
From floating staircases mounted into custom-built hidden anchor points to gently curving white oak staircases featuring recessed lighting and smart home features, we specialise in solving complex design and engineering challenges to craft Manchester’s most unique stairs.
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Your new or renovated stairs are no more than a quick call, email or message away.
You can also use our Inspiration Gallery to save images of our work that you like. Then, simply send them along with any other photos, plans, or details through our contact form so we can discuss your project.
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After understanding what you’re trying to achieve, we’ll send a detailed and itemised same-day quote. Our pricing is honest and transparent, allowing you to quickly determine if we are the right fit for your project.
At your request, we’ll gladly quote for multiple configurations of your ideal stairs.
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After visiting your home to take the measurements we need, we draft and present fully accurate 3D renditions of what your staircase will look like in your home.
Once the details, timelines, and installation dates are locked in, we begin fabricating your dream staircase.
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That’s right: sit back knowing that our expert team of craftsmen is hard at work bringing your staircase to life, fabricating your dream stairs to our exacting standards.
Depending on the complexity of the design, this typically takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days.
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Our expert and experienced team of Staffordshire-based installers will install your new or renovated stairs in 2 to 4 days.
They have a wealth of experience in joinery and engineering, a seriously professional attitude towards work, and operate as unintrusively as possible.
It is impossible to ignore your staircase. It is by far the biggest, most visible, and most imposing piece of furniture in your home, and you use it daily. Every guest you have over sees your staircase. When designed with inspiration, engineered with precision, and installed with care, a bespoke staircase can make any home dramatically more comfortable, liveable, and valuable.
Where modular and prefabricated staircases prioritise uniformity, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness, bespoke staircases aim primarily to enhance homes and spaces with beautiful design and craftsmanship that complements the home's architectural style.
Working with the UK’s leading staircase specialists, First Step Design clients enjoy unparalleled freedom and control over every last detail of their staircase. Our skilled designers work hand-in-hand with our clients, guiding them through style options, material choices, finishing details, and optional staircase accessories such as smart home integration or recessed lighting.
A beautifully designed and engineered staircase that complements the home should be seen as an investment. They're sought after by prospective buyers and can significantly increase your property’s value.
Designing and crafting bespoke staircases can take several months. Award-winning staircases that leave nothing to chance take time, and we typically advise our clients to begin the design process 4 to 6 months before installation. This allows us to go through various design possibilities and iterations, ensuring stairs that are truly yours.
It is also important to consider that the staircase must be ready to install when the building is ready to take it. Delays can hold up the entire project, leading to frustration and additional project costs. With enough lead time, our design, engineering, and installation teams can ensure a staircase like no other, while remaining within budget and not delaying the project.
When a client has a very clear idea of what they want, we can design, fabricate, and install a bespoke staircase in as few as 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the design.
Bespoke staircases are often highly personalised, with factors such as the design complexity, material choices, finishing details, and installation difficulties all affecting the final cost.
Most of the bespoke staircases we have delivered in recent years ranged between £20,000 and £30,000 (+VAT).
Want to learn more about bespoke staircase pricing? Check out our blog on How much does a new staircase cost? for example projects with specifications and pricing.
Bespoke staircases are overwhelmingly constructed from a mix of materials. Almost all bespoke staircases feature a steel substructure or a reinforced timber structure, which can either be left visible or designed to be out of sight. The rest of the staircases are typically manufactured from steel, wood, glass, stone, or concrete, depending on our clients' requirements.
Materials are selected for their structural performance and how they contribute to the overall value of the design. Our design team plays an active role in guiding our clients to material choices that complement their home's aesthetic.
As long as the stairs are built to match the client's specifications, any style of staircase can be considered bespoke. As the UK's leader in bespoke stairs, we craft a wide range of custom staircases while ensuring they still meet UK structural and building regulations.
Bespoke staircases are stairs that have been specifically designed and built around an individual client's specific needs. Where mass-produced, pre-fabricated, or modular staircases that conform to standardised sizing aim to keep cost and complexity to a minimum, bespoke staircases offer homeowners the chance to transform their homes into unique spaces with striking staircases, impressive sightlines, and impossible-to-ignore focal points.
Bespoke staircases cost more; however, they are typically built by skilled craftsmen with a passion for making beautiful things with their hands, as opposed to mass-produced alternatives focused on speed and scale.
