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After nearly 10 years, First Step Designs has made its debut on Grand Designs with a custom design that perfectly complements this remarkable project. Take a moment to learn more about our Grand Designs staircase.
Rosa and Craig's project was truly unique. They transformed their family's old reservoir into a home, turning a building never intended for dwelling into a space full of potential. The staircase was to take centre stage, becoming the heart of their new home.
Designing for Grand Designs
Right from the start, we knew this was going to be an exceptional project. Rosa, Craig, and the Grand Designs audiences were all eager for a showstopper, and we were ready to deliver.
After meeting with Rosa and Craig to get a better understanding of their wishes and the physical space, we spent several months perfecting every aspect of their design. Typically, we finalise bespoke staircase designs within a few days to a few weeks. However, with months of lead time before filming and the clients enjoying watching their stairs evolve into exactly what they were hoping for, we took our time.
After several iterations and a test build of the final design, it was off to manufacturing for our experienced team of fabricators to put together stairs worthy of being called a grand design—stairs that demand your attention every time you enter the room.
Building for Grand Designs
Honestly, fabricating for Grand Designs wasn’t all that different from fabricating for any other client. All our stairs are built using modern precision engineering practices, including laser-cut steelwork, CNC-cut timber and glass, and tight tolerances for a polished and completed look every time.
Rosa and Craig had opted for a black steelwork open-frame staircase with natural oak risers and landings. The design also features glass railings and hidden LED lighting. When the fabrication team had worked their magic and our team saw the staircase for the first time, we knew there and then that we had another winner on our hands.
Installing for the cameras
While we’ve successfully installed every staircase we’ve built over the last 10 years, we’ll admit to a certain nervousness doing it in front of the Grand Designs camera, especially with tolerances as tight as ours. However, luck favours the prepared, and we managed to complete the installation as smoothly as ever. Months of planning, including careful consideration for the final onsite assembly, paid off as Rosa and Craig finally saw their focal point come together, instantly transforming the entire open-plan home.
You can see us in action on Grand Designs s24e01 – Wye Valley, on Channel4.com.
