Oh my goodness! That is absolutely brilliant! Not only would it create enough book storage space, it's also a very good reason for people to leave their filthy shoes at the door!

Were they trying to make these steps dangerous? Hopefully these are for an area that's rarely used.

Also, ease up on the books purchases... use a library. :)

i think this is what the 'stairway' to heaven must be like.

i love books. i love the way they smell, the way they feel. when i was growing up, people coming to our house for the first time could often be heard saying, 'this looks like a library.' my parents have, literally, more than 5000 pounds of books and magazines (mostly national geographic, my mom has the entire collection, one copy each) - all carefully cared for.
people should own as many books as they can care for.

Great design idea! When I needed extra storage in our last home, I put up shelving in our stairwell to the basement.

that is absolutely wonderful.

the idea only looks great, as you lose a lot of space unless you have some kind of storage room behind the first steps (and so on...)

i was looking for some book storage :) i really like it.

oh my oh my oh my, this staircase was made by an angel. it makes me want to cry. so beautiful.

Hello,
This is a lovely design. Hope you don't mind dusty books though. Suggestions?

So good, but all their books are the same size?

I like the idea. A lot !

I would change two things

The stairs are dangerous What is you have a pet or child and what if you are up in the middle of the night or half awake? Plus a landloard could not install them because they would not pass building codes. In case of fire.

But the idea would work with FULL steps.

And a hand rail

I would also only have shelves on one side and under the stairs, leaving one side open. This would fit better into many apartments and lofts and narrow urban homes.

I would love to have one.

Wow! We are just preparing an article on how to make your stairs a design feature and this is a great example of what can be done. I do agree they look a bit precarious though.

This would really excite me as a loft/balcony-to-attic connection. Then the books could wrap around the back, too, and become the centerpiece of a very trendy loft-den-library hybrid. And those of us that hate those wobbly-dangly recessed attic ladders could start using attics more regularly.

bunch of worry-warts. all you need to do is remember to start the stairs with one particular foot. the rest is easy. if you can't do that, you best just wet the bed. as for kids, people dont' let kids go up and down regular staircases until they're old enough to figure it out, so why should this be any different? These staircases are safer than full tread staircases for steep stairs, because you have more footroom on the way down. A steep staircase requires going down like a ladder, face to the stairs. these stairs change that, and are quite common in europe, where apartments really are tiny, they allow a steep staircase without resorting to the ladder method. Also, for tall books, just eliminate every third side-shelf one one or both sides. And as an aside, slotted treads make great sitting areas, kind of like a built-in chair on every tread. And because this is such a narrow staircase, the need for a handrail is pretty much eliminated... just support yourself on the shelves, of which there are plenty.

A similar idea exists for storing your shoes, with drawers forming the steps. Great for homes with small foyers where the stairs are the first thing you encounter as you step into the house.

This looks better than it is functional.
Even if you don't use your street shoes at home the books in these shelves are all basically near the floor, dumping ground for hairs, dead skin, fluff and what-not.
If you have a pet - all the worse.
The stairs are so narrow it actually makes me claustrophobic.
Because steps are longer on one side and then on the other mean that you have go through them always in the same sequence (left-right-left-right etc.) so if you are approaching the stairs and you steps so far don't match the first step you have to do a little foot dance to switch them. That is quite confusing and a recipe for disaster when you're tired.

I love it
I hope you don't mind if I
make it for myself!!

wov...d idea is superb...i like it a lot..