It is not unusual in Italian homes to see open staircases, where you could, if a little careless, fall over the edge! They increase the sense of space, they look better and you can get furniture up them much more easily without the restriction of 2 walls. So there is just the itty bitty problem of potentially falling off!
Open stairs don't contravene building regs or health and safety regulations in Italy like they do in UK, but the look on my friend's face when I brought the subject up was as if I'd put her child's name in the draw for the Hunger Games! It's one thing to potentially alienate the family market from my 2 holiday apartments, but I really don't want to stop my friends with kids from coming to stay.
A quick google suggests that the biggest worry would be 1-2 year olds, but also brought up articles about parents moving away from child-proofing everything and instead teaching children how to explore safely. Here's someone else's views on the same dilemma.
So, come on, help me out here! I really need to hear what you think:
- How old are your kids and could they handle these stairs with ease?
- With what age kids would such staircases cease to be a worry?
- Would open stairs make you avoid the apartments altogether?
- How do you feel about these type of stairs as an adult?
- Is it just plain stupid to not have a handrail or barrier on stairs I'll be renting to Joe Public?!
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| "Look mum, no hands!" |
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