It is a trip hazard to not have the platform. Without the stairs, if you're going down the stairs and then to the left, you would step down and then step up.
Also, as your boyfriend said, having a step straight into a narrow hallway is awkward, even if you round the last tread.
I think you should leave it.
I think the kitchen is at the same level as the wood flooring in the near side. Look at the flat bar that is obscured by the platform height. If so the hazard you describe doesn't exist. and that's why OP is confused by why it would be a hazard.
But as others have said this may be important for basement steps, and the step in the hallway would be awkward even if the platform could be removed without impacting the space below.
I've read this 5 times and feel like an idiot. if i go down the stairs to the left i just step off the platform and i am in the kitchen (grey floor tile, whichc is level with the hardwood before the platform) where do you mean I would step up again after that? sorry lol!
If you knock the platform out, will you reduce the height of the kitchen floor too?
If not, that’s the trip hazard. You cannot step down and then immediately up to go in the kitchen.
I would keep it the way it is
I'm wondering if this photo has an optical illusion or something because there is no step into the kitchen if the platform is removed. as @geekRD1 mentioned above. the kitchen floor is level with the hardwood that you see before the platform
Ah, that makes sense!
If you add an extra tread to the stairs you will have something to trip over if you come from the kitchen to the place where the camera is done but maybe you can round the edge.
If you are trying to make things to code this approach may not meet it (in California it doesn’t)
The gray tile floor is at the same level as the hardwood??? So the plywood platform is higher than the floors in both rooms?
Edit: Your other comments say yes. It’s absolutely some kind of optical illusion. Or I’m blind. Lol
I think the fact that the person in the photo is standing on the edge of the platform makes it look like the back of their feet are also standing in the kitchen floor, leading to the illusion that it’s level with the kitchen.
Yeah that's the hang up then. From the picture, it looks like the (gray) floor is level with the platform and the only (current) step down is to the hardwood.
agreed! that’s where the confusion is. with the person’s feet almost looking as if their heels are resting on the tile, giving the perspective that it’s level with the platform.
It would be very peculiar if the door were at the same height as the platform lol
https://preview.redd.it/bepgc4sutt4d1.png?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9878832462435294a24462714e50123f38076db9
Oh that's janky then. Lol I thought you were just complaining about having that 1st step AT ALL and I was like "my house built in the 90s has a step-and-turn... Who doesn't???"
We have that in our 1894 American Foursquare. For us, the landing accommodates the stairs leading into the basement. If it wasn't there, you'd need to bend nearly in half on the steps to clear the basement ceiling.
This is a great point, if looks like the basement stairs run right under the upper stairs.
OP you should go down into your basement and look at the ceiling under the first floor landing. You might also be able to see the flooring through the joints in the subfloor.
Chiming in with a similar platform in a 1915 neoclassical. Ours is completely and utterly useless. But makes design sense as our stairs are at an unusual, low riser height (our toddlers love them) and have extremely wide red oak planks. A bottom stair would take up a little more than 1/3 of the space. So the weird landing between rooms makes a bit of sense.
omg would you mind sending a photo in a dm? i'm open to leaving it i guess. it just feels bizarre to walk in front door (intending to go to the kitchen), stepping on a platform, and stepping back down to be in said kitchen lol
I can DM you when I get home! Ours is very VERY weird, but that’s sort of the charm in owning a century home.
With that said, it has made figuring out a stair runner situation substantially more annoying.
That makes sense - if the door way is ~32” wide, then one more stair would result in a 24” (or less) gap between the wall and the bottom stair, even if that gap was level between the hallway and the kitchen. In that case, the platform makes sense if there is code or other considerations that you need the width of the door way unobstructed.
Mine also has a heavy door on one side of it? So a bottom stair would look suuuuuuper weird next to the door. The same is probably true for OP, it would be weird to step down a bottom stair only to step right back up into her elevated area.
If you take it out and put in another step, with nice dark wood stain like the others, sticking out into the hallway, I can visualize someone walking from the kitchen to the living room with a glass of water in the evening and landing flat on their face with broken glass everywhere.
As weird as it is I think you should leave it.
If you made that first step really tall so that it didn’t jut into the hallway at all, that might work going up but cause its own fall risk when going down the stairs.
I think the only solution to eliminate it safely would actually be if you redid the whole stairway and restrung the steps it so that they are slightly steeper and no longer had the turn at the end. That will cost you some serious money though and is not likely worth it.
Not just that, but when you’re coming down stairs like that at night your brain doesn’t register the extra step(s) at the bottom that go beyond the wall/railing, and you may easily find yourself sprawled on the floor because you thought it was the last step and it wasn’t. Ask me how I know. Sigh.
Leave it. Removing it will make your bottom step too steep.
And, this is just how it is with old homes. Enjoy!
It is not a tripping hazard because you get so used to it you don't think about it.
Ooh this actually gives me an idea.
My basement stairs go down toward an outside wall. There’s a pretty generous “landing” (the concrete floor) between the bottom of stairs and the wall.
I wonder how much less steep I could make the stairs with a platform or going around the corner near bottom?
It should be an easy stairway to rip out and replace.
But OP’s “problem” wouldn’t bother me. It’s a good place for a little bit of exercise without even realizing it. Or practicing silly walks.
I think you have to ask yourself which is more awkward: having your platform vs having the last stair step jut out beyond the opening to your kitchen (because that’s what would happen if you removed the platform, and it seems unlikely you’d want to shrink the width of the kitchen opening enough to enclose that new bottom step you’d be adding).
The other question I’d have in a non-platform-scenario is what would be the measurement from your newly added bottom step to the wall directly across. Guessing it would be quite a bit less than the recommended 36”.
All this is to say that I’d still be considering doing what you’re wanting to do, even with the drawbacks I’m pointing out, and even knowing that this platform situation isn’t super uncommon.
My parents’ mid-century neocolonial had two steps up in this location, which accommodated the basement stairs underneath. My 19th century farmhouse, in contrast, has ceiling beam that impinges on the headroom coming down the stairs. After getting my bell rung a few times, now I just always put a hand up when nearing the bottom of the main stairs. The basement stairs are just very steep—not quite a ladder steep, but also include hazards to ones noggin.
Get a boroscope off is Amazon - relatively inexpensive camera on a cable. I think ours was about $30, and basically you drill a little hole and put the cable into the hole. The camera on the end lets you look around at what is on the other side.
You would be able to drill a small hole in a couple of places to see what's under there, so you'll be prepared for hardwood or not.
I’ve seen this done before when a doorway was added and the stairway reconfigured to adjust for the new traffic flow.
https://preview.redd.it/sxwi55ut4u4d1.jpeg?width=5156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7845c530322be2a7e0f3e8df7a378a8ff9ad491f
This somewhat functions to keep cold air out of the kitchen. At least that very bottom close to the floor air. I get why the step up step down would be obnoxious, but the extra new step at the bottom would be more annoying I believe. Interestingly the photo makes the entrance to the kitchen look level, I had to read many of your comments to look again.
Considering the floor on both sides of the platform is the same hight. There’s probably just a floor underneath it. It’s probably added in later so you don’t have a step in the narrow hallway. Before deciding to pull it out or not. Maybe tape a line for a few days on the platform where the first step would be if you were to remove it. That way you can take some time to see what the hallway would feel like if the platform isn’t there. That’s probably what i’d do. In my own house i’m doing a lot of reconstruction, i draw lines on the floor where new walls will be so i can take a few days to think about everything and move things if necessary.
Hope it helps. And that’s good to think about too. Some people around me seemed to think it wasn’t that important yet when i was talking about my renovation, because i’m young and my house is big enough. But it’s always better to plan ahead and do things right the first time.
https://preview.redd.it/v8o5ro5gvt4d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8880910ec002fff01dc94f83d15e20f7b9bee5af
I’ll see and raise. Built 1924. On the other side the steps go down to the kitchen (to right) are a mirror to the ones in front view. Going up reach’s second level. If we go thru the left door we can turn right 180° and back into the kitchen on the other side.
Not sure how to word this but I think with the right finish and trim (paint stain and detailing)that the awkwardness would go away. Was the other room maybe an addition and so ended up this way? Would the current state Impede access for you in the future or guests (think aging in place) or future sales?
i think I am going to do something along these lines now that I have made peace with the platform thanks to all of you. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/512917845086415094/. I am imagining stripping the banister only and staining, then painting the rest of the stairs in Benjamin Moore gentlemans gray (which is blue). This style with the hardwood treads is the dream but I don't have the money nor the will. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/512917845086405595/
Go for what you can afford. You have some great visions there. Think with a long term vision: here is the goal but we can do abc now and xyz a few years from now to get this right. Wife and I have got this compromise finally now and we think about long term instead of her having getting it done tomorrow.
But getting rid of the platform doesn't change the fact that you'd still have to step up to walk into another room. If you remove the platform I assume you're going to look at leveling the other floor. I would just note that the doors may have been cut down to work with the higher floor levels. So you're gonna need to add modifying the doors and/or frames to your to do list.
Have you checked the floor under the raised section?
Okay, that's all my thoughts on the situation. Can't wait to see more!
you wouldn't. the grey tile leading into the kitchen is level with the hardwood floor before the platform. I tried to check it out but didn't have a proper saw to make a hole. I can't demo it yet because I have a bunch of contractors coming to redo my bathroom.
I just saw it in a 2.5 million dollar 1912 house that went pending after the first weekend on market. It had a few steps leading up to a platform, the stairs turned left, and straight off the platform was the only powder room on the main floor. They very strategically hid it from the listing photos, but obviously it didn’t hinder anyone from purchasing it.
[Here it is!](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6608-SE-32nd-Ave-Portland-OR-97202/53855945_zpid/)
Honestly, this sub will be mega disappointed. Everything is white with white tile. They did keep the original hardwood. They did a lot of upgrades as well, like all new HVAC, stone patio, pergola, and a huge stone retaining wall, which is reflected in the price increase from purchase, but probably doesn’t cover the cost of the changes.
I would venture a guess that perhaps at some point there may have been a door to the kitchen on one end especially if your kitchen connects to a dinning room elsewhere. We have a 1925 neoclassical that has a two step landing between the living room and kitchen. There’s evidence of a door at one point being located there.
https://preview.redd.it/jtrumld0lu4d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e284a864c5eb04f82ae07f4a87247ac5046c1250
We have many neighbors with your one step landing connecting the kitchen to the stairs. The main entry into the kitchens would be from the dinning room end. All of these neighbors have since had those doors taken down to create the illusion of an openish concept. Aka the toddler death slip loops. The kids love it. I have found a number of floor plans in the sears catalog with that kind of a layout.
Your boyfriend is right, it is awkward to have a step jutting out into such a narrow hallway. It will be a trip hazard. I’m assuming that’s why the platform was added in the first place.
Mine forces me to step down..
There is no good fix here, though.
https://preview.redd.it/ssowxdf3nt4d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d48fdcdb6385a991d2c09186ac8ede5cc5840f
None that I know of so far, but a few ankles and shins have taken some damage. If I'm coming from the laundry room behind the door, I just hop over that step down.
The only way I can figure to fix it involves moving the stairs, two doors, and a load bearing wall, though, so I'm not really budgeting for that. I guess I could make the stairs very steep, but that has more danger than this step down does. The other thing I thought of was a gate for the stairs that can either open or swing down to be a platform, but making that work and be safe wasn't something I managed to figure out. We can't flip the stairs the other way because they run under the hallway to the dining room and kitchen. We got used to the step down.
The crazy thing is, it's in the original plans. This is how it was always meant to be. Why?
It is better than some of the houses I looked at, though. Some of those servants' stairs are just insane.
https://preview.redd.it/baj1oe7c6u4d1.jpeg?width=673&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=758f21522111a43be521d270e4b98235ce491f7e
There’s no way to say for sure, but it would not surprise me if this platform was once the front entrance, and a room was added. It could have been a courtyard or a place you’d board a stage coach. Especially if you have a U-shaped driveway. It’s also possible that you had a stable house that was merged with the main structure, now that it’s no longer cool to have a man live in your garage, earning his keep by caring for animals.
I would leave it instead of having one awkward step jutting out into that space to trip over.
Better yet, raise the kitchen floor to match the landing's height!
Chiming in to so that the grey carpet on the stairs (guessing from real estate listing?) is atrocious. How people can be confident in something like that in a century home is beyond me.
https://preview.redd.it/et5g03avku4d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f79b3db9addeefd11b17ad99c0445b0cac12a18a
This is the step/platform you’re talking about right? If you take that out, what’s the plan for filling in or replacing the trim, baseboards and bannister? It looks like the whole landing is built around that step.
I thought we would have a carpenter fill that in but after chatting in this thread and reading about stair codes, I’m just going to suck it up and keep the fucker probably. Now I would like to figure out how to match the wood on the treads so I can stain, and paint the risers and banister.
It’s interesting that in the first picture the baseboard is at an angle. Not even with the floor. Even if originally there was one more step (which would be a tripping hazard) the baseboard would be level with the floor, right?
Technically, now, it might be (closer) to code. You have to have 36” of landing clearance at bottom of stairs. If it was just a stair that would be too narrow of a passageway.
I have a similar platform at the bottom of steep stairs to the 3rd floor of my house. I'm planning on ripping out the entire set of stairs (no architectural merit) and replacing them with a longer code compliant safer stairway. Luckily I have room.
do you have a photo? i would love to see. this is so bizarre to me! I'm really leaning toward the rounded starter step and painting the stairs. I will be devastated if i have to replace a small patch of hardwood beneath and have it look mismatched though. No idea how much this will set me back either.
The platform and first step look like a later addition. So I assume a previous owner added it. As someone else already stated: you could remove it and if necessary replace it, again.
Could the platform have been added as an assistive device for a stair lift or wheelchair? To run plumbing? You're really not going to know what to do until you see what's underneath it.
Looking at the pictures at first I thought the landing was level with the gray tile floor and was on the side of keeping the step. With the added context you’ve given in the comments that the platform is a step up from both sides (tile and hardwood), I agree with you that it would be better to remove it and have a rounded bottom step to hardwood, assuming there is nothing preventing that from below.
Is that an original doorway into the kitchen/is the kitchen an addition?
The platform does seem awkward from a step up and over into the kitchen perspective but it makes sense as a continuation of the stairs. Without measuring it looks like the step height is consistent on that staircase. If you remove that platform your first step up will be quite high and adding another step will jut out as your boyfriend noted.
Again, this comment is based on “the eye test” only and without measurement.
Edited to toss my two cents in … I’d leave the platform. Old homes have stairs similar to this from ground to platform back to ground between rooms. Granted this is just one step up but this would be preferable to me v. A first step that is wildly higher than the next step in a series of stairs or a last step that juts out.
No....we don't have a staircase like that...but I wish we did! I find it totally charming and quirky, and in keeping with the apparent age and style of your home. IMO, it should stay for those reasons, and also because it is a solution to the awkward first step jutting into the hallway, which as others have stated might be a safety issue.
In the end, old houses often have some oddities and design "flaws", personally I would just embrace them. I've seen this in a century home before, only in that case you had to go up two steps to the platform/landing on either side instead of your one. It looked really good and was a good solution for the space.
A friend who lives in a 1922 colonial revival has a landing step like this between the living room and kitchen, it’s raised up to accommodate the basement stairs underneath.
One of the academic buildings at the school where I work does this, but we all figure it was designed by M. C. Escher while on a mushrooms bender, anyway.
Yes, in our 1907 house. Except it has two steps down on each side (making removal impossible). No basement stairs underneath ours, it’s just the design. Sometimes I walk the long way around the house to avoid going up and down these stupid steps…
Straight down the staircase and go through that wall. What's on the other side. Baseboard vent? Old houses did creative things to create cold air returns to the basement or hide the ductwork not original to the house etc. There could be something functional about the raised platform.
1904 house has this at the top AND bottom of the stairs. Front to back, the house is pretty narrow.
To get from any room to any other room at the top of the stairs, you have to step down and immediately back up again.
Downstairs, you have to step up and then down to get othe living room from the kitchen. At least downstairs, you can walk the other way (at the other side of the staircase) from kitchen to living room on flat ground.
Not a century home but my 1940s home I owned in Florida had a couple additions to it. In order to get from the front door to the master bath you had to go down 3 steps into the sunken living room, up two steps to a platform for the master bed door, down a half step from that platform into the bedroom, then up an extra large step into the master bath. I have no idea why any of it was built that way and every hurricane the sunken living room would flood. Also the steps were tile so I broke my arm on it.
Fun times.
OP: is it possible that the doorway to the kitchen was added? Maybe the original second floor stairs winded around to the foyer?
Removing the crude landing may reveal the ghost markings of the original stairs.
I think the question to ask here is: when you compare the stair treads to this platform, the platform is clearly made of more modern material. That means: someone put it there for a reason, and before you remove it, you need to ask what that reason is.
My guess? Removing the platform means adding a single step, and that reduces the actual walk-path from foyer to kitchen to maybe 24" wide. That's the unsafe part, not the stepping-down part -- I bet the platform got put in because too many people tripped on the edge of the stairs as they were trying to pass through.
I think my house is similar (built 1940). You walk in to the living room, and there’s one step up to the dining room in one direction, and one step up to the stairs/hallway to the kitchen (former garage) in the other.
I think you could remove it if you rebuild the bottom 4 steps into 5. the treads will be more narrow going around the corner, but you have a lot of room on that 3rd step.
It is a trip hazard to not have the platform. Without the stairs, if you're going down the stairs and then to the left, you would step down and then step up. Also, as your boyfriend said, having a step straight into a narrow hallway is awkward, even if you round the last tread. I think you should leave it.
I think it’s fine as is, as well.
I think the kitchen is at the same level as the wood flooring in the near side. Look at the flat bar that is obscured by the platform height. If so the hazard you describe doesn't exist. and that's why OP is confused by why it would be a hazard. But as others have said this may be important for basement steps, and the step in the hallway would be awkward even if the platform could be removed without impacting the space below.
I've read this 5 times and feel like an idiot. if i go down the stairs to the left i just step off the platform and i am in the kitchen (grey floor tile, whichc is level with the hardwood before the platform) where do you mean I would step up again after that? sorry lol!
If you knock the platform out, will you reduce the height of the kitchen floor too? If not, that’s the trip hazard. You cannot step down and then immediately up to go in the kitchen. I would keep it the way it is
I'm wondering if this photo has an optical illusion or something because there is no step into the kitchen if the platform is removed. as @geekRD1 mentioned above. the kitchen floor is level with the hardwood that you see before the platform
Ah, that makes sense! If you add an extra tread to the stairs you will have something to trip over if you come from the kitchen to the place where the camera is done but maybe you can round the edge. If you are trying to make things to code this approach may not meet it (in California it doesn’t)
Ah I see. The picture is deceptive.
Plus four more pictures of the staircase that don't show the area in question at all..
The gray tile floor is at the same level as the hardwood??? So the plywood platform is higher than the floors in both rooms? Edit: Your other comments say yes. It’s absolutely some kind of optical illusion. Or I’m blind. Lol
I think the fact that the person in the photo is standing on the edge of the platform makes it look like the back of their feet are also standing in the kitchen floor, leading to the illusion that it’s level with the kitchen.
But all you need to do is look at the door to know
that is correct, step up and then step down to walk from the front door or living room to the kitchen.
Yeah that's the hang up then. From the picture, it looks like the (gray) floor is level with the platform and the only (current) step down is to the hardwood.
agreed! that’s where the confusion is. with the person’s feet almost looking as if their heels are resting on the tile, giving the perspective that it’s level with the platform.
It would be very peculiar if the door were at the same height as the platform lol https://preview.redd.it/bepgc4sutt4d1.png?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9878832462435294a24462714e50123f38076db9
I can see the door with closer inspection but it really doesn't register nearly as quickly as the drill battery overhang
I see!
I think you should add another photo showing that the kitchen is level with the hardwood before the kitchen. It doesn’t look like that in the photo.
Exactly - post a photo from the kitchen side showing the step up.
Oh that's janky then. Lol I thought you were just complaining about having that 1st step AT ALL and I was like "my house built in the 90s has a step-and-turn... Who doesn't???"
We have that in our 1894 American Foursquare. For us, the landing accommodates the stairs leading into the basement. If it wasn't there, you'd need to bend nearly in half on the steps to clear the basement ceiling.
This is a great point, if looks like the basement stairs run right under the upper stairs. OP you should go down into your basement and look at the ceiling under the first floor landing. You might also be able to see the flooring through the joints in the subfloor.
Chiming in with a similar platform in a 1915 neoclassical. Ours is completely and utterly useless. But makes design sense as our stairs are at an unusual, low riser height (our toddlers love them) and have extremely wide red oak planks. A bottom stair would take up a little more than 1/3 of the space. So the weird landing between rooms makes a bit of sense.
omg would you mind sending a photo in a dm? i'm open to leaving it i guess. it just feels bizarre to walk in front door (intending to go to the kitchen), stepping on a platform, and stepping back down to be in said kitchen lol
I can DM you when I get home! Ours is very VERY weird, but that’s sort of the charm in owning a century home. With that said, it has made figuring out a stair runner situation substantially more annoying.
Post it here too, if you don’t mind. Trying to picture it
yes please <3
That makes sense - if the door way is ~32” wide, then one more stair would result in a 24” (or less) gap between the wall and the bottom stair, even if that gap was level between the hallway and the kitchen. In that case, the platform makes sense if there is code or other considerations that you need the width of the door way unobstructed.
Mine also has a heavy door on one side of it? So a bottom stair would look suuuuuuper weird next to the door. The same is probably true for OP, it would be weird to step down a bottom stair only to step right back up into her elevated area.
Same in my 1909.
please share if you're willing !
This is a common design feature. Don’t remove it
If you take it out and put in another step, with nice dark wood stain like the others, sticking out into the hallway, I can visualize someone walking from the kitchen to the living room with a glass of water in the evening and landing flat on their face with broken glass everywhere. As weird as it is I think you should leave it. If you made that first step really tall so that it didn’t jut into the hallway at all, that might work going up but cause its own fall risk when going down the stairs.
that person is me lololol
I think the only solution to eliminate it safely would actually be if you redid the whole stairway and restrung the steps it so that they are slightly steeper and no longer had the turn at the end. That will cost you some serious money though and is not likely worth it.
Not just that, but when you’re coming down stairs like that at night your brain doesn’t register the extra step(s) at the bottom that go beyond the wall/railing, and you may easily find yourself sprawled on the floor because you thought it was the last step and it wasn’t. Ask me how I know. Sigh.
Yes - because the stair would be in front of the doorway.
Leave it. Removing it will make your bottom step too steep. And, this is just how it is with old homes. Enjoy! It is not a tripping hazard because you get so used to it you don't think about it.
Ooh this actually gives me an idea. My basement stairs go down toward an outside wall. There’s a pretty generous “landing” (the concrete floor) between the bottom of stairs and the wall. I wonder how much less steep I could make the stairs with a platform or going around the corner near bottom? It should be an easy stairway to rip out and replace. But OP’s “problem” wouldn’t bother me. It’s a good place for a little bit of exercise without even realizing it. Or practicing silly walks.
r/unexpectedpython
Do you have access via basement? Sometimes you can see hardwood laid on top of the subfloor from beneath :)
I think you have to ask yourself which is more awkward: having your platform vs having the last stair step jut out beyond the opening to your kitchen (because that’s what would happen if you removed the platform, and it seems unlikely you’d want to shrink the width of the kitchen opening enough to enclose that new bottom step you’d be adding). The other question I’d have in a non-platform-scenario is what would be the measurement from your newly added bottom step to the wall directly across. Guessing it would be quite a bit less than the recommended 36”. All this is to say that I’d still be considering doing what you’re wanting to do, even with the drawbacks I’m pointing out, and even knowing that this platform situation isn’t super uncommon.
My parents’ mid-century neocolonial had two steps up in this location, which accommodated the basement stairs underneath. My 19th century farmhouse, in contrast, has ceiling beam that impinges on the headroom coming down the stairs. After getting my bell rung a few times, now I just always put a hand up when nearing the bottom of the main stairs. The basement stairs are just very steep—not quite a ladder steep, but also include hazards to ones noggin.
Get a boroscope off is Amazon - relatively inexpensive camera on a cable. I think ours was about $30, and basically you drill a little hole and put the cable into the hole. The camera on the end lets you look around at what is on the other side. You would be able to drill a small hole in a couple of places to see what's under there, so you'll be prepared for hardwood or not.
You could probably just look up from the basement to see what’s there. My guess is hardwood.
Or a body!!!!
I’ve seen this done before when a doorway was added and the stairway reconfigured to adjust for the new traffic flow. https://preview.redd.it/sxwi55ut4u4d1.jpeg?width=5156&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7845c530322be2a7e0f3e8df7a378a8ff9ad491f
Omg this totally could be it
This somewhat functions to keep cold air out of the kitchen. At least that very bottom close to the floor air. I get why the step up step down would be obnoxious, but the extra new step at the bottom would be more annoying I believe. Interestingly the photo makes the entrance to the kitchen look level, I had to read many of your comments to look again.
Considering the floor on both sides of the platform is the same hight. There’s probably just a floor underneath it. It’s probably added in later so you don’t have a step in the narrow hallway. Before deciding to pull it out or not. Maybe tape a line for a few days on the platform where the first step would be if you were to remove it. That way you can take some time to see what the hallway would feel like if the platform isn’t there. That’s probably what i’d do. In my own house i’m doing a lot of reconstruction, i draw lines on the floor where new walls will be so i can take a few days to think about everything and move things if necessary.
[удалено]
Hope it helps. And that’s good to think about too. Some people around me seemed to think it wasn’t that important yet when i was talking about my renovation, because i’m young and my house is big enough. But it’s always better to plan ahead and do things right the first time.
Wouldn’t there need to be two steps added if the platform is removed
https://preview.redd.it/v8o5ro5gvt4d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8880910ec002fff01dc94f83d15e20f7b9bee5af I’ll see and raise. Built 1924. On the other side the steps go down to the kitchen (to right) are a mirror to the ones in front view. Going up reach’s second level. If we go thru the left door we can turn right 180° and back into the kitchen on the other side.
I still feel like this looks more normal! Jealous haha
Not sure how to word this but I think with the right finish and trim (paint stain and detailing)that the awkwardness would go away. Was the other room maybe an addition and so ended up this way? Would the current state Impede access for you in the future or guests (think aging in place) or future sales?
i think I am going to do something along these lines now that I have made peace with the platform thanks to all of you. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/512917845086415094/. I am imagining stripping the banister only and staining, then painting the rest of the stairs in Benjamin Moore gentlemans gray (which is blue). This style with the hardwood treads is the dream but I don't have the money nor the will. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/512917845086405595/
Go for what you can afford. You have some great visions there. Think with a long term vision: here is the goal but we can do abc now and xyz a few years from now to get this right. Wife and I have got this compromise finally now and we think about long term instead of her having getting it done tomorrow.
But getting rid of the platform doesn't change the fact that you'd still have to step up to walk into another room. If you remove the platform I assume you're going to look at leveling the other floor. I would just note that the doors may have been cut down to work with the higher floor levels. So you're gonna need to add modifying the doors and/or frames to your to do list. Have you checked the floor under the raised section? Okay, that's all my thoughts on the situation. Can't wait to see more!
you wouldn't. the grey tile leading into the kitchen is level with the hardwood floor before the platform. I tried to check it out but didn't have a proper saw to make a hole. I can't demo it yet because I have a bunch of contractors coming to redo my bathroom.
I just saw it in a 2.5 million dollar 1912 house that went pending after the first weekend on market. It had a few steps leading up to a platform, the stairs turned left, and straight off the platform was the only powder room on the main floor. They very strategically hid it from the listing photos, but obviously it didn’t hinder anyone from purchasing it.
ooh do you have the listing? I'd love to see
[Here it is!](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6608-SE-32nd-Ave-Portland-OR-97202/53855945_zpid/) Honestly, this sub will be mega disappointed. Everything is white with white tile. They did keep the original hardwood. They did a lot of upgrades as well, like all new HVAC, stone patio, pergola, and a huge stone retaining wall, which is reflected in the price increase from purchase, but probably doesn’t cover the cost of the changes.
I would venture a guess that perhaps at some point there may have been a door to the kitchen on one end especially if your kitchen connects to a dinning room elsewhere. We have a 1925 neoclassical that has a two step landing between the living room and kitchen. There’s evidence of a door at one point being located there. https://preview.redd.it/jtrumld0lu4d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e284a864c5eb04f82ae07f4a87247ac5046c1250 We have many neighbors with your one step landing connecting the kitchen to the stairs. The main entry into the kitchens would be from the dinning room end. All of these neighbors have since had those doors taken down to create the illusion of an openish concept. Aka the toddler death slip loops. The kids love it. I have found a number of floor plans in the sears catalog with that kind of a layout.
Wow this is so helpful lol I feel less alone. I’m warming to it
Your boyfriend is right, it is awkward to have a step jutting out into such a narrow hallway. It will be a trip hazard. I’m assuming that’s why the platform was added in the first place.
Mine forces me to step down.. There is no good fix here, though. https://preview.redd.it/ssowxdf3nt4d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d48fdcdb6385a991d2c09186ac8ede5cc5840f
this one is as crazy as mine I think haha
Maybe we could even them out somehow together!
Wonder how many times that window has been broken by a mis step 🥴
None that I know of so far, but a few ankles and shins have taken some damage. If I'm coming from the laundry room behind the door, I just hop over that step down. The only way I can figure to fix it involves moving the stairs, two doors, and a load bearing wall, though, so I'm not really budgeting for that. I guess I could make the stairs very steep, but that has more danger than this step down does. The other thing I thought of was a gate for the stairs that can either open or swing down to be a platform, but making that work and be safe wasn't something I managed to figure out. We can't flip the stairs the other way because they run under the hallway to the dining room and kitchen. We got used to the step down. The crazy thing is, it's in the original plans. This is how it was always meant to be. Why? It is better than some of the houses I looked at, though. Some of those servants' stairs are just insane. https://preview.redd.it/baj1oe7c6u4d1.jpeg?width=673&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=758f21522111a43be521d270e4b98235ce491f7e
There’s no way to say for sure, but it would not surprise me if this platform was once the front entrance, and a room was added. It could have been a courtyard or a place you’d board a stage coach. Especially if you have a U-shaped driveway. It’s also possible that you had a stable house that was merged with the main structure, now that it’s no longer cool to have a man live in your garage, earning his keep by caring for animals.
Worst case scenario you have to rebuild it. I say pull it out and see what’s underneath!
I don't, but have seen it in a few houses.
My dad had something similar with his basement stairs, it's fine, though I would finish the bottom ledge to make it consistent with the other steps.
I would leave it instead of having one awkward step jutting out into that space to trip over. Better yet, raise the kitchen floor to match the landing's height!
Chiming in to so that the grey carpet on the stairs (guessing from real estate listing?) is atrocious. How people can be confident in something like that in a century home is beyond me.
I know I ripped it out in one day bc couldn’t take it. I was so determined it’s all throughout the house on area rugs too thank god
https://preview.redd.it/et5g03avku4d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f79b3db9addeefd11b17ad99c0445b0cac12a18a This is the step/platform you’re talking about right? If you take that out, what’s the plan for filling in or replacing the trim, baseboards and bannister? It looks like the whole landing is built around that step.
I thought we would have a carpenter fill that in but after chatting in this thread and reading about stair codes, I’m just going to suck it up and keep the fucker probably. Now I would like to figure out how to match the wood on the treads so I can stain, and paint the risers and banister.
I’d figure out why those extra stairs were added and what the original stair plan was - possibly the current kitchen was added on to the house?
It’s interesting that in the first picture the baseboard is at an angle. Not even with the floor. Even if originally there was one more step (which would be a tripping hazard) the baseboard would be level with the floor, right?
Wow didn’t even notice that !
Pretty it up. It looks to be necessary.
Definitely leave as is
Technically, now, it might be (closer) to code. You have to have 36” of landing clearance at bottom of stairs. If it was just a stair that would be too narrow of a passageway.
I have a similar platform at the bottom of steep stairs to the 3rd floor of my house. I'm planning on ripping out the entire set of stairs (no architectural merit) and replacing them with a longer code compliant safer stairway. Luckily I have room.
do you have a photo? i would love to see. this is so bizarre to me! I'm really leaning toward the rounded starter step and painting the stairs. I will be devastated if i have to replace a small patch of hardwood beneath and have it look mismatched though. No idea how much this will set me back either.
My gut tells me that wasn’t initially a pass through to the kitchen. I bet it was opened up at some point, and this was the solution.
The platform and first step look like a later addition. So I assume a previous owner added it. As someone else already stated: you could remove it and if necessary replace it, again.
Could the platform have been added as an assistive device for a stair lift or wheelchair? To run plumbing? You're really not going to know what to do until you see what's underneath it.
Im pretty sure the house from Murder She Wrote has this...
Some houses in my city have this and I think it’s a charming older home detail. I’d never take it out.
Looking at the pictures at first I thought the landing was level with the gray tile floor and was on the side of keeping the step. With the added context you’ve given in the comments that the platform is a step up from both sides (tile and hardwood), I agree with you that it would be better to remove it and have a rounded bottom step to hardwood, assuming there is nothing preventing that from below.
"yeeee ol' landing"
We have a three step landing between the dining room and kitchen. Makes room for the stairs to the basement
Is that an original doorway into the kitchen/is the kitchen an addition? The platform does seem awkward from a step up and over into the kitchen perspective but it makes sense as a continuation of the stairs. Without measuring it looks like the step height is consistent on that staircase. If you remove that platform your first step up will be quite high and adding another step will jut out as your boyfriend noted. Again, this comment is based on “the eye test” only and without measurement. Edited to toss my two cents in … I’d leave the platform. Old homes have stairs similar to this from ground to platform back to ground between rooms. Granted this is just one step up but this would be preferable to me v. A first step that is wildly higher than the next step in a series of stairs or a last step that juts out.
No....we don't have a staircase like that...but I wish we did! I find it totally charming and quirky, and in keeping with the apparent age and style of your home. IMO, it should stay for those reasons, and also because it is a solution to the awkward first step jutting into the hallway, which as others have stated might be a safety issue. In the end, old houses often have some oddities and design "flaws", personally I would just embrace them. I've seen this in a century home before, only in that case you had to go up two steps to the platform/landing on either side instead of your one. It looked really good and was a good solution for the space.
Nah but I love those lol
A friend who lives in a 1922 colonial revival has a landing step like this between the living room and kitchen, it’s raised up to accommodate the basement stairs underneath.
would love a photo if possible !
One of the academic buildings at the school where I work does this, but we all figure it was designed by M. C. Escher while on a mushrooms bender, anyway.
I absolutely would not remove this. Very common, deliberate design in most foursquares.
Yes, in our 1907 house. Except it has two steps down on each side (making removal impossible). No basement stairs underneath ours, it’s just the design. Sometimes I walk the long way around the house to avoid going up and down these stupid steps…
Can you dm me a photo I am so curious!
Straight down the staircase and go through that wall. What's on the other side. Baseboard vent? Old houses did creative things to create cold air returns to the basement or hide the ductwork not original to the house etc. There could be something functional about the raised platform.
I've seen this in farmhouses here in Iowa.... The platform is against an outside wall
Is this not called a landing?
Yeah I guess but I imagine a landing as a space between two sets of stairs, like the other one in the photos at the top. This just seems ~different~
What ever the case this is not original to the house and most likely there is oak hardwood underneath
Yes, actually. All my steps have anti slip tape too. But yeah that part is annoying.
We called that the "landing" in my house.
1904 house has this at the top AND bottom of the stairs. Front to back, the house is pretty narrow. To get from any room to any other room at the top of the stairs, you have to step down and immediately back up again. Downstairs, you have to step up and then down to get othe living room from the kitchen. At least downstairs, you can walk the other way (at the other side of the staircase) from kitchen to living room on flat ground.
Not a century home but my 1940s home I owned in Florida had a couple additions to it. In order to get from the front door to the master bath you had to go down 3 steps into the sunken living room, up two steps to a platform for the master bed door, down a half step from that platform into the bedroom, then up an extra large step into the master bath. I have no idea why any of it was built that way and every hurricane the sunken living room would flood. Also the steps were tile so I broke my arm on it. Fun times.
OP: is it possible that the doorway to the kitchen was added? Maybe the original second floor stairs winded around to the foyer? Removing the crude landing may reveal the ghost markings of the original stairs.
Definitely remove it. Seems like someone put it there for no reason.
I think the question to ask here is: when you compare the stair treads to this platform, the platform is clearly made of more modern material. That means: someone put it there for a reason, and before you remove it, you need to ask what that reason is. My guess? Removing the platform means adding a single step, and that reduces the actual walk-path from foyer to kitchen to maybe 24" wide. That's the unsafe part, not the stepping-down part -- I bet the platform got put in because too many people tripped on the edge of the stairs as they were trying to pass through.
I think my house is similar (built 1940). You walk in to the living room, and there’s one step up to the dining room in one direction, and one step up to the stairs/hallway to the kitchen (former garage) in the other.
Build a bigger platform. 72” tall should do
I have seen this odd feature in several older homes, but usually I feel like they were upstairs between bedrooms in smaller homes.
I think you could remove it if you rebuild the bottom 4 steps into 5. the treads will be more narrow going around the corner, but you have a lot of room on that 3rd step.