Game Changing Open Basement Stair Ideas

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Today I am sharing basement stair ideas and how an open staircase leading to the basement will transform a narrow dark staircase to a bright open space while adding investment value to your home.  Opening up your basement staircase is one of the most affordable ways you can make your basement feel custom, open, and airy. If you missed our basement makeover post, check it out here.

Basement Stair Ideas 

Before we decided to open our staircase to the basement, I searched Google looking for ideas for basement stairs that would work for our space. 

One of the first things Jim said to me when we were designing the new basement plan was,

your basement stairway needs to be an open stairway and not have a wall on both sides

So we decided to make an open stairway to create an “open stair” feel.

By the way, if you are local to Massachusetts and want to finish your basement, Jim is the best contractor for the job! Just saying ….  🙂 

The biggest challenge when finishing a basement is making it feel like it’s not a basement.

I found several basement stair railing ideas for an open staircase on Google and was overwhelmed with the amount of stair rail ideas! Wow, there are some pretty elaborate basement stairs out there!

We wanted a space that was open, airy and felt like the rest of the house.

Open Staircase To Basement Ideas 

Our existing basement staircase was framed from the previous owner in preparation for a wall so Jim removed the existing 2×4’s and created an opening for a handrail and balusters to finish off the basement stairs renovation process.

Often times when a basement is finished, a wall will be installed (where the railings are) with sheetrock as this is the most cost effective way to finish a basement stairwell. When I did the price comparison of adding a wall verses and open stairway, the difference was on a couple hundred dollars which for me, was well worth it!

Here is our basement stair design before we started the basement remodel.

The unfinished basement stairs were nothing special and typical of a basement stairwell.

You can see below how we framed the staircase to a slanted opening to follow the staircase leaving an open space for the handrail and balusters.

Opening a stairway wall is one of the biggest things you can do in your home to make an open basement feel custom.

Staircases in any part of your home that are enclosed with walls create a dark and narrow space.

Basement Stair Railing Ideas

Once the staircase was framed, Jim added sheetrock to the wall portion (which also enclosed the space under the stairs making room for a closet), installed the handrail and drilled holes for the iron stair balusters.

There are several railings for basement stairs ranging in price. Our goal was to stay on budget while still having a designer look. These black stair railing balusters from Amazon were the perfect choice!

We wanted a modern railing look and iron hollow balusters were the most economical solution.

Installing iron balusters on an angle is a little tricky and a bit involved but maybe I can get Jim to explain in another post dedicated specifically to installing balusters on an angle at a later date.

Jim used Premium Loctite Construction Adhesive to secure the iron balusters in place.

We opted to use black iron balusters (shipped from Amazon in a day!) and baluster shoes (the black piece at the bottom of the iron rail) and added an adjustable square knuckle to create a custom look.

My single knuckle seems to be sold out but you can buy the balusters and knuckles as a set here on Amazon. 

You can purchase our railings and materials on our Amazon Storefront or click the images below.

The balusters, shoes and knuckles were so cheap but look expensive! Not sure what kind of knuckle you want?

Be sure to read our blog post, how to make balusters look expensive for under $2.

Open Basement Stair Ideas

So many of you emailed and asked how to figure out what color baluster to use.

We opened up our basement staircase and installed iron balusters  because the rest of the basement has black sliding barn door hardware and I felt like the black iron balusters would pop against the white trim and coordinate nicely with the door hardware.

Be sure to check out our basement reveal post to see the door hardware.

If you are not a fan of the black iron balusters, you can opt for wood balusters. I personally like white wood balusters as well.

What kind of wood should I use on basement steps?

There are several basement step ideas and ultimately, we purchased red oak treads for our basement steps and stained them the same color of our hardwood floors in the main part of the house.

This picture below shows the balusters, handrail and the oak treads (more on the treads and staining the stairway soon) installed.

Securing the iron balusters in place takes a little time and patience but well worth it!

What a difference our open staircase design made in our basement.

To create a cohesive look, the  stair treads are stained the same color (Cognac by Valspar) the hardwood floor throughout the house and the risers are painted Extra White color by Sherwin-Williams.

Note: The wall color is lullaby by Sherwin-Williams.

How can I make my basement stairs look good?

1. If your basement stairway has a traditional wall, consider cutting out an opening so the stairway is not a dark path that leads to the basement. You will be amazed at what this small change will do for your basement stairway. 
2. Consider removing the builder grade steps and adding oak treads and risers which you can paint or stain.
3. A stair runner is also a great option to add a designer look or spruce up your basement steps.

I hope you found these basement staircase ideas helpful and are inspired to start your own basement stair remodel. Click through this post “basement makeover and cost” to see the full finished basement renovation and new living space.