Bringing in the light

In Los Angeles a two-story house will often have the staircase buried in the middle of the house. This spot can be the darkest location, because much of the light normally enters through the front and back ends of the house; the center tends to have more service-oriented spaces, such as closets, storage areas and the like, with no windows nearby.

A staircase provides an opportunity to bring light down into the middle of the house. Because the stair penetrates up through the ceiling and to the second floor, it opens up the ground floor to daylight received from windows and skylights upstairs. Careful placement of stairs, windows and skylights can transform the downstairs experience, and save a great deal of lighting energy besides.

[images from our recently-completed project in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in collaboration with the talented interior designer Matthew Curry. Please click on photos for larger versions]