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Based in Stoke, First Step Designs is a leading UK designer, builder, and installer of bespoke metal staircases. Over the past decade, we’ve helped countless homeowners transform their homes into something spectacular with precision-crafted metal stairs that bring visions to life, enhance how living spaces are experienced, and boost property values.
In recent years, we’ve been featured on Grand Designs and worked on increasingly high-profile projects, including a staircase renovation for the world’s strongest man, Eddie Hall. In 2024, we were crowned the Build It Award’s Best Staircase of the Year winners. With First Step Designs working on your dream metal staircase, you can rest assured knowing that you’re working with the best in the business.
We don’t do prefabricated or off-the-shelf designs. We design and fabricate every last element of our staircases ourselves, ensuring metal stairs that are truly unique and built around your style and aesthetic preferences.
Reach out to us today for a zero-cost and obligation-free discussion of your bespoke metal staircase needs. Our designers are on standby to assist you with precise 3D mockups and design concepts to help you build the stairs of your dreams.
We’re the best at metal staircases because we love the material. We love its strength and the challenges of working with a material as tough as metal. We love how versatile it is and its timeless aesthetic. We love how it looks great raw but also lends itself to various finishing options that complement the overall design.
Where other companies rely on metal for their staircases’ structures, our design and fabrication showcase the material as a defining design feature that enhances living spaces with a sleek, modern aesthetic.
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Your new or renovated stairs are no more than a quick call, email or message away.
You can also use our Inspiration Gallery to save images of our work that you like. Then, simply send them along with any other photos, plans, or details through our contact form so we can discuss your project.
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After understanding what you’re trying to achieve, we’ll send a detailed and itemised same-day quote. Our pricing is honest and transparent, allowing you to quickly determine if we are the right fit for your project.
At your request, we’ll gladly quote for multiple configurations of your ideal stairs.
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After visiting your home to take the measurements we need, we draft and present fully accurate 3D renditions of what your staircase will look like in your home.
Once the details, timelines, and installation dates are locked in, we begin fabricating your dream staircase.
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That’s right: sit back knowing that our expert team of craftsmen is hard at work bringing your staircase to life, fabricating your dream stairs to our exacting standards.
Depending on the complexity of the design, this typically takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days.
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Our expert and experienced team of Staffordshire-based installers will install your new or renovated stairs in 2 to 4 days.
They have a wealth of experience in joinery and engineering, a seriously professional attitude towards work, and operate as unintrusively as possible.
Right off the bat, the term metal staircase is open to interpretation. To some, it means a staircase that relies on a metal substructure for rigidity and support, with little of the metal visible during normal use. For others, it can mean a floating or central spine staircase where the metal elements are brought to the forefront instead of being substituted for glass, wood, or concrete.
No matter how you define it, First Step Design has the skills and experience to craft a metal staircase to complement your home’s aesthetic, architectural features, and available space. If you have your heart set on a bespoke metal staircase, we’ll create one that is not only structurally sound but also a striking focal point in your home.
While this is only a rough guide, metal staircases are commonly found in various home styles and configurations. For example:
Designing and crafting bespoke staircases can take several months. Award-winning staircases that leave nothing to chance take time, and we typically advise our clients to begin the design process 4 to 6 months before installation. This allows us to go through various design possibilities and iterations, ensuring stairs that are truly yours.
It is also important to consider that the staircase must be ready to install when the building is ready to take it. Delays can hold up the entire project, leading to frustration and additional project costs. With enough lead time, our design, engineering, and installation teams can ensure a staircase like no other, while remaining within budget and not delaying the project.
When a client has a very clear idea of what they want, we can design, fabricate, and install a bespoke staircase in as few as 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the design.
Bespoke staircases are often highly personalised, with factors such as the design complexity, material choices, finishing details, and installation difficulties all affecting the final cost.
Most of the bespoke staircases we have delivered in recent years ranged between £20,000 and £30,000 (+VAT).
Want to learn more about bespoke staircase pricing? Check out our blog on How much does a new staircase cost? for example projects with specifications and pricing.
Bespoke staircases are overwhelmingly constructed from a mix of materials. Almost all bespoke staircases feature a steel substructure or a reinforced timber structure, which can either be left visible or designed to be out of sight. The rest of the staircases are typically manufactured from steel, wood, glass, stone, or concrete, depending on our clients' requirements.
Materials are selected for their structural performance and how they contribute to the overall value of the design. Our design team plays an active role in guiding our clients to material choices that complement their home's aesthetic.
As long as the stairs are built to match the client's specifications, any style of staircase can be considered bespoke. As the UK's leader in bespoke stairs, we craft a wide range of custom staircases while ensuring they still meet UK structural and building regulations.
Bespoke staircases are stairs that have been specifically designed and built around an individual client's specific needs. Where mass-produced, pre-fabricated, or modular staircases that conform to standardised sizing aim to keep cost and complexity to a minimum, bespoke staircases offer homeowners the chance to transform their homes into unique spaces with striking staircases, impressive sightlines, and impossible-to-ignore focal points.
Bespoke staircases cost more; however, they are typically built by skilled craftsmen with a passion for making beautiful things with their hands, as opposed to mass-produced alternatives focused on speed and scale.
