This week we have been working with our East Orleans homeowners, the builders, & Viewrail to review shop drawings for the main stair (and focal point of the first floor!). A3 Architects is looking forward to signing off on the design soon and seeing the stair in the space this spring!

Working on these drawings has us thinking back to other projects and all the stairs we’ve worked on (and are currently working on!). We love designing a brand new modern stair, but the traditional stairs typical of a historic Cape Cod house hold a special place in our hearts. We especially enjoy the variety, from grand stairs centered directly off the front door all the way to the little tucked away ladder-like stairs hidden behind an inconspicuous door (or cabinet) that are so common in old Cape Cod houses!

For this post we’re going to look back and share a few antique stairs that we’ve worked on and share a few that we’re currently obsessed with — we have several fun renovations that are either under construction or are in development!

Be sure to check back in for our next post, where we’ll take a look at some of the more contemporary stairs that we’ve gotten to design!

Barnstable village historic renovation

The Barnstable Village Historic Renovation’s Main Stair is a real show stopper. Centered right when you walk into the antique Cape Cod house, the symmetrical main stair stops at a shared landing with a couple of steps up on the left and right to matching bedrooms.

The Barnstable Village Renovation’s Main Stair

The Barnstable Village Renovation’s bedrooms on either side of the antique stair.

New Project - Wellfleet Cape Renovation

We measured a beautiful Wes Andersen like historic cape in Wellfleet late this summer. The house reminded us of our Barnstable Village Renovation with a gorgeous ladder-like main stair centered on the front door with two second floor bedrooms flanking the top landing. We are loving the schematic design phase of this project. It is exciting to work on houses with such unique character and energy!

New Renovation Wellfleet Cape Cod - front hall

New Renovation Wellfleet Cape Cod - main stair

New Renovation Wellfleet Cape Cod - second floor bedrooms

New Renovation Wellfleet Cape Cod - Dining room (those built-ins & fireplace….) The back stair is off the dining room tucked behind a door - we almost missed it! Reminded us of our Harwichport Renovation (see below).

New Renovation Wellfleet Cape Cod - The tucked away, practically hidden back stair. (We love the wear on those treads.)

Historic Harwichport cape Renovation & Addition

Historic Harwichport Cape Renovation - Love this little ladder-like stair tucked away behind a paneled door—it looks just like a built-in when closed!

New Project - Wellfleet Cape Renovation 2

This is another historic Cape Cod house we measured in Wellfleet this summer. It also follows the traditional floor plan of main stair centered on the front door with flanking bedrooms at the top of the stair — BUT take a look at this stair — double wide with a center railing! Same, but different! We’re also really enjoying the schematic design phase for this project.

Wellfleet Cape Renovation - Front Entry and the double wide stair AND we love a puppy cameo!

Wellfleet Cape Renovation - First time seeing a double-wide front entry stair! Anyone else?!

Wellfleet Cape Renovation - This Cape Cod house also has a tucked away back stair hidden behind a door (and love the rope railing! so simple and utilitarian… wonder if our Cape building inspectors would approve this…

Point of Rocks fishing shack

This project is a renovation of an existing 1930s fishing bungalow in Brewster, located directly on the Bay. The existing bungalow was so charming, with exposed framing and a small stair tucked beside the wood burning fireplace. We worked hard to keep the existing stair & treads (look on the wear on those steps!) in place and work around this special feature.

Point of Rocks Fishing Shack - we love the wear on the treads.

New renovation & Addition in Dennis

We have been working with the homeowners of this gorgeous historic Dennis house, developing plans for a renovation & small addition at the rear of the house. The bones of this house are beautiful and one piece that is staying “as-is” is the central stair. Take a look at these details — just perfect.

Dennis Historic House to be renovated - construction to start this Fall

Dennis Historic House - The newel post…..

Dennis Historic House - These low railing heights add such character to the space. They do not comply with modern building codes, but by keeping the stair as designed we can hold on to this beautiful historic feature. Love the balusters.

Dennis Historic House - The soft curve of the stair & main foyer

Dennis Historic House - View from the top of the stair. Love the way the railing curves and terminates into the wall.

Okay, you’re probably wondering what we’re talking about …

The short answer: GBGS and SDLS are the decorative grilles on a window.

The next question you might have “is what are grilles?” …look left- we did a quick sketch calling out the anatomy of a 2 over 2 double hung window.

Now you might be wondering why we’re talking about this at all… From an architecture standpoint we love windows. They do a number of things for a structure –let in light, bring in fresh air, they also articulate the overall feel of a space. Large windows with no grilles provide an unobstructed view allowing the most light into a space. Windows with a lot of grilles harkens back to a more traditional, historical style that you will see driving down historic 6A on the cape.

A historical cape cod house might have a 12 over 12 window pattern. This means that there were 12 panes of glass in the upper sash and 12 panes in the lower sash. A modern approach to this look that allows more light in and less cost is a 6 over 6 or 6 over 1 window which is commonly seen on the cape.

Historically, windows were a collection of smaller panes of glass that were joined together by muntin bars. These muntin bars were integral to having a larger window unit; but they were also a weak point of the window from an energy standpoint. The bars were made of wood or metal that acted as a thermal bridge from the interior of a structure to the outside. As technology increased we found ways to produce larger pieces of glass without the need of this joinery and eventually we began producing double glazed and triple glazed windows that are extremely energy efficient. So, from a functional perspective we don’t need the muntins (or grilles), but from a decorative standpoint we can have them in one of two ways.

Windows with GBGs, Grilles between the Glass

GBGs or grilles between the glass are just as their name describes --- grilles that are placed inside the double glazed window. This gives the look of a traditional window from a distance, but when you are closer to the window you see that grilles are inside the glass. These windows appear flatter in comparison to a window with SDLS.

Windows with SDLs, Simulated Divided Lites

SDLS are an architect’s preferred detail for window grills. SDLS or Simulated Divided Lites are grilles that are applied directly to the surface of the glass and provide the most authentic look for the window while still providing the energy efficiency of a modern double glazed window. These windows appear flatter in comparison to a window with SDLS.