Imagine, for a moment, you slip on the stairs. It wouldn’t matter, though, right? Because you’d grab the handrail to steady yourself.
Handrails are an often overlooked design feature in a home or commercial building, even though they’re necessary for safety. If you can get creative with everything from the bar material to the design of the handrail brackets, you’re on your way to creating interiors that stand out while also keeping people protected.
Below, we look at six creative places hand-forged handrail brackets will make a world of difference.
1. Tiny House Safety
You might think that because a tiny house is small, you don’t need to worry about “big house” things like hand railings on stairs.
Tiny house dwellers-to-be are often building on a budget and want to save costs wherever they can. The RV and mobile home codes in most states are yet to catch up with the ceiling height of tiny houses, so hand railings with sturdy modern handrail brackets are not yet the norm. These two factors can sometimes lead to unintentional corners being cut and user safety coming second.
The typical tiny house is 8 by 20 ft (2.4 by 6.1 m), and the entire area of the home rarely stretches past 500 square feet (46 m2). A high ceiling matched with a small footprint means tall, steep stairs, mezzanine bedrooms, and hard-to-reach storage areas.
Tiny house designers and owners can add handrails with attractive iron brackets on stairs and near interior balconies to reduce the risk of falls. Smaller handrails also make great bars for hanging pots and pans or make bags, freeing up valuable floor space in already-teeny bathrooms and kitchens.
2. Grand Entranceways
There’s nothing worse than stepping through the front door of a luxurious home only to be underwhelmed by a lackluster entranceway staircase. What should be a take-your-breath-away moment is deflated by a lack of design know-how.
Homeowners, don’t let this happen to you!
If you own a period home, it’s crucial to find handrails authentic to the era in which it was built. A 1920s staircase requires expertly crafted art nouveau handrail brackets. A mid-century modern interior design needs something with decidedly fewer frills and flower motifs.
In a newly built house, you have more freedom to go with the latest trends. Go ahead and import that Carrara marble staircase from Italy, or you could instead support American-made and buy from local craftspeople like blacksmiths and carpenters.
Depending on a home’s layout, a wall can flank a staircase to the left or the right. Look for stair handrail brackets that allow for bidirectional mounting so that you can position the brackets as needed.
3. Epic Tree Houses
It’s every kid's dream: building an epic treehouse in that big ol’ oak tree outback with their dad or mom. The bigger, the better, and the higher, the better, too.
It sounds idyllic, but most treehouses of yesteryear were cobbled together from leftover wood scraps and rusty nails. Today, however, people create topiary abodes to rival the actual homes they live in. These tree-top nooks come replete with running water, patio BBQs, electricity, and cozy sleeping spots.
If you’ve built an extravagant treehouse experience with Airbnb or rental guests in mind, safety will be a crucial concern. Stairs, mezzanine floors, and balconies are a slip-and-fall lawsuit waiting to happen.
To avoid legal strife, make sure exterior and interior stairs are fitted with a handrail wall bracket and matching handrail along their entire length.
4. An Organized Greenhouse
Did you know that iron is the traditional sixth-anniversary material?
What better way to celebrate six years of wedded bliss than with a pristinely Marie Kondo-ed greenhouse complete with everything hanging in its place on hand-crafted iron handrail brackets and handrails?
If you live on a block of land anywhere, the winters get frosty; you’ll know a greenhouse is a necessity. You can use it to start vegetables in preparation for spring planting, grow edibles all year round, keep pest-prone plants like cauliflower and broccoli safe, or just use it like a backyard shed to store soil and gardening equipment.
Employ handrails as hanging devices to keep planters and gardening tools off the ground or shelves. Also, if the floor gets muddy inside your greenhouse, add railings at entranceways or anywhere else there’s a danger of slipping.
5. Down-to-Earth Deck Stairs
Decking materials are exposed to the elements daily–wind, rain, hail, and snow. When it comes to exterior handrail brackets, you need something sturdy that’s going to stand up to anything Mother Nature can throw at it.
Of course, if you’re outside a lot or like to host BBQs or outdoor dinner parties on your patio, the style of your deck railings matters as much as their function.
Something like rustic farmhouse iron handrail brackets already has that authentically worn feel despite coming fresh from the forge. Iron is also a sturdy material, holds up to decades of stress, and looks grand with both wood and metal railings.
Keep in mind that in most cities and states, outdoor construction needs to pass inspection. Check the decking handrail height, length, and bracing requirements before installation.
6. Slip-Proof Bathrooms
Grab bars are necessary for the homes of older adults, people with disabilities, and those who are mobility or health-challenged.
These vital pieces of safety equipment offer:
- More independence
- Peace of mind for extended family members
- Reduced risk of falls and slips
- Joint pain relief
- Support and confidence when moving in wet areas
It’s essential grab rails are installed in the right places.
Vertically aligned bars help people get up off a bath or shower seat. You should position horizontal rails approximately 10 cm above the rim of the bath. And bars that slope downwards slightly take pressure off weak or painful wrists.
Just because grab bars are a safety requirement, it doesn’t mean they have to be unattractive. You can consider handcrafted iron or other ornamental materials and designs so long as you meet the placement, strength, and grip requirements.
Elevated Handrail Brackets for Any Space
As you can see, there’s a use for handrail brackets in almost every part of a home or backyard. Far from being simply an implement for securing a stairwell, handrail brackets can be an integral part of a safety system while complementing a home’s decor.
Shop the selection of hand-forged iron handrail brackets at Old West Iron today. They’re both decorative and functional, meet code requirements, and couldn’t be simpler to install.
Kommentare
Handrail brackets as a component of the handrail system of a stairway, all vital to the safety and code compliance to the complete system. Thank you for sharing the necessary of handrail on any stairway.