The Dutch Stairs Dilemma

Welcome to me.

My new owners just recently got their keys, and my old owners had left to start their new life somewhere else, those traitors (jk, hehe). So anyway, now owners are full of new energy, new spirits to design and renovate—until they have to take care of my stairs.

Because, have you been in a typical old Dutch house? Especially in a place like central Amsterdam or something? If you’re familiar with these comrades of mine, you’ll know that a lot of them are so tilted forwards that you’ll get the feeling that they will fall ON you, like just, boom, to the street, all of a sudden. It was for a tax reason that they were built that way, and the lack of space. So due to the lack of space as well, they made the stairs super, super inhumanly steep.

Stairs in Amsterdam houses are not for the faint of heart.

source: dutchnews.nl

Well, look, I am not as old as my comrades. Those guys are some hundred years older than me, but hey, I’m also not so young anymore. Therefore I have a kind of typical Dutch stairs with no banister whatsoever. My new Lady Owner, who’s not used to Dutch stairs, was horrified.

My entryway, with stairs that have no railings and walls covered in granole texture.

So she decided that stairs had to be priority one, because she thought it might be dangerous. But it was apparently extremely hard to find anyone to do stairs. She was flabbergasted. All stairs companies had absolutely no time for them, maybe because everyone needs stairs at all times. One company who responded and actually sent a guy for inspection, in the end advised them not to put railings due to lack of space and natural light, so an extra railings would be a bad idea. I was rather offended. Do I lack of space and natural light?

I guess. Okay, I do. But it doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful. wink

Now I’m curious about Lady Owner’s plan for my entryway, after she was convinced that she would also be able to live like her husband and other normal Dutch people, with dangerous stairs and all. I hope nobody will fall down the stairs on my watch!

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