Unfortunately, thoughtful design has to start with an architect that understands grading and drainage and won't stick you with many obstacles to overcome. I think it is a safe bet that anyone contemplating a DIY project with that product in this situation has a limited budget. A budget that is not likely to overcome those obstacles that would allow a thoughtful ramp. You really have to know that the construction of a ramp going up 4' is going to create a number of new problems. They include aesthetic problems as well. Until the need for this type of access outweighs those problems it is unlikely to happen. I've done several HP rail-less walks (won't call it a ramp until it is >5% when it is an ADA access) into buildings. They are very difficult. The concept is easy, but once you start working the perifery, the issues start to surface. Drainage is the big one followed by fill against places it should not be, and then by length. There is a reason why most ADA ramps are big, ugly, and in your face and it is not because someone did not care that it looked that way.

Nice idea, but I too could see it being left open and someone falling in our house, or better yet the cat curling up in it for his nap, (which would be more dangerous for the person that stepped on him!) LOL! We did in our current small basement/playroom what che1sa posted. We turned it into a media/tv center for the kids, low to the ground so that the tv would not fall. We also put in pull out shelves for the dvd's, videos, games etc. I got the idea from something similar I saw in Southern Living mag. years ago. Ideamom are you building now or maybe your finished already?

Rough stair building is solid mid level carpentry. Watch some videos. You'll be fine.

We had the stair designer come by today, and it was a great meeting. I think the last time he was here we caught him on a bad day but this time he was really helpful, taking the time to answer all my questions and walk me through the design logic behind various aspects of his drawing. It helped that I came prepared with a better understanding of stair ergonomics and code thanks to those who have taken the time to share their thoughts with me on this thread. The end result is that we have made some minor tweaks and improvements to the plan, I'm getting what I want out of it, and I understand exactly why each of the various choices have been made. Key highlights: 1. We are doing away with the top 20" landing which @res2architect and @3onthetree objected to, and converting upper stairs to four equal 11.25" deep steps. The stairs will begin right when you open the door from the kitchen, but that door opens in to the kitchen (i.e. does not swing over the stairs) and in any case we plan to remove it in a few years once we're done the toddler phase and just have an open doorway there. I thought the point about the odd stride pattern from kitchen to backyard was an important one, especially as that's where we'll come in and out of the backyard, often carrying dishes and food to bbq and so on. The upper portion of the stairs are also the piece that guests will use the most so it will be good to minimize the quirks there. 2. We are going to have the stair railings built to be removable -- @Sandra Guistwhite sort of what you were suggesting (thanks, that was thoughtful). Not hinged or anything, just something that can be unbolted and taken off if we ever need to bring a sofa through or replace the washing machine, or if we really need much wider access to the under-stairs area for a project. 3. We are going to place the bottom newel post on the second step up from the lower landing and begin the handrail there to allow slightly better access to the under-stair area. This (and only this) part of the design is in fact a deviation from contemporary Ontario building code but since we don't have an inspector coming in we can get away with it, and I can see from some googling that it's a pretty common design that doesn't seem particularly risky. In fact, I only realized today this is how our other main staircase is designed, and my parent's staircase is the same, so I presume it was the norm in a previous era. At the end of it all, I think we'll have stairs which would alarm many Houzzers who are accustomed to a different type of housing stock and set of codes, but which will be relatively safe and work well for our needs and our quirky space. The stair designer told me today that he's done several sets of stairs in our immediate neighbourhood and designs like this are very often necessary. It turns out lots of people are putting in winder steps in high end contemporary renovations around here out of necessity. I do want to thank everyone who took the time to think about this and share their comments, even if the main thrust of many of them was "wow, you are/ your house is insane". I'll be sure to come back and post a photo when it's all done so you can see how it's turned out, even if it does end up horrifying some of you. I have a thick skin and can take it, and I do feel confident we're proceeding with the plan that's right for us and our house. I'm excited to see this come together!