A friend of ours built a pantry in a downstairs hallway, and they designed a floor that operated on pulleys so that they could walk over to the far reaches...not sure if that makes sense. So to install a hinged floor that stays down, but which can be pulled up/open when the downstairs need to be accessed? (Like a door, but it sits flat to create a floor). Definitely a challenging space, good luck!

I grew up in a house like that and no one ever fell down the stairs. You could put up a baby gate.

HB, I think I understand what you're saying... like a temporary platform that would float over the basement stairs. I had that sort of idea, just not sure how to implement it. Pic below to see how weird it is.

littlebug, my first thought was to just change the door to swing out into the porch, but that won't work because of the porch exterior door location. Changing the swing from left to right has pros and cons -- it would be more awkward for accessing/using the door because there's a wall right there, but it would be much safer re the basement stairs. The major downside with that change is being able to move things to/from the basement... I bring pellets in there and it's a straight shot from the outside door, through the french door, and down the stairs. Not a smooth operation if the door swing is changed. sigh. I'll think about it....

gracie, no one has ever fallen! but I'd rather improve it if I can. And I agree, the basement stairs where I grew up were probably more dangerous than these (broken foot bone offered as evidence. lol!). I thought of a baby/pet gate but aren't they really flimsy? would they hold any serious weight against it?

Here's a straight shot down the stairs... the railing there was clearly an afterthought. House built 1938.

Yeah, at my advanced age of 62 that entry would give me the willies. After you've fallen and broken a leg, then fallen again and broken an ankle (*sigh*), you're pretty cautious of accidents-waiting-to-happen.

I'm not sure if a baby gate would work well for you - there's not really two sturdy sidewalls upon which to affix the gate.

If you're really stressed out about it (which I definitely would be), I'd have a contractor in to reconfigure the stairs with a 90-degree turn and at least a 3-foot-square landing at the turn AND at the top.

I have almost the exact same arrangement in my house. It seems to give most folks "the willies" when they walk by, but nobody has ever come close to falling down the stairs. They just have a sense of "I might fall."

I added a short handrail on the left side for the upper portion, since when you initially walk down the stairs you don't have any other support until you get to the lower railing. We also put a small area carpet down (with bound edges) to cover the landing, and a matching carpet runner down the center of the stairs. Walking on the carpet seems much more stable than walking on the bare wooden stairs, since your feet do not slip.

Bruce

littlebug, I'd change the configuration of the stairs if I could but it's not physically possible -- no headroom. I'd have to either knock out part of the already tiny kitchen or part of the back hallway and a bedroom & closet. It's incredibly strange, but this back section of the house sits a couple feet shorter than the main house.

Bruce, looking at the photo I agree that I need a small railing on the top left... I'll see if I can figure out a way/place to attach it. And I'll get a better rug at the landing!

Thanks, everyone!

Changing the door to swing out instead of into that small space would greatly help the discomfort feeling by completely changing the movement into/through the space.

Put a hinged flat rail across the opening at handrail height with a latch of some sort.

A hatch door to the basement like the above response suggested may work. My mom has a similar set up-scary sometimes.

i thought I included pictures...hmmm, let me try again.

Reverse door swing and/or get one of those metal porch gates (not baby gate) that would screw on securely to both walls. I like the clever trap doors but unless you need the floor space for something it seems like overkill to me - are you going to want to lift that thing each time you go downstairs? On the other hand, if you have an exterior basement door, maybe youd want to have that be storage space instead of a stairwell.

I have almost the exact same entry. Could you build your entry area a couple more feet over where the existing steps are now and then move the steps -the whole shebang- that same distance at the bottom. That reads very confusing. My entry area is like yours but the actual floor space is bigger because the steps start a couple of feet farther into the stair well. Need a picture?

Thanks for the additional suggestions. As I've said, there is absolutely *no* room on either side of the door to move or expand anything, the position and placement of the basement stairs can't be changed without knocking out walls and rooms, and there's that weird concrete "shelf" that juts out and interferes with everything else. And, as I've said, it would cause other problems if the french door was changed to swing out. I've been searching for a simple 'bar' with a solid latch that I could run across the opening so it might also serve as a hand-hold, but I'm not finding what I have in my head. Not sure what search terms to use.

This is how my steps are. The door opens on the right against the wall. Go up the 2 steps on the left into the house.

My landing is about a foot or 18 inches bigger than yours over the steps.

Imhappy, I wish mine had that little extra bump out!!! The problem with moving the stairs forward even just a bit is that people of normal height already have to duck so they don't hit their head on the above floor when walking down the stairs. :p And, BTW, there is no other entrance to the basement.

My kitchen door opens out into the garage. There isn't enough room for it to open into the house. It works fine. You have to special order the doors to open out, so that the hinges are made differently. That way, the pins can't be knocked out of the hinge unless the door is open. Your door needs to open out with the knob on the right side of the door when you are looking at it from the inside. Opposite from what it is now. That way, you won't be next to the stairs opening the door and you won't be having to step almost on the stairs for you to get it past you.

I don't have to duck but everyone taller than I am has to. On the other hand, it's not a main traffic area so it works here.

I'm short too. But my 5'7" friend has to duck -- I've seen him hit his forehead when he's failed to duck. :(

Sherry_7bAL, as I've said, I *cannot* change the french door to swing out because of the location of the exterior door on the porch -- and it doesn't make sense to change the exterior door swing and I have no desire to change its location.