Sandy, What posts you use will depend on the soil. If it's rocky you may have a problem putting in wood or pvc. You may have to drive in metal posts. If the sides of the concrete steps are exposed you may be able to bolt posts to the sides. Heavy rope can be strung between your posts for a handrail. Looking forward to seeing your first posts in the Hypertufa forum. Billie

Okay, I'm asking forgiveness in advance for opinionated comments: In everyday living, exterior stairs get wet, slippery, cold, icy. And, unless exquisitely designed (to be a statement of elegance), they look tacky. Statements of elegance are quite often inconvenient to live with, although one can bask in the initial admiration of visitors. I know that in some areas, exterior stairs are a... neighborhood tradition; a statement of necessity. And all too often, they look it. I think the architect's foyer is rather big, but oh my, the opportunity to make a decorating statement!! OTOH, I suspect 12x14 may be in proportion to the house. The architect needs to bend his brain so that the top of the staircase does not interfere with your views. I do hope someone has realized that an elevator would be of even greater use, especially if anyone breaks a leg, brings in the groceries or hauls out the trash. And if DW wants a traditional entry, an elevator could certainly take one up to the usual doorway.

"No, they have to build to code. When it comes to stairs, approved drawings are more like suggestions." Well, they should be accurate, but I really do not see many architect drawn plans that are. Case in point, ILoveRed's plan is only accurate on the 2nd floor plan. Appearantly, you are allowed to loose a tread for each lower level you draw. It also bugs me that they tend to spec stairs at code minimums. I have never drawn plans with less than a 10.5 inch tread run, 10.75 or 11 when convenient. I am also almost always able to stay under a 7" rise because I simply figure out how much room is necessary before I draw the rest of the house. If I were actually involved with this plan as a GC, I would have made sure the plan was corrected to a max 7" rise, and min 10.5 run before it was finalized. If I was not involved until after the plans were approved, I would have drawn out a few alternatives before construction started to explain what can be done at that point to fix the steep stairs, and most of them would have proper winders that feel good, not that 45° corner nonsense.

Hi Devorah. A pantry would work great in that location. You can keep the door where it is and install pull out shelves, drawers or baskets. The depth of these "pull outs" would vary depending on the location within the pantry. Another option would be to continue the kitchen cabinetry around. The base cabinet would have a false front on it (inoperable). You could then wrap the countertop around on top of the new base cabinet with the false front. It appears that this new countertop could be approximately 24 inches deep. An upper cabinet or shelves (possibly for cookbooks) could be added above. Since this base cabinet would only take up about 24 inches the the staircase the remaining space could be used for built-in shelving in the office for books. And then there's the option of creating a compartment for a hidden safe. Hope this is helpful. Debra Wendling Architect Wendling Designs