Stair C-913
As the entrance is usually the focal center of the main elevation, it should be selected with care and due regard to the type of home in which it is to be used. There are more than thirty designs in the Curtis catalog.
Strangers judge your home only by those things which are seen from the outside. But you and your family have to live with the things inside. While you are pleased by favorable comment on the beauty of the exterior, you are thrilled with greater pleasure at admiration of the restful rooms within.
First impressions of the interior are usually made by the hall. In the two-story house the stair may make or mar these first impressions. On account of its size, its utility, its construction as a part of the house, and its possibilities for beauty, the stairway is of both structural and architectural importance. Beauty depends not upon large-sized members, but upon graceful lines, good proportions and finely molded parts. In the entrance hall, French doors also add to the favorable impression which your home makes. They keep out sounds and drafts but do not shut out light between rooms.
A feature of Curtis stair construction which saves time for the carpenter is the “housing” of the wall stringers. The treads and risers, which are tongued-and-grooved together as shown above, on the right, are WEDGED into the housing, not nailed. This is the most satisfactory stair construction that has so far been devised to eliminate creaking and “giving.” This picture is taken from the under side of the stair.
Inter-Room Opening C-535]