The front door in this house opens directly into the living-room, into which stairs come down at one side. The wood has natural treatment and part of the banister forms the wainscot of the room

Some of the best Colonial detail is to be found in newel posts where careful craftsmen worked a variety of spirals

One method of securing pleasing decorative effects was the use of balusters in three different designs

In the old farmhouses for the sake of warmth the main stairway was made with the smallest possible well and often closed with a door at the main hall

This is a modern example by Wilson Eyre of the stair well inclosed for the greater part of its length. Such arrangement is only possible under certain lighting conditions