Beyond Function: Crafting the Signature Staircase in Our Geneva residence

Kia Designs Finds Harmony in a Swiss Setting

At Kia Designs, we believe luxury is found in the details, and every element in a home should tell a piece of the client’s story. Our recent interior architecture project in the beautiful, exclusive Geneva neighbourhood gave us the perfect opportunity to prove this.

We were working closely with a highly respected local Swiss architectural firm on a brand-new home for our international clients. While the architects handled the incredible shell and structure, we focused entirely on the internal experience—the flow, the light, and the materials that transform great architecture into an extraordinary home. Geneva demands a style that blends Swiss precision with sophisticated warmth, and no element was more central to this goal than the main staircase, the vertical spine of the house.

The Staircase: More Than Just a Way Up

We never see a staircase as merely a functional transition. It’s a key piece of internal sculpture, a focal point that determines how light moves and how the home breathes. For this Geneva residence, the stairwell was designed to be bright, airy, and open, naturally incorporating a sleek glass balustrade.

During the initial construction phase—with its exposed frames and raw plasterwork—we looked at the space and immediately spotted a potential aesthetic risk. An entirely glass and white-plaster enclosure, while clean, could easily feel too cold, too sterile, completely undermining the warm, inviting atmosphere our clients were dreaming of. This is where our design intervention began.

Design Evolution I: The Warm Embrace of Wood Framing

The sheer glass balustrade needed a reliable frame to secure it. The standard construction choice offered to us was a sharp, minimalist metal frame. It would certainly be neat, but it was set to introduce a slight industrial edge that just didn’t sit right with our vision for the home.

We knew we could do better.

We challenged this default, jumping into a discussion with our Swiss partners and the specialised sub-contractors. Our proposal was clear: let’s replace that cold metal with a beautiful, natural wooden frame. This small shift carried enormous design power.

We specified that the new timber frame be custom-finished to perfectly match the exquisite parquet flooring slated for the ground and first floors. This choice immediately achieved two major objectives we couldn’t ignore:

1. Visual Anchoring: The wood created a consistent material language, establishing a seamless flow between the horizontal floor and the vertical stair. This single-material connection grounds the entire central core of the home in warmth and continuity.
2. Tactile Experience: The timber introduces an essential tactile, organic element that instantly softens the visual sharpness of the glass and prevents the stairwell from feeling sterile against the white walls.

We also took extra care to align the dimensions of the new wooden frame precisely with the surrounding plasterboard bulkheads, ensuring a clean, bespoke line weight. This level of precision is non-negotiable for a Kia Designs finish. The best news? Our brilliant sub-contractors confirmed that integrating this custom wooden framing came at no additional cost, allowing us to elevate the aesthetics without impacting the project budget.

Design Evolution II: The Functional Handrail and the Colour Conundrum

Beyond the open balustrade, the right-hand wall required a functional handrail for comfort and safety. We maintained our material commitment here: the rail itself had to be timber, specified to be an identical match to the new wood flooring. This continuity avoids visual fussiness and allows the eye to appreciate the quality of the finish throughout the home.

The wooden rail required robust metal brackets for structural support. Our initial design strategy was pure camouflage: paint the metal brackets in the exact same sophisticated beige chosen for the stairwell walls. The goal was to make the structural element vanish, allowing the gorgeous wood handrail to appear to float against the plaster.

The Pivot to Contrast: Finding the Perfect Pop of Colour

Here’s where the real-world construction process stepped in.

Executing the camouflage plan proved surprisingly tricky. When we reviewed the manufacturer’s available paint finishes for the metalwork, we found they simply couldn’t provide a precise match for our bespoke beige. The samples they offered leaned unacceptably towards greenish or greyish undertones that would have immediately clashed with the wall colour.

This was a pivotal moment. We were faced with a choice: settle for an imperfect “near-match” that would look like a cheap mistake, or change course entirely. We opted for a confident new direction. Instead of trying to make the structural elements disappear, we decided they should make a deliberate, beautiful statement.

We proposed a shift to a stunning contrast, introducing a muted, gentle Pastel Blue (Pastellblau) for the metal brackets.

This bold, yet measured, decision was an instant win for the design:

1. Visual Depth: The blue adds a fine, elegant delineation between the warm wood and the cool beige wall, making both materials stand out more distinctly.
2. Design Connection: Crucially, the blue hue wasn’t arbitrary. It was carefully selected to connect with other key accent colours already woven into the home’s comprehensive design scheme, such as detailing in lighting, subtle tones in soft furnishings, or abstract elements in planned artwork. This small detail spoke volumes, linking the staircase to the holistic design narrative of the entire residence.

Our clients were thrilled with the blue accent, appreciating how this spontaneous change added character and connected the stairwell to the broader context of their new home. It’s a perfect example of transforming a construction constraint into a bespoke design flourish.

Conclusion: The Power of Detail and Collaborative Success

The journey of the Geneva staircase handrail—from replacing a standard metal frame with custom wood, to pivoting the bracket colour from camouflage to a confident blue contrast—perfectly illustrates the meticulous, detail-obsessed approach of Kia Designs.

By working seamlessly with our Swiss architectural partners, we ensured that every decision, even down to the precise RAL colour of a tiny bracket, contributed positively to the final architectural vision. The completed staircase is far more than functional; it’s a warm, inviting, and highly refined piece of interior architecture that elevates the daily experience of moving through the home.

We love that this project is a true testament to the power of design collaboration and the commitment required to deliver genuine bespoke luxury, no matter the continent.

If you’re planning a new build or a complex renovation and demand this level of detail and problem-solving, we’d love to discuss how the Kia Designs team can bring form, function, and finesse to your next residence.