Choosing modern handrails | Tips on choosing a type of wood, style and material combination
Choosing modern handrails | Tips on choosing a type of wood, style and material combination
A modern staircase often incorporates light colours and consists of materials such as metal and glass, creating a stylish focal point in the home. Choosing the right handrail for a modern staircase can sometimes be tricky if you aren’t sure what to look for.
Here, we discuss how to choose a modern handrail to emphasise the contemporary feel of a staircase and explain what factors to look for.
Read the benefits of opting for a modern wall-mounted handrail.
What should you look for in a modern handrail?
Choose lighter woods
Modern staircases benefit from a simple handrail design, and often lighter colours work well to create a contemporary feel. A lighter wooden handrail can also help to create a welcoming, bright space in your home, often making your staircase appear larger.
Lighter woods that you may want to choose for your modern handrail include:
Hemlock - a predominantly knot-free timber with a straight grain, hemlock will take a stain easily with the minimum of colour distortion and does not split or break when being worked with. Being less brittle also makes hemlock stronger than many hardwoods.
Pine - Pine is a knotty timber with a creamy white to yellow appearance, which can be stained, varnished or painted.
White primed - The base wood used for the white primed parts is either Birch or Poplar (tulipwood), a knot-free, pale hardwood that lends itself to be used for white primed parts. The parts are sprayed white, to a very high standard. They are classed as "primed" as there can often be some colour variation between batches, so they can be finished in the colour of your choice or just left plain.
Oak – White oak is known for its excellent strength and is a common option for a modern staircase. Handrails designs of oak offer an attractive pale brown appearance. Oak is a straight-grained medium to coarse hardwood and stains and polishes well. Find out more about the benefits of using oak handrails here.
Recommended modern handrail designs
Hemlock HR Handrail 2.4mtr, 32mm groove with infill
The HR handrail has a 32mm groove, which will allow a 32mm spindle to be fitted into the groove. Infill/spacer comes pre-packed in with the handrail.
Hemlock stair parts come unfinished. They can be finished by painting, varnishing or waxing.
Handrail Size: 2400mm x 59mm x 59mm, with 32mm groove with infill.
This pine HDR handrail is part of the Pine range of modern and traditional stair parts.
This handrail is ungrooved, so it is ideal for use with glass brackets/ clamps and spindles that are fastened directly onto the handrail. It can also be used as a handrail on a wall.
Pine stair parts come unfinished. They can be finished by painting, varnishing or waxing.
Incorporating glass into a balustrade is very common in contemporary homes and can open up the staircase, introducing light and space to the area. To do this, you can purchase glass-grooved or ungrooved handrails and pair them with glass panels. Glass panels are also ideal if you want to showcase your staircase steps—for example, if you have natural wood flooring. We offer a range of handrails that have an 8mm groove cut into them for the glass. The glass is then secured into the staircase handrail with silicone.
Choose wall-mounted metal handrails, end caps or spindles
If you like ultra-modern handrail styles, metal handrails are a perfect contemporary option. The reflective surface of a sleek chrome handrail is commonly paired alongside glass panels to complement metal’s contemporary feel.
Additionally, if you have a wall-mounted mopstick handrail, metal end caps are an easy way to bring a modern look to a mopstick handrail and add a unique staircase design element. Metal end caps are easy to incorporate, as they simply slot onto the end of the handrail. You can view a range of end cap designs here.
