down the up staircase

Liz West

When I first moved into this house, I had a two-year-old and a newborn. These stairs scared me. They were steep, the treads were shallow, and I could easily imagine a child tumbling down the stairs and out the window. Then I realized how many generations of children (and mothers carrying children) had gone up and down these stairs. I relaxed, although I kept a gate at the bottom of the stairs for years. Today, that open railing you can see on the left would not be allowed. A crawling kid could easily tumble down.

This stairwell had no railing, so we had to add one. I love the generations of paint that are visible on the stairs and in the hall.

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