Gizmodo: staircase

Ultimate Hidden Staircase Ideal for Wannabe Bond Villains

AddyDugdale — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:40:00 EDT

Giz is a big fan of the secret passageway, but this sub-staircase version really is the mutt's nuts. A cross between a drawbridge, a private jet and something that, to kids, is straight out of Indiana Jones and the Duplex of Suburbia, the concealed hidey-hole is just one of a series of designs from Creative Home Engineering, a firm that puts hidden doors just about everywhere you wouldn't think of looking. Prices range from $5,000 to a cool quarter of a million. [Creative Home Engineering via BallerHouse]

Bathtub Bookcase Is Perfect Match for Stairs Bookcase

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:15:00 EDT

If you thought London's apartment stair bookcase was the coolest thing since Martha Stewart introduced you to vacuum-packing underpants with you still inside, check this beautiful bathtub bookcase (or vice versa) by Italian company Antonio Lupi. Part of the Biblio collection, it's made in wood and corian, the adamantium-hard material made by Dupont. And as their giant UFO and boat after the jump show, it's not their only cool bathtub.

They are call Vasabarca and Arca, respectively. The price range goes from frackinghell to yougottabekidding. [Antonio Lupi via Aqua—in Spanish, gracias Fernando]

Stairs Bookcase Actually Makes Me Want to Move to London

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:20:52 EST

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Here's a great idea for anyone who loves books and doesn't have enough apartment space or a Kindle: a "secret staircase" made of English oak, lined with books left, right and center, leading to a loft bedroom in a Victorian 1898 apartments block.

The 70m2 apartment was remodeled by London-based Levitate Architects, who created "a new bedroom level and increasing the floor area of the flat by approximately one third." The staircase is both the way to access the bedroom and a perfect place to store books, movies or CDs. "With a skylight above lighting the staircase, it becomes the perfect place to stop and browse a tome," says Levitate's Tim Sloan, who also pointed out the unique structure of each step, allowing for anyone to comfortably sit down while picking a book. [Apartment Therapy via Boing Boing]