We live in a two-storey house…with no stairs. We have external access to the second storey. But who wants to go outside to get upstairs when it’s cold, rainy, dark (or anytime, really)?
So, we have two ways to get upstairs inside the house: a temporary ladder and a permanent rope. The plan was to have internal stairs. The plan still is to have internal stairs. We think. Maybe.
The thing is, the longer you live with something in a certain state, the more likely that state is to become permanent. And to be honest, we aren’t completely convinced that stairs would be a good thing. Aside from taking up a lot of space, costing a lot of money, and being tricky to install properly, having stairs means we would probably stop using the rope. And the rope serves multiple purposes.*
- It is a means to get upstairs.
- It doubles as a form of strength training. All of us can climb a rope without difficulty, and if we removed the ladder and the rope was the ONLY means of getting up stairs, we would probably be world-class rope climbers. (Either that, or we would ignore the second storey and move downstairs).
- It has saved us money in the present. It was cheap and quick to install. It also takes up ZERO real estate. Unlike stairs.
- I think it looks good. I love the texture of rope next to all our wood.
- It is a talking point. People want to see us climb it when they come around for the first time.
- It is an absolute CHILD-MAGNET. Whether they are capable of climbing or not, kids just want to hang on to it, swing back and forth, even just hold it while talking. And some of the parents are the same.
The strength training aspect is important to us. An athlete and coaching friend of mine recently wrote a blog post about how in Valencia, Venezuela, there are dip/chin-up stations on almost every street block, with the result being that most young men there are outstanding at dips and pull-ups. (I would think the women would be, too!). http://realmovementproject.com/upper-body-resurrection/
This aligns with our own experience of having the rope. Because it is there, so easily accessible, we use it. And so do any non-adult visitors we have. I think this is something everyone should consider: incorporating play/exercise equipment into many of our living spaces instead of relelgating it to a different, single purpose room (or worse, needing to drive to get to a gym or park or play space). When a day is particularly hectic and a fixed block of time for a workout seems unmanageable, this kind of ‘fitting-it-into-everyday-life’ structure works really well. A rope to get upstairs. Handstands against the wall while waiting for water to boil. Hanging from a bar during an ad break on television. It makes sense to us and keeps us feeling like we are still strong and fit and healthy.
So sometimes, stairs feels like a backward step. I can make quite a long list of cons (expensive, hard to install, takes up my handstand workout space, might make the house feel less spacious, encourages us to be lazy and not use the rope…) compared to pros (an easier way to get upstairs, visitors would be more comfortable getting upstairs).
Come to think of it, I’ve come up with another ‘pro’. It might mean our kids actually carry their dirty washing upstairs instead of flinging it up from the ground floor so it catches on the upstairs railing. Hmm. 
So, the indecision continues…
* Serving multiple purposes is a concept I read about in Linda Woodrow’s book The Permaculture Home Garden. I find it applies to all areas of life, not just the garden. Linda’s permaculture blog is http://witcheskitchen.com.au/
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