The commission
Douglas fir is softer underfoot than the oak or maple we usually recommend for stair treads, and we said so plainly during the consultation — but the clients wanted the strong, almost graphic contrast between the pale earlywood and dark latewood bands as the visual anchor of an open-concept entry, and fir delivers that figure at a scale no denser hardwood matches. Treads are finished with an additional hard-wearing conversion varnish specifically to offset the species' lower Janka hardness for a high-traffic application.
Stringers are housed — treads and risers let into routed housings rather than resting on cleats — for a completely silent stair with no visible fasteners.