What are Door Options for Stairwell with Window Wall? [closed]

Question

We recently bought a house and it has this basement stairwell with windows that limit door options. It is also right across from our side entrance that’s frequently used. Even if we did eliminate one of these windows to frame a standard door in, there is very limited space to allow for the swing. Our concern is mostly aesthetic as the basement is unfinished, but also safety concerns in a tight space. I’ve recently heard of ceiling mounted barn doors, but don’t know much about them. What are my options here?

Answer 1

If you want a door, put it at the bottom.

If you want it to be safer, install railings on both sides and/or some other way of preventing people from walking along the narrow part on the right.

Aesthetically there's LOTS of things you can do. It's a pretty space, and the right kind of railing would look great and create safety. You can't really ask or answer that kind of question here, but I'll stick my neck out and say a door would would be a bad way to make this space look better.

Or maybe .... try this ... it might not be as expensive as it sounds ... get a quote from a custom shower door company to install a glass door at the top of the stairs, and a glass wall that goes along the side of the stair as far as the column between the windows, and then turns towards that column. It might look good, it would provide safe access to the first window, and the open part of the shelf around the second window would be a few feet above the stairs at that point, so much less of a falling hazard. Below, red is fixed, green is swinging.