Home Styles: Split Personality

PollyG I think the one with the glass panels works because of the unpainted joinery and treads. When I was a child we had them on our stairs and they looked (and were) so old with white joinery and a dark carpet. (Nor were they safety glass - we learnt to our detriment!)
If you go for these: they are great for the light yet privacy they allow - just beware of the choice of joinery.

calkelley my mother hated the split level house we grew up in. With 9 kids, she disliked the main floors not being on the same level as the backyard. She lived with us in the end as she couldn't get up the stairs anymore.

engineerchic I admit, I am ambivalent on split levels. I love the way they function on the inside but can't with the way they look on the outside. However, that contemporary exterior is something I would love. We looked for months to find a way to convert a traditional split level exterior into something we liked, but wound up buying a cape style house instead.

I think the first architect to write a book on transforming the curb-side view of splits will make a mint.

wolfer I've been living in my raised ranch for 8 years now and have reconstructed every facet of the original floor plan. It's open and airy. No narrow hallways here! The only area left is the stairway, circa 1976 with carpeting!! The stairway in these houses are always horribly executed and I have finally come up with a design that will work.The hard part was the limited room one has to work with. There are some good suggestions above.

R. Martin Choate I grew-up in a split level home...my dad built it...and oddly enough, my sister has ended up owing a 1960's traditional split level in Virginia and I own a 1960's contemporary split level in Alabama. Comfort homes...and comfortable homes. We love the entertaining areas and the bedrooms being all separated. The Brady Bunch would love this home...now if I could only find a doorbell that would ring their theme song!

ruralarch the 4th photo in this set is not allowable by the building code. unfortunately handrails have to be used...though the look is great...reality yet again rules

linbar Although never a fan of the split, this is very nice. A similar one I lived in and loved was a tri level. Similar but you didn't have to walk up or down stairs the minute you arrived. Walk in the door with groceries and you didn't have to drag them up the stairs. The living room, dining, kitchen were on the main floor as you walked in. Family room was down and the bedrooms were up.

Cass Collins We love our split-level home in the country- but maybe not because of its levels. We love the way it flows and that everyone can have something private going on - reading, watching tv, sewing, cooking - at the same time and still be close enough for a shout-out. Our city loft is very open and it's hard to find quiet space for projects sometimes.
On the other hand, I worry about my knees being able to go up and down those steps as I age.

Nat We have a 70s split level home which we are currently modernising up. We love having the lower lounge which we extended a deck off into the front yard as one space, the dining & kitchen are on another level which extends onto the pool & BBQ / outdoor entertaining area, the children's bedrooms and bathroom are two steps up again in their own space and then our master bedroom, office and spare bedroom are 2 steps down from the kitchen in their own wing. We found by extending the garden/outdoor areas off each level has made it work and flow really well and we get a lot of comments about how great it is.

allisonlevi When I saw our architects' rendering the 3rd one from the top, I felt compelled to send photos of the before and after, so you can really see the massive change. His objective was to de-split level, the split level. He did an amazing job and we love our almost new house, it is very functional and takes advantage of an amazing ocean view.

pentalpha What to do with my clunky stair rail sections is the only real problem I have with the interior of my split. Otherwise I really like the openness and high ceilings. We bought it as an investment and plan to live here and work on the exterior for the next few years. Cause the exterior is BEYOND UGLY. Horrible mullioned bay windows everywhere, blocking a really decent lake and valley view. A fake pointy turret cap on the roof. Horrific white vinyl siding everywhere. Sigh. So we have our work cut out for us. Just as soon as that bucket of money falls from the sky, LOL!