Ladders Vs. Stairs: A Vote for Ladders

The tiny house community is often split over whether ladders or stairs or even a single story tiny house "better." I find this an interesting conversation because the very nature of the tiny house experience is not a one size fits all solution. Many tiny house dwellers have built their own homes to suit their own needs and any design choice should be fair game.

I was thinking about the ladder vs. stairs argument yesterday when I realized something. 

In our tiny space we chose a ladder for practical purposes. The need to save space was the top criteria since we had always planned on building a very small house.

We also wanted to be able to move the ladder between the sleeping loft and the storage loft to access everything. By installing the J hooks on the front of each loft and eye hooks on the ladder itself this is a very functional part of our home.

However, there is one other reason a ladder works better for me than a small staircase. This occurred to me yesterday when we were at a concert venue here in Asheville and I had to walk up some relatively steep stairs without railings to get to my seat.

Well, I should add walking UP was not the problem.

Then I had to walk back DOWN the stairs.

I wear glasses. I don't wear them as a hipster fashion statement. I wear glasses because without them I am very truly blind. My prescription is pretty hefty and I have to use the special light weight plastic so my lenses aren't too thick to fit in smaller and cuter frames. Even with my glasses my depth perception isn't that great. Because of that I often have a hard time going down stairs, even with a railing.

And don't even talk to me about down escalators.

The ladder is a much easier way for me to access the loft. Because I can climb it hand-over-hand I feel very secure when going both up and down.

Now, I am certainly not saying "Ladder good, stairs bad." In fact, the thing I love the most about the tiny house movement is that there is no single answer. Each tiny house builder has an opportunity to design a small space that is perfect for their own needs.