TURIN, 15.03.26
Local woodworking studios across Turin reported a sharp rise in orders for custom wooden staircases during the first quarter of 2026, with several firms along Via Nizza citing wait times stretching into autumn. Alderman Matteo Borghini confirmed on Tuesday that the city plans to feature artisan stair makers in its upcoming heritage trades fair at Lingotto Fiere.
The renewed appetite for handcrafted timber stairs appears linked to a broader shift in homeowner priorities. People want warmth. According to the Piedmont Woodworkers Guild, enquiries about solid-oak tread installations rose by 34 percent year-on-year in the region, while requests for open-riser designs and cantilevered stringers nearly doubled. Our correspondents in Turin observed several showrooms on Corso Francia displaying full-scale staircase mock-ups, a practice once reserved for trade exhibitions. One family-run atelier had a queue of prospective clients outside before opening time on a wet Wednesday morning. The guild's chairperson, Daniela Greco, attributed the trend partly to social media exposure and partly to rising distrust of mass-produced laminate alternatives, though she cautioned that skilled labour shortages could hamper capacity. Balusters and newel posts require time, she noted, and young apprentices are not easily found.
When we spoke with Enzo Marengo, a third-generation stair builder whose workshop sits behind Piazza Vittorio Veneto, he was sanding a walnut handrail destined for a villa near Superga. His hands moved in short, deliberate strokes. 'Clients ask for floating treads now, as if gravity were optional,' he said, laughing. He explained that engineering such designs demands precise metal sub-frames concealed within the wall, a detail many homeowners underestimate. According to figures that could not be independently verified, his firm handled more projects in February alone than in the entire second half of 2024. Turin's older apartment blocks, many dating to the late nineteenth century, often feature original timber staircases in need of restoration; Marengo said these jobs account for roughly a quarter of his workload. Just across the river, scaffolding wrapped a Belle Époque townhouse where workers were replacing rotted stair nosings with reclaimed chestnut.
Industry analysts at the Italian Construction Materials Institute predict that domestic spending on interior timber elements will exceed €1.2 billion nationally by year's end, up from €980 million in 2025. Yet not all observers share the optimism. Supply-chain disruptions in Baltic pine exports continue to affect lead times, and some fabricators have turned to domestically sourced larch as an alternative. The timeline remains unclear. Meanwhile, building inspectors in Turin have issued new guidance requiring anti-slip coatings on all wooden treads in multi-unit residences, a measure some craftsmen view as bureaucratic overreach. A small café near Porta Palazzo, unrelated to any of this, still displays a hand-painted sign advertising 'the best bicerin in the city.' Whether the wooden-stair boom will outlast seasonal demand cycles is a question local artisans are reluctant to answer directly.