Staircases of desire

Grand entrances that take your breath away

BY JOIE TYRRELL | joie.tyrrell@newsday.com

April 18, 2008

This is the staircase in the home of Angela and Phil Priolo in Sayville. (Newsday / Julia Gaines)

Ann Nasary knew the moment she saw the impressive double bridal staircases sweeping into the main foyer of the Old Westbury home that this was where she wanted to be.

"That's what caught our eye," she says. "It was so breathtaking, it was a spectacular entrance."

She and her husband, Bari, purchased the luxury Colonial five years ago, and now it is on the market again as they look for waterfront property. The home is listed with Shabrina Gurayah of the Old Westbury office of Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty with an asking price of $3.299 million.

Nasary, 44, hasn't changed a thing about the double staircases, resplendent with white trim, wooden railings and an impressive crystal chandelier in the center of the foyer. An owner of restaurant franchises, Nasary says her future home has to have the same dramatic entrance as the place she is in now.

"It has to take my breath away," she says. "Just like this one did."

Staircases and steps, of course, play a very utilitarian role in most homes. But stairways and steps are often much more than that. Think of the dramatic roles they have played in some of the most classic of movies.

Take "Gone With the Wind," as Scarlett O'Hara descends the curved stairway of her home, Tara, on her way to the barbecue in her Southern belle glory. Or "Titanic," as a tuxedo-clad Leonardo DiCaprio waits for Kate Winslet at the bottom of the ship's stairs hours before disaster strikes.

A focal point

While stairways and steps in your own home may not be as dramatic, staircases can be a focal point of a house, builders, owners and real estate agents agree. They can be curved, straight, wide, narrow, circular or L-shaped. They can be metal or marble or granite or wood. They can be bare, covered with carpet or polished to a high shine.

And when it comes to railings, the possible combinations of color and style are almost endless.

"The entrance foyer, if done right, can really set the tone for the rest of a home," says Jim Spampinato, sales agent with Coach Realtors in Northport.

In the Oyster Bay Cove home of former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, the grand staircase was part of the luxury mansion's appeal. The home is expected to go back on the market in mid-May as Testaverde and his family move to Florida. Testaverde retired from football and the Carolina Panthers after the 2007 season, and his wife, Mitzi, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader, is returning to her roots.

The Oyster Bay Cove home was listed at $6.995 million last year but was taken off the market as the Testaverdes readied to move. The house will be listed at the same price.

It is a 13,000-square-foot brick center-hall Colonial sitting on 4-plus acres and has six bedrooms, seven full baths and two half-baths. The 1,000-square-foot master suite has a private balcony, sitting room and Jacuzzi.

Shawn Elliott of Shawn Elliott Luxury Homes & Estates, which is listing the property, says the 10-foot staircase was custom-made 10 years ago, constructed of classic oversized balustrades with a custom mahogany railing made from one piece of wood. It has a woven, custom wool carpet harnessed by brass stair rods.

Mitzi Testaverde says the staircase played a large role in their home life. When she first saw it, she says, "my first thought was wow! I can't wait for my daughter, who was 8 at the time, to take all of her most memorable photos coming down this staircase."

The tour starts here

In fact, the staircase, which sits below a crystal chandelier, was often the first stop when they showed guests their home.

"We were always very eager to take our guests on a tour of the home," she says. "We always started at the front staircase, setting the tone for the tour."

Angela and Phil Priolo, owners of a Sayville home, also paid close attention to the staircase and central foyer in the construction of their 2-year-old house, which is now on the market for more than $1.9 million.

"We went with a darker stain, and we wanted a very traditional look [with] the bigger spindles," says Angela Priolo, 30. "The staircase is shaped like a rotunda. We knew it would never go out of style."

The staircase adds an attraction to the grand entrance, unlike comparable homes in the area, further adding to its market value, says Nancy Turgen, a licensed broker associate with the West Sayville office of Coach Realtors.

The entry "is the focal point of the home," says Angela Priolo, who pored over design books and home magazines for style ideas. She highlights the space with a full floral arrangement on an antique round table in the foyer, with the staircase as a backdrop.

The Priolos, who are in the car-wash business, are moving to Nassau County to be closer to family.

In one contemporary home in Old Westbury, the staircase is one of the most unusual that listing agent Andrea Jablow of Century 21 Laffey Associates Greenvale says she has ever seen. The staircase is sculpted entirely out of one piece of creamy white marble that coordinates with the floor and pillars also in the home. The seven-bedroom contemporary is on the market for $3.399 million and sits on more than 4 acres.

The staircase "is like a piece of art," says Jablow. "It is very dramatic, almost like a Hollywood movie set."