apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

funny i think it would be here bc of future sales issues, so people with big tvs, big sofas, and disabilities could buy it after me, but it is not so in bombay where the whole building helps carry stuff: sofas, my grandmother for her doctor's appt, my cousin when she broke a vertebra.
i would vote no, not a deal-breaker.

I have a teeny sixth floor apartment (7th American) in an old building in the Marais. It has a teeny glass elevator that rises in the stairwell; after a long day walking around, when I see that elevator waiting for me on the ground floor, my face lights up with naked joy.

It's not an old elevator, but it has kind of an anachronistic, steampunk-y feel that I really love.

I'd have to stay on either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd (American) floor. Anything above that and I'd probably move out before I even moved in.

I lived on the second floor (third American) of a French apartment building for about six months, and the walk up never really bothered me. I knew people who had a six-flight walk up to their apartment, which was a bit much, but they pointed out that living in Paris was totally worth the lack of an elevator.

I have a third floor walkup in Boston (second French) and would never consider one on a higher floor.

Clemenceau notwithstanding.

Not because of the daily climb (I lived on the 7th floor in college), but perhaps because of the move in--the overly-loved grand piano would be tricky!

I think I'd trade my third floor walkup in Manhattan for a seventh floor walkup in Paris in a second.

Stairs are fine - especially if I was living in Paris! You can always get people to help you move in/out.

I'm not a huge fun of stairs, especially after a long day, but these photos of steps around Paris make them seem so romantic. If I kept my home furnishings to a minimum, I wouldn't mind the lack of an elevator. If stairs were my only obstacles to a life in Paris, I would be conditioning my calves on the Stairmaster right now.

In DC, maybe (though my apartment is on the 3rd--French 2nd--floor here) but in Paris, probably not. I do recall walking up to my friend's flat on the 3rd floor in Vienna and with the insanely high ceilings and curving stairway, it seemed to take an eternity. I'm sure I'd save on a gym membership.

Funny ... I used to live in a fourth-floor New York walk-up (third floor, French) with bannisters painted blue just like in the picture here. One of the first friends to visit me said, as she got to the top of the stairs, "This is like a French movie from the 60s!" I was very happy there, but after nine years, I was just as happy to move to a walk-up (especially since I needed knee surgery a couple months later). Still, I think I would have considered a second-floor walk-up!

The biggest problem was doing laundry ... I used to toss the huge laundry bag down from one landing to the next as I went downstairs!

I would have no problem with lofty flights of stairs. I prefer stairs over escalators and elevators. Old, mini elevators do have their charm, though, even though they freak me out a bit.

Regarding moving furniture and pianos: Many furniture deliveries of this kind are done with a moving crane, airlifted through the (often big French) windows, since the stairwells and/or door frames are often too narrow.

And as for the laundry problem: Even the tiniest Paris apartments tend to be equipped with tiny washing machines. There are laundromats for the have-nots, but there's no such thing as communal laundry in the basement of Parisian buildings!

I recently moved to a 1st floor apartment (2nd US) after three years in a 6th floor (7th US) walkup.

Being young definitely helps with the seven flights of stairs but boy does it keep you fit. Just trudging up and down a couple of times every day makes a real difference - if I was in a real rush, I could run up the 7 flights and if I spent a few days away in a place with fewer stairs (not difficult), I'd get quite puffed when I got back. When I recently visited a friend in her 6/7th floor walkup I couldn't believe just how many friggin' stairs there were and how knackered I felt when I got to the top.

As well as being good exercise, it really helps your memory - you very quickly learn NOT to forget things when you go out! I also loved being up higher than everyone else and not having people clattering past my front door. Doing laundry really sucked though, especially because I didn't like waiting in the laundrette and used to nip back to my flat to clean while my washing was going round...

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest

I am actually quite often swayed to buy somewhere because of the stairs/banisters - a good banister rail and curved stairs makes me want a house much more!

I wouldn't do it above the 2d floor.

I do think it's a sign of the general upkeep and willingness of the owners to invest in the building--if the owners can't agree to add an elevator, something may not be right. They can put elevators in such small spaces, there really aren't many buildings that wouldn't be able to fit one.

You generally can't use the elevators for moving--they're so tiny, you wouldn't be able to fit much in them anyway.

Clemoni,

There are actually lots of 17th c. buildings that can't fit even the tiniest elevators. But you're right in pointing out that it's often the owners who don't want to add an elevator. They are expensive, and a lot of people here -- particularly the older generation -- see them as a luxury, not a necessity.

Funnily enough, I know several people who live in buildings where they couldn't come up with a consensus about adding an elevator. So the people who wanted one split the cost, and use a key to open the elevator (to prevent the non-paying neighbors from freeloading!).

beautiful photos

I live on the ground floor now, but I remember the feeling of getting to street level and thinking "Oh, I'll buy a new one", rather than go back for something I'd forgotten...

Few domestic things are as frightening as an aging French apartment elevator, where claustrophobia is compounded by fear that you'll be stuck before making it to your floor.

My tolerance for stairs stops around the fourth floor, though.

Would the lack of an elevator be the dealbreaker on your dream pied-à-terre?

Would that I had that conflict.

The first photograph is beautiful.

It's the groceries and babies that are the problem in a walk-up... I am trying to persuade my husband that the 5th floor walk-up I'd like to rent over Easter in Paris is doable, even with our 2 kids. He was not amused in Prague, when it was only a 2nd floor walk-up (it's the high ceilings that get you!), but I didn't find it so bad. At least you get a work-out without going to a gym...

As for the groceries, Monika, supermarkets here deliver. You can let them lug the heavy basics up the stairs for you and carry your farmers market purchases yourself.

And of course there are otherwise plenty of non-walkups here for short-term rent!

hmm. I live in an elevator building and more than half the time I take the stairs anyway.

It would not be a deal breaker for me- frankly i could use the exercise. It might be strenuous on my SO who has a bad back and perhaps our parents, but I think I might enjoy the extra exercise.

And I've always liked running down the stairs.