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This is a genuinely custom staircase — the plywood treads and shelves are cut to specific numbers, but the railing, balusters, and rail cap pieces are cut to fit as you go, the same way a real staircase gets built on site rather than off a fixed spec sheet. Expect to measure, dry-fit, and trim more than once; that's normal here, not a sign you're doing it wrong.
Each step doubles as an open shelf underneath, so the stairs are a real storage piece as much as a way up to the bed. The decorative panels use a heart cutout traced from a template and staggered across three boards per section — cut, sand, and paint them before final install, since painting inside an assembled staircase is far harder than painting flat boards on a bench. Because kids climb this daily, check every joint for square as you go and don't skip the toenailing called out on the smaller steps — those tight corners are exactly where a loose joint would hide.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| 3/4" plywood, 4x8 sheetFill knots and holes with wood filler and sand before cutting. | 1 each |
| 1x2 board, 8 ftThis size warps easily — pick a few of the straightest boards (at least 65" clear of warp) for the tall vertical baluster trim. | 14 each |
| 1x4 board, 8 ft | 7 each |
| 1x3 board, 8 ft | 2 each |
| Pocket-hole screws, 1-1/4" | 60 each |
| Finish nails | 100 each |
| Wood glue | 10 oz |
| Wood filler | 1 each |
| Primer and paint | 2 quart |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Landing side pieces3/4" plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 16" × 39 1/4" |
| Landing top piece3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 16" × 20" |
| Shelf pieces3/4" plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 16" × 18 1/2" |
| Second-section side piece3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 16" × 24" |
| Second-section underside piece3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 16" × 19 1/4" |
| Center shelf3/4" plywood | 1 | 3/4" × 16" × 23 1/4" |
| Small step tops3/4" plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 16" × 9 1/4" |
| Small step undersides3/4" plywood | 2 | 3/4" × 16" × 12" |
| Tall baluster trim1x2Use your straightest boards. | 3 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 65" |
| Second-step baluster trim1x2 | 1 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 45" |
| First-step baluster trim1x2 | 2 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 35" |
| Shelf and stair trim, horizontal1x2Cut to fit — your opening should measure close to 22-1/2". | 6 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 22 1/2" |
| Decorative panels, short1x4Jigsaw a heart cutout centered on each, per your reference photo. | 3 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 30" |
| Decorative panels, long1x4Heart cutout. | 3 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 35" |
| Decorative panels, landing1x4Staggered heart cutouts across the three boards per landing section. | 6 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 25" |
| Stair rail cap1x3Cut to fit; roughly 48" with a 40° angle at the bottom and a 110° angle at the top. | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 48" |
| Landing trim cap1x3Cut to fit; roughly 20-1/4" with a 70° vertical angle on one end and a 45° horizontal cut on the other. | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 20 1/4" |
| Rear railing cap1x3Cut to fit; roughly 18-1/4" with a 45° angle on one end. | 1 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 18 1/4" |
Buy 15 boards at 8 ft.
3 boards
Fill any knots or holes in the plywood sheet with wood filler, let it dry, and sand smooth. Prime the sheet now, before cutting, if you plan to paint.
Cut the sheet into 16"-wide strips with a circular saw. A sheet of plywood is exactly 48" wide — if you cut your first two strips at exactly 16", the third strip comes up short because of the blade's kerf. Cut your strips at 15-7/8" instead, cutting on the outside of the line, to compensate for the wood lost to the blade. Lightly pencil-mark the dimensions of each piece as you cut so you can grab the right one later, then sand all the cut edges to remove splinters.
Starting with the two longest side pieces and the 20" piece, assemble the top landing. Using wood glue and 1-1/4" pocket-hole screws, attach the 20" piece to the top of the shelf ends.
Take the two 18-1/2" shelf pieces. Starting from the bottom of each side piece, mark 14" and 27" up, draw a level line at each mark, and align the shelves just below those marks. Attach with wood glue and pocket-hole screws. Check the completed shelf assembly for square.
Starting with the shelf assembly you just built, measure the left end on the outside and mark a level line 20" from the bottom — it's easiest to lay the assembly on its side for this. Attach the 24" piece just below that line with wood glue and pocket-hole screws.
Attach the 19-1/4" piece to the opposite end of the 24" piece, from underneath, with wood glue and pocket-hole screws. Attach the 23-1/4" center shelf between the two ends, 10" up from the bottom of the stairs. Check for square.
Pair up a 12" piece and a 9-1/4" piece for each of the two remaining steps — the 12" piece is the tread, the 9-1/4" piece attaches to its left underside with pocket holes and wood glue.
These steps are small enough that a drill may not fit in the cubby to attach them. If pocket holes won't reach, secure each step with a 1x2 cleat screwed to the side of the stairs at 9-1/4" high, or screw in from inside the adjoining step. Glue the third step to the vertical side it attaches to, and glue and toenail it into the top of the second step, checking for square.
The balusters are 1x2 material that also serves as trim for the open shelving below. Starting with the three 65" pieces, attach them to the top stair edges with wood glue and a nailer — a nailgun is faster than filling and painting a run of pocket holes, though pocket holes work too if that's what you have.
Attach two of the 65" pieces to the outside corners of the top stair, one front and one back, flush with the right side's outside edge. Attach the third 65" piece to the left side of the top stair, flush with the stair's rise and level all the way down.
Attach the 45" piece to the front edge of the second step, flush with its rise, checking for level. Attach one 35" piece to the front edge of the first step the same way.
Cut a horizontal trim piece to fit the second step (it should measure close to 22-1/2" wide), and nail and glue it flush with the top of the second step, checking for level. Install the final 35" baluster, flush with the rise of the third step, checking for level.
At the landing, measure the width between the outside edges of the balusters — it should be about 20" long, with the left side cut at a 110° angle. Keeping the balusters level, glue and nail the rail on, flush and on point.
For the stair rail, measure from the top point of the landing baluster to the top point of the bottom stair baluster (roughly 48–50"), with the right end cut at 110°. Match the top angle and nail into place, then align the opposite end with the top-left corner of the bottom baluster and glue and nail. Attach the remaining balusters to the railing one at a time, checking for level each time.
Attach the final rail piece (about 18-1/4" long) to the rear of the stair landing with glue and nails. If you haven't primed and painted the plywood yet, do that now before adding the decorative panels.
Line up the 30" and 35" 1x4 boards in pairs (one short, one long per step) with their bottoms even. Draw a horizontal line at 8", 16", and 24" up across all boards. Trace a heart template (about 3-1/2" tall) centered on each board with its top even with the line, so the hearts line up across the panels. Cut with a jigsaw and sand the edges smooth.
For the landing sections, the boards measure 25" and there are three per section, with the heart pattern staggered: on the left board mark 7" and 17" up; on the right board mark 12" and 19" up. Trace hearts centered between the left/center and right/center board pairs at those marks — four staggered hearts per section. Cut and sand smooth. Repeat for the opposite side of the landing.
Once all the decorative panels are cut and sanded, they're ready to paint. Painting them flat on a bench now is much easier than painting them once they're installed in the staircase.
Starting with the lower stairs, center each panel on its tread and attach with glue and a nailgun — a pencil held between boards while nailing gives you a consistent small gap if you want one. Toenail the panels in place; pocket holes work too, but nails are easier here. Glue and nail the tops of the panels to the stair rail as well, keeping them level with an even gap.
Once every panel is attached, the tops will stick up unevenly past the rail. Trim them flush with a circular or jigsaw, using the angled railing itself as your cutting guide.
Repeat the same process on the inside railing: follow the rail's slope, sandwich the tops of the decorative panels between the rail pieces, and attach with glue and a nailgun. Where the landing meets the stair slope, trim the end of the rail near the bottom baluster flush.
Cap the stair rail with the 1x3 pieces. Starting at the rear of the landing, cut the first cap piece with a 45° angle on the corner. Cut the next piece with a matching angle to round the corner, with a vertical 110° cut on the opposite end. Fit the final cap piece with a 110° angle on the adjoining end, measuring a half inch past the end of the rail before cutting the far end at a 45° angle.
Sand all the cap edges smooth and paint. Check every joint on the finished staircase for square and solid before it's used.
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Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →