my perfect (theoretical) roof deck

When I purchased and rehabbed (a.k.a. essentially gutted..) my parkfront house 4 years ago, I discussed the option of a roof-top deck with my contractor. At the time he dissuaded me from spending my money on a roof deck due to the general lack of use that they get. Advising me to cruise around town on a beautiful roof-deck-perfect day and see how many people were using them, he was proven totally right - the fact of the matter is, people just don't tend to use outdoor space that isn't on a visual eye-level with daily indoor space.

Then there was the issue of access. My second-floor back bedroom has a small balcony, but not enough room for a spiral (plus I LOATHE spiral stairs - how on earth am I to bring up trays of delicious cocktails and hors d'oeurves while teetering on the brink of death?!?). My 3rd floor isn't full-depth, but there's 2 feet of vertical wall space from my 3rd floor floor to the 2nd floor roof level (is this confusing you yet? I'd take a photo but my camera is broken!). I can hardly have people climbing out a window to make it all feasible. Zoning and permits would practically slaughter me for trying. Long story short, the plan was nixed and I moved on, still coming in way over budget.

But lately I've been showing dozens of houses with roof decks all over the good ol' 21224. And my boyfriend's house has not one, but three levels of decks ---->

And so, dear friends, I've got roof deck fever. After consulting with the Canton roof deck king, Victor Kocent, I've found a few options and a general price range to mull over. So the next step is obviously roving the internet for beautiful versions of what I want to do.

I could go straight up over the stairs up to the deck but there isn't enough room for a normal stair. But one of these would work....

While against a million codes in the US I'm sure, they're totally fine in the UK for accessing loft spaces and the like, as you get half the run of a normal stair because each step is twice the rise. I particularly loved this one, coupling fantastic storage of books and records/cds with beautiful design:

Ideally, I'd like to have two levels of deck, however - one off my 3rd floor and then outdoor stairs up to the roof. I like the idea of having a large space to grill 'n chill that is virtually "eye-level" with the third floor to promote regular use. Something along the lines of...

Note the normal staircase leading up and away, NOT a spiral! I also really like this upper deck design, especially since it would face the park. The incorporation of natural elements of wood and grass (though surely fake...) are really appealing to me:

Soo...yeah, basically I have to figure out how to make a window a door without creating major structural issues or potential water incursion. I think I have a workable idea. Now I just need to squirrel away $12,000 to make my outdoor roof top wonder. HA! With my design wish-list I think I shall be looking at around $2 million...

love k