Houses of the near future can replace stairs with this Star Trek-like elevator

To boldly go where no elevator has gone before…
To boldly go where no elevator has gone before…
Image: Youtube Screenshot
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Aging Star Trek enthusiasts are in luck.

There is now a futuristic elevator on the market that bears a strong resemblance to the lifts of the classic TV show.

Terry Lifts, a British elevator company, has designed a compact hexagonal-shaped box that can transport people from floor to floor. The company is marketing the elevator as an elegant replacement for a stairlift, which it argues is both an uglier and more permanent addition than the Terry Lifestyle Lift.

“You could describe it as a high-end chair lift. People don’t want, in many cases, a chair-lift on their beautiful staircase and they don’t necessarily want a lift,” John McSweeney, marketing director for Terry Lifts, told Reuters. He added that “it’s never the elephant in the room.”

A spokesperson for the company tells Quartz that the contraption can be installed in a few days and easily removed when, say, a house is sold to another owner.

It wins extra brownie points for its Star-Trek look, which the company says was not intentional. (That comparison beats the one made by people who say it looks like a shower cubicle, the company tells Quartz.)

So far, the company has sold more than 200 lifts, many to customers overseas.

Beam me up, Scotty!
Beam me up, Scotty!
Image: Terry Lifts
Resistance is futile.
Resistance is futile.
Image: Terry Lifts