Is it possible to make a steep, narrow staircase less steep and narrow

Vicki you should get a contractor licensed of course to check and see if your stairway is up to code. Most stairs have to be max 7.5 inch rise with a minimum of 10 inch deep tread that should be perfect for your issues. I had the same issue with stairs to my deck and have had to rebuild them to code because the also were not built properly. I hope that helps.

I don't know of or have ever heard of anyway to make stairs less steep etc unless you tear them out and have new ones built. I would contact a contractor for professional advice.

I pretty much thought we would need a contractor. And Thomas, I had not thought of the code issue. We will definitely check that out. Thanks for your comments.

you could tear them out and home depot makes custom stair treads you can get for pretty desend price and rebuild them

Ours is steep also....thank heavens our laundry is on the first floor. Secondly I use the hand rails going down to the basement. If you have room you might have to have your stairs go around a corner so they won't be so steep. I have seen pictures of where people have put two person elevators in their homes for their retirement years. Costly but maybe worth it.