'a set of stairs' vs 'a flight of stairs', and also simply 'the stairs'

'Walk up the stairs' is the most succinct. We only use 'flight' if there could be multiple flights (levels). The implied default is one level. I would not use 'set of stairs', it feels wrong to me to refer to them as a 'set' in casual speak, feels more architectural, like you are describing the room not using it. Of course you can also use the more formal 'stairway'.

In your sentence I would even say “all I have to do is walk upstairs to my home office” since you are presumably already talking about being in your home. “Upstairs” and “downstairs” depend somewhat on context. “Flight of stairs” refers to a single set of stairs connected to a landing- homes may have one or two flights, but this would normally be in a larger building, which could have many flights. “Set of stairs” is not wrong but maybe less common?

When I read your three sentences, they all seemed fine. And then when I read people push back against "set of stairs" a bit, I thought 'yeah, I guess I'm not sure about that one'. So I think it reads okay and I wouldn't question it or be even slightly confused, but it probably feels less natural than "flight of stairs" or "the stairs" or "some stairs" or "a few stairs" or just "walk upstairs". A "flight of stairs" or "upstairs" implies that you're going to up another whole level of the building, while "a few stairs" would suggest it was maybe just a small number of stairs to a slightly higher portion (but wouldn't necessarily be wrong to describe a flight of stairs, especially if you were intentionally downplaying the inconvenience). The rest of them ("set of stairs", "the stairs", "some stairs") could be either.

"A flight of stairs" would be the most commonly used noun to describe what you're talking about. And yes, saying "walk up the stairs" or "take the stairs" would work, although it's less specific than "a flight of stairs" which measures a specific distance

To me, native UK, simply "the stairs" sounds more natural when we are talking about the home office. As it's one of those assumed knowledge situations where we know what home stairs look like. Set of stairs doesn't sit right with me. A flight of stairs is perfectly fine, though from personal experience is more suited for the context of "not in a home office" so "I have to go up a/two/three flight of stairs to get to my office" meaning a building that is not home. I'm no professional, this is just how it feels contextually for me so I hope it helps!

To me, a "flight of stairs" spans exactly one storey. If you walk up two flights of stairs, you are now two storeys up from where you started. A "set of stairs" or just "the stairs" might be more or less.

yea all of those are fine. I've heard all 3, and I'm not sure why some people say a "set of stairs" is unnatural. It's perfectly normal to hear that for me. The meaning is pretty much the same for all of them.

I’ve never heard anyone say “set of stairs.”

I work on the fifth floor of a five-story building. Sometimes I walk “downstairs” to the fourth floor for a snack, and back “upstairs” to my desk. At the end of the day, I walk down ten “flights” of stairs - the first flight leads down to a landing, the second flight leads to another landing at the fourth floor, the third flight leads to another empty landing, the fourth flight leads to the third floor and so on.

A flight of stairs is like a measurement, sometimes people use it to estimate how high they climbed, like “Mt Everest is x flights of stairs!”  Your sentence works with just “the stairs” or “upstairs,” and “a flight of stairs” would work as well. We normally don’t refer to stairs in sets but it would be understood what you are referring to. 

See this is where it gets confusing- there may be regional differences at play here. Where I'm at it wouldn't be unusual to say "a set of stairs" in the context you've provided. "Some stairs" would be the less formal way to say it and just fine as well. The more stairs involved (multiple floors) the more reasonable it would be to use "a flight of stairs."

I've never heard of "set of stairs". Either use flight or just stairs. It is certainly clear and understandable, but not a fluent usage. American English speaker.

If the intended meaning is to emphasise ease and convenience then I would use **some stairs**.

To me, a set of stairs is equivalent to a staircase which may have multiple flights. "This building has two sets of stairs - one in the north tower, one in the east tower"

Sure, but did you notice the poetry of ‘a flight of stairs’?

I agree that “set of stairs” is not a usual way to denote a flight of stairs. To me “a set of stairs” is possible though—it sounds like it could mean a short run of stairs (a few stairs, maybe 2-5 steps) that is not as long as a standard flight of stairs.

A set of stairs would be all stairs between where you start and the next level up. This could be a single flight or multiple, depending on physical context (a pathway or building entrance could include three flights, for example). A flight of stairs is a set of individual steps between one landing and the next, even if it is not the end of the stairs. Many hotels have two flights between floors, for example; you take one flight to a landing halfway between floors, then turn around and take another to the actual floor of the hotel. This would be two flights making one set of stairs. A steep hill in a park could be a single flight of stairs, or it could be broken into three with two landings in the middle, making for a set of stairs but three flights.

I hear all of them all the time they are all entirely interchangeable anyone who tells you otherwise is being pedantic. It is important to understand that a stair is one step and stairs are the entire thing between 1 floor other than that your good.

Oh! This post must be for me. The stairs would mean all of the stairs. A set is a number of stairs, not all. A flight is one set of a number of sets. Imagine you live in an apartment block with 18 floors. The stairs means you climb all the stairs, from the ground floor (yeah, I know) to the 18th. A flight of stairs is one floor. A set is one floor, or a small number of stairs.

I don't think I'd ever say "set of stairs". I would know what you are talking about, but it's not natural phrasing to me.

I don't recall ever hearing anyone refer to 'a set of stairs', but it is easily understood so it works -- it just strikes me as unusual. Generally one refers to 'the stairs' when there are no other stairs to be taken. "Walk to the end of the hallway and take the stairs down to the basement" only makes sense if they're the only stairs down to the basement. If one were to walk to the end of the hallway and find multiple staircases, it would be confusing to say the least!