Our Stair Rail is in!!

Our iron stair rail went in and I wanted to share some pics with you.  I spent a lot of time pouring over images of railings and figuring out just exactly what I wanted.  We worked with Tom Owens of Herndon Ironworks and his railing is truly beautiful.  It's really special to be able to work with true craftspeople on our home and to be able to do things that are a bit outside of the "box."

 {Tom Owens- bottom left- & his team of craftsmen. They are all so good at what they do!!}

For our railing, I wanted something that felt both modern & old at the same time.  It's simple & clean and spare and has a beautiful patina. 



When I visited Herndon IronWorks (literally a mile away from our old house) Tom & I looked around the shop so we could determine the finish I was after. 




We soon found out that I was drawn to the metals that had aged naturally over time vs. any faux aged finishes.  Everything I liked was outside & had weathered to a rusty black. 





To get the finish I wanted, Tom set the new iron for our railing outside & let it weather for a few weeks. 


{We used 1/2 inch square pickets for our rails, seen at the top left of the above photo}


The end of the top rail is a lamb's tongue that gently swirls into a sort of vine around the post:

 
It's the slightest bit of curve & "pretty" & quirk in an otherwise very spare & clean design.  I love little elements like this & it's sort of a microcosm for how I like rooms to feel. 

You might remember that our stairs were originall very steep, and so to make them a bit more manageable for our boys (and us! ;)  CarrMichael Constrution put new stairs in.  I wanted to be able to see the sides of the stairs & to have the drywall go right into the steps themselves without a stringer, so Mike Carr (owner of CarrMichael) made it happen.  Here's what the stairs looked like before:

{Justin, my very sweet little man}

...And here they are now:

{two other sweet ones- Dave & Ashby} 

 The temporary door at the top of the stairs & the wooden horizontal old railings will both be removed & we've got lots of cleaning up to so (walls, woodwork, etc.) but we're on our way!!  I love how the pickets attach directly into the drywall.  The curve into the drywall and are out farther than the stair treads, so they actually make the stairs even wider than before because there's so much more usable space on them. 

I'm so happy with how everything turned out & I really can't thank everyone who was involved enough.  It takes so many hours & brains to really come up with something good & it's definitely worth it!!  To read more about my stair inspiration, click here.




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

31 comments:

kayce hughes said...

So exciting and beautiful!!!!

Rox said...

Love it... how affordable are they? a mid-range would be helpful...

Pursuit99 said...

Wonderful how they magically transformed your son into a puppy!
How'd they do that!

Linda in AZ * said...

*** What a HUUUUGE difference Lauren, and it SOOO SHOWS your fabulous design style!!! Just UBER YUMMY!!! CONGRATS!!! It's all coming together beautifully!!!

Best n' warmest,
Linda in AZ *
bellesmom1234@comcast.net

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Lauren, they turned out so well! Love the little details.

jessica said...

Love love love!!! Can't wait to see more :)

Unknown said...

Fantastic Lauren! I love the finish and the details. Beautiful design job!
xo Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com

Emily A. Clark said...

You have such vision! Looking so good, Lauren. Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Bungalow said...

It's fun following you on this journey! The ironwork is beautiful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family,
Claudia

Jennifer said...

Girl, you've got vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals :) (name that flick ;) )

Christina said...

I love the railing. Stunning. I suppose there is no concern for the rust rubbing off on little hands??? That would be my concern, but it seems so obvious that it would be addressed and a non-issue. Wondering how that isn't a concern. I sure hope you can address that.

Thanks!

Debra Russell Fine Art said...

It's exciting to see how you are reinventing this"stuck in the 70's" house into a one of a kind unique home. That staircase is like none other and totally changes the entire feel of that room. Girl's got style.

Anonymous said...

Very, very custom and classic.

Mike Carr/Carr Michael has a great reputation in the Metro DC area. Thanks for showcasing Herndon Iron Works! Great looking guys, too!

Unknown said...

that stair rail looks so so pretty! I love the thought of lengthening the stairs so they don't feel so steep. What a good idea. Can't wait to see more.

Anonymous said...

love the design you chose and what a difference it made! I just went through the same experience switching out the room divider railing in our townhouse remodel. I pored over houzz photos and drew primitive drawings for my metal guy to finally arrive at the right design. While I am very happy with the design there are some minor touches I need to take care of like burnishing the too bright gold of the round centers and smoothing out some rough areas. But it makes me happy to see it in place of the black jailhouse railings it replaced. I am enjoying watching your remodel come together but you dont make it easy to forgot my very raw pain of living through a remodel...not sure how you do it with young children...

Acquired Objects said...

Lauren your stair railings are fabulous! I really like how open everything looks now. Your new white sofa looks wonderful with everything too. I love watching your house turn into a home!

Happy Thanksgiving!
XXX
Debra~

Mrs. White said...

Beautiful! This is beginning to look like a house in Italy or France. Can't wait to have my own home soon-I have my eye on some of your fabrics and you are a constant source of inspiration for me. Happy holidays to you and your sweet little family!

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Beautiful, Lauren...four months later you are drawing your hand down the banister...and you may just be the first of many, many.

I remember when we just bought an old 1800's home....same banister from 200 years before.

I could almost feel the history of hands that ran down. 175 or more years later....It might just be this same banister that you have worked so hard on that will be felt and thought of 100+ years from now. Amazing, eh? Legacy.

eLIZabeth Floyd said...

Lauren,

Your home is coming together piece by piece, and the stairs are really amazing!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Liz

Caroline said...

beautiful work!! it really opens up the space so much - you have such a great eye!

Holly Irwin Fine Art said...

Lauren, It's so artistic and unique! Truly a work of art! Congratulations and looking forward to seeing more!
Holly

Julie Taylor and Danni Greenwalt said...

Lauren....what a transformation. Love how it looks. Cant wait to see the finished project.

Karen at Home Sweet Hollywood said...

Wow what an amazing difference. Love it!

BaileyWife said...

ONE "step" closer...that is something to be THANKFUL for! Hope you and your family have an amazing Thanksgiving! ~Kim

Anonymous said...

Fantastic - just love how open the stairs are and love the detail around the bottom of the picket!

Unknown said...

Your vision manifests as evidenced in your railings and other home design improvements works. Love your designs here.

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Unknown said...

The room opens up with the new rail (lifted up and lighter).

Thank you for your blog and for sharing your lovely taste and even more beautiful family.

It has given me so much joy and happiness reading it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

GORGEOUS!!! It brings back an awesome before and after home I saw years and years ago where she replaced very gingerbread looking wood pickets for the iron rails that go right into the wall like you did here. Hot hot hot! If I can dig up the spread, I'll email it. I think you will love seeing it!!! The whole home was off the chart. Congrats! Feels like your home is moving along at a great pace, for us readers anyway ;-)))

xo

Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns said...

Lauren,

Happy Thanksgiving a little late. I hope that you had a wonderful time.

The railing is fabulous!!!! I love that you found a local craftsman and put your own touch on the design. Beautiful!

cotedetexas said...

wow - that's incredible. i am loving all the updates! but the stairs are the best so far!! gorgeous. love the railing. so much!!!

MDF Board said...

hi,

Your house is arriving together item by item, and the stairways are really amazing!

Fiber board | MDF with Veneers