This set of Sapele exterior balusters went to a custom in Colorado Springs, CO. I thought they were somewhat unique. The original balusters were turned probably in the 20′s and these were designed to match the existing balusters (the white one). Ultimately they wound up on an exterior balcony in downtown Colorado Springs. They are only about 20 inches high by 3 1/2″ in diameter.
Sapele, by the way, is a import form Africa that looks much like mahogany but not as expensive. I weathers well out side. That is, it is rot resistant.
Sapele exterior Balusters
architecture interior design home improvement
Tags: architectural design, architecture, decorating, interior design, wood balusters
The image below depicts a Gothic newel design I’m working on. I got the idea from the fence (really the fence post) that surrounds the old State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, LA. I love the pattern and hope to add it to my newel designs eventually. I still have to come up with a cap and proper base.
gothic fence post
gothic fence post
gothic_newel
The shank or shaft of the fence post is four sided. It alternates bead and cove (better seen in the bottom drawing)
architecture interior design home improvement
Tags: architecture, decorating, interior design, newels
These are exterior balusters for a home in Atlanta. They measure 3 1/2″ X 30″ 170 pcs. They were designed by the architect, Laura Depree. The wood is Sapele, an African import that is very similar to mahogany. It holds up quite well outdoors and does not have a tendency to bleed through the paint as does Spanish Cedar.
Sapele Balusters 3 1/2\
Architecture Interior Design
Tags: architectural design, architecture, interior design, wood balusters
This is my third post regarding homes from the Natchez, MS area. My wife and I went up for the day and though the weather was blustery we enjoyed visiting a few antebellum homes in the Natchez area. We went first to the Auburn House and secondly to Melrose plantation. If you love old architecture Natchez is a wonderful place to visit.
Melrose from the front
Melrose from the South side
Melrose;side and rear
Melrose out building
Melrose plantation front entry
Melrose; my wife in front of a monstrous live oak
Melrose plantation;a magnolia in full bloom about 8 inches across
Auburn Plantation; Natchez, MS
Architecture
Tags: architectural design, architecture
I thought I would post some more pictures of some of the beautiful homes in Natchez, MS. These particular homes are near the Stanton Hall home.
Stanton Hall from the West.
Stanton Hall from the East
This lovely fence is in front of the an old estate built in the mid 1800′s – the Choctaw. The lovely girl is my wife.
So many of these homes have mahogany doors for the main entrance. This door is awesome.
This white oak door is the main entry for Stanton Hall. You can’t really see it but the applied molding is an egg an dart motif.
I liked the tapered columns on this small home.
Really neat bowed porch columns.
I often have to describe to my customer how the bottom rail of a balustrade should be designed to shed water to reduce rot. This is an excellent example of how they did it in the old days.
The cat was practically asking us to take her picture. Many of the old top rails were round or oval in their cross section. This railing has an oval profile.
Architecture
Tags: architectural design, architecture
This is my next installment on Rendering my tapered newels. I have added a fluting to one of the newels. This is supposed to be Mahogany. Thanks to the Vectorworks community for their help.
Architecture Interior Design
This home is actually not in Natchez but one driving North to Natchez from Baton Rouge. It is closest to St Francisville, LA. The live oaks frame the home better than any picture frame could.
Architecture
My Wife and I had an opportunity to go to Natchez, MS this Spring and view some of the wonderful old homes there. Natchez sits atop a 200 foot bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Following are a few samples of what we saw. We have not had a chance to see some of the more famous homes in the area. So if you are from Natchez viewing this – no angry letters please – we hope to add them later.
If you get a chance to go to Natchez you at least have to go here. The front yards of these homes directly overlook the Mississippi River from about 100 feet up. The residents access their homes from an alley behind their homes.
The home above is a Bed and Breakfast
Architecture Interior Design
Tags: architectural design, architecture
