Many of my customers have never understood the difference between a barley twist and a rope twisted turning. And though I try to explain it over the phone, I’m certain it is not well understood. “A rope twist”, I tell them, “looks like rope.” A barley twist, on the other hand, has an interior radius that differentiates it from a rope twist. This usually does not work. And so a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Or this case – two pictures:
barley twist
rope twist
Some time back I had a request form a customer to add an ivory “button” to a newel cap I was making for his stairway newel. Of course I couldn’t use ivory and was unsure of what to use. I had read about “vegetable” ivory or tagua nuts from South America that had a similar look and feel to ivory. These proved to be not so easy to find. Most of the tagua nuts were already carved into someting or other before they arrived in the US. The larger nuts (which is what I needed) were even harder to find. So in the end I decided to use Corian. Corian is what the DuPont Corp. developed for solid surface kitchen counters years ago. I found a small piece locally at a solid surface counter company. I think the final product turned out nicely.
By the way, apparently it was traditional in some area of the country to add an ivory piece to your newel cap when the mortgage on the house was paid off. If you have heard of this from your neck of the woods I’d love to hear from you.
corian topped newel cap
Each of us has likely had the experience of going to the residence of a friend or family member that is nice but cold and austere. Within our own private spaces, we all know what we like and what we dislike when it comes to interior decor. Unfortunately, most of us fall short when it comes to successfully blending warm with form and function. Read more… …
We love wood – all kinds of wood from pine and oak to cherry and mahogany. We panel our walls with it, make furniture and home accessories from it and even frame our walls in it. It is probably near to impossible to enter any home in the USA and not find wood somewhere. Read more… …
Alder has become more and more popular in the last few years. I suspect it has to do with the price increases and limited availability of other more common domestic wood species. Some have called alder a cherry substitute. I suppose that is possible – they both are pinkish in color. There is little resemblance after that, however. Alder is softer and even the select grades are prone to have small knots. Many customers like the rustic look of Alder and specify the cheaper knotty grade (larger and more plentiful knots). Alder turns quite well and has a really nice fragrance. I’ve included an image of a few alder island legs that I made for a customer some time back.
These stair newels were turned for a customer in Aspen, Colorado. I know they look like Greek columns. But this is what they wanted. The flat tops will make a nice place for the things you should be putting away somewhere else. The challenge for the installer is to cope the handrail to the round column since there is no where else to attach it to. Sometimes Architects can be impractical
Redesigning the interior décor of a house is such a worthwhile adventure. However, it can also be tiring and bothersome if you are working on a limited budget and don’t plan ahead with precision. Of course, no one can tell you what decorating style will work best in your home – only you know that with certainty. What we can say with certainty is that there are several industry tips that will help you make the most of your interior design project budget, and be happy with the end result. Read more… …
