The lighthouse newel for this project was similar to a newel that we made for a customer in North Carolina. This particular stairway went to a customer in South Florida. The architect wanted to match the balusters to the newel so we created a simple taper with matching beads top and bottom.
The wood paneling on the walls is salvaged heart pine as well as the stair treads. The stair handrail, however, is mahogany. We turned the balusters and newels from poplar.
The challenge for the installer was to “cope” the handrail fitting unto the radiused newel (not shown). Most handrails attach into a “flat” on the newel or over the top in the case of an over the post newel. This one, however, attached to the round part of the newel.
Other images of the balusters and newels can be seen here: Lighthouse newels and balusters
Tags: architectural design, architecture, decorating, interior design, stair parts, wood balusters, wood turning
This is a new baluster design that I thought I would draw and render before I actually manufactured it. I got the idea from a stairway I saw in the Pacific Northwest. It is a simple taper with a small bead right at the tread. The size is somewhat deceiving from the rendering. The diameter of the bead at the base is actually 2 1/2″ inches. The pin at the top of the baluster is 1 ” in diameter. I wanted to try a two baluster per tread pattern but a three baluster per tread would look equally as good.
The drawing was made in Google Sketchup and rendered with Irender. I like the first rendering “style” supplied right out of the box by Sketchup.
Below is a close up of the baluster. Sometimes simple is the better than anything else you could do. BTW the newel is one drawn in a previously post. You can see more here: Pedestal Newels.
Tags: architecture, decorating, interior design, stair parts, wood balusters, wood turning
These beauties went into a home in the Carolinas. (You’ve got to love the balcony with the large radiused rail.) There were two staircases in this home.
The image below is the balcony seen from the first floor
This is the rear stairway in the home. The difference in this staircase is that the balusters alternate between a plain tapered and barley twisted balusters. The newel is what we call our “pottery” newel since it sort of replicates a newel one of my customers saw in a Pottery Barn catalog.
Tags: architectural design, interior design, newels, stair parts, wood balusters, wood turning
These are white oak barley twisted balusters for a customer in Idaho. I am grateful that they remembered to send me pictures of the final staircase. We made the newels to match the balusters as you can see. The balusters are 2″ wide at the base. The “pins” at the top are 1 3/8″. The architect strictly wanted two balusters per tread with pin tops. The pins, as such, had to be quite large to meet the four inch rule which is required in most communities.
Tags: architectural design, architecture, commercial interior design, interior design, newels, stair parts, wood balusters
These marching newels and balusters went to a home in Key West, FL. Because Key West is a coastal city, the architect wanted to use a maritime design for the stairway. We had designed a lighthouse newel once before for a customer in NC and turned this one in a similar pattern. The balusters were designed to pick up the same lines as the newel. The handrail and fittings are in mahogany. This should make for a very fine staircase.
By the way, the large newel measures 9 inches wide by four foot 10 inches. The smaller newels are 4 3/4″ and 5 1/2″ wide.
Tags: architectural design, architecture, interior design, stair parts, wood balusters
These balusters are going to a historic preservation site – a nineteenth century court house near Dallas, TX. I have not done much in yellow pine – sappy wood. The “committee” wanted yellow pine because they believe it is what would have been used in this locale 150 years ago. The pine was furnished by the good people at Bunkie Wood Products in Bunkie, LA. It’s not easy to find three inch pine (the “committee” did not want laminated pine). The balusters measure 2 1/2″ X 27″
Tags: architectural design, architecture, interior design, wood balusters, wood turning
These balusters are for a court house in Texas. They are rendered but not completed. In fact, the samples are not made yet but I thought I would draw and render them in Sketchup and Renderworks. I’ll be turning about a hundred of them in pine. They measure 2 1/2″ X 27″. I have not seen the rail profiles yet so my rendering is not yet complete.
Tags: architectural design, architecture, commercial interior design, decorating, wood balusters, wood turning
The balusters below are renderings for a job delivered to a customer in Oregon – I previously posted about them. I thought I would load the updated renderings from Sketchup. These were a quite nice profile copied from an historic home of a Silas Dean.
Tags: architecture, decorating, interior design, stair parts, wood balusters, wood turning
I thought it would be neat (different) to turn a baluster with a round or tapered base instead of the more traditional square base. These are two of the ideas I tried. The first is simply a tapered foot base with a length of square . The square and tapered foot are horizontally oriented The top taper is elongated to follow the handrail angle – “rake” angle. The newel used is my fluted N105.
The second idea was to use rope twists above and below a square center. The square section follows the rake angle. The second taller baluster has a longer foot.
Tags: architectural design, architecture, decorating, interior design, wood balusters, wood turning
These balusters were turned for a customer in San Francisco. The sort of odd thing about these is that although the center diameter is 1 3/4 inches the square ends (not shown) are 1 1/4 inches. That is why I am turning the center area separately. The square top and bottom will be added after.
Tags: architecture, commercial interior design, wood balusters
