Cedar Deck Railing
Connecting a home’s interior to its exterior and outdoor surroundings is becoming more and more important to homeowners. As you’ll see in these pictures, this homeowner selected branch infill for interior and exterior cedar railings to create a cohesive flow throughout his Craftsman style home and tree-lined lot. And the result is stunning!
Cedar Deck Railing Posts
Mixed media is another popular home design trend. The stairway railing features vertical metal rods that maintain the rustic look while providing an unexpected contrast with the curves and twists of the branch balusters. The railing with balusters made from mountain laurel branches helps to soften the transition from the woodsy yard to the main floor.
In order to clear the lot for the home’s foundation, a few red cedar trees were cut down. The homeowner hated to see them go to waste, and repurposed them as cedar log posts for the front porch! It goes to show how even something as simple as your railing posts can add an extra bit of meaning to your project.
Cedar Porch Railing
This spacious covered porch is perfect for entertaining or just relaxing in the shade and enjoying nature’s sights and sounds. To get more use from the outdoor deck the homeowner installed recessed lighting, as well as a ceiling fan for more comfort during warmer summer months.
From a design perspective, twisting and turning twigs add movement and flow in the midst of the wood plank floor and paneled ceiling. Notice how the silhouette of the branches really pops against the forested and sunny backdrop.
Cedar Deck Railing Kits
There are a lot of railing options out there, and it can be difficult to know which one is right for your project. This homeowner realized that the natural look and cedar boards used for these railings were the best match for their custom cedar posts. While cedar logs were used for newel posts on the outside of the home, the homeowners opted for square posts to be installed and stained for a contemporary look in the interior.
The homeowners finished and installed the log posts themselves, then sent us over their measurements. We built the railing sections, weaving pieces of mountain laurel between cedar boards. The homeowner installed them and finished them off with a cedar top rail for the end result.
Interior Cedar Railing
A stained glass window features an Osage orange tree that blends beautifully with the twig and branch infill in the interior cedar railing. Take note of how the branches are arranged to spread out like those in the stained glass. Just like the stained glass work, the interior entryway rail is a piece of art. Each branch is unique, along with the pattern of each railing section. Overall, this entrance way ends up feeling like the tree-lined landscape surrounding the property has extended indoors.
We think the results are stunning and so does our customer:
Dear James:
Our new home is finally complete and all of the packing boxes are empty. Enclosed are photos of the railings you made for us. While, for me, the handrails were one of the most difficult design elements of our home, we are very, very pleased with the result. When all is said and done, the handrails are exactly what we envisioned.
The stained glass front door panels is modeled after a big Osage Orange tree (used for hedge rows in Kansas to prevent erosion), which was in our back yard in Kansas. It always fascinated me. In the foreground (somewhat difficult to see) are plowed fields and a barb wire fence. On the exterior can be seen 5 or 6 tiny “m” shapes representing the Canada geese, in flight, in the distance. They make Kansas their home throughout the year. Throughout our travels, we have tried to obtain something significant to represent each place we lived. This panel pays homage to Kansas.
Sadly, we had to sacrifice a number of red cedars to make room for the house’s foundation. However, as you can see, many of the red cedar logs became the newel posts on the deck. The fireplace mantle is cut from the largest log. There are two pillars in the great room, also of red cedar. The bark was removed by pressure washing.
Thank you very much for all your patience as I tried to understand the process of fabricating twig railings.
Sincerely,
Natural twig and branch infill work beautifully for interior and exterior design while creating a connection with outdoor surroundings. If a cohesive design flow is important to you, contact us at Mountain Laurel Handrails to learn more.