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 the pictures, a homeowner selected branch infill for interior and exterior railings to create a cohesive flow throughout his Craftsman home and tree-lined lot. And the result is stunning!
The railing with balusters made from mountain laurel branches softens the height transition from the woodsy yard to the main floor. In order to clear the lot for the home’s foundation, a few red cedars were cut down. In keeping with a unified look, the homeowner used them to make the handsome log newel posts.
Mixed media is another popular trend. The stairway railing features round metal rods that maintain the rustic look while mixing nicely with bark covered branches.
The homeowner chooses to complement cedar deck railing for interior and exterior décor. Instead of using rough cedar logs for newel posts, square posts were installed and stained for a contemporary look in the interior.
A stained glass window features an Osage orange tree that blends beautifully with the twig and branch infill in the interior railing. Notice how the branches are arranged to spread out like those in the stained glass. Just like the stained glass work, the interior cedar deck railing is a piece of art. Each branch is unique as well as the overall pattern within each railing section.
Overall, this entrance way feels like an extension of the tree-lined landscape outdoors.
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.