apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Fabulous! Finally a post about loving the home you are in and restoring historic details!

Gorgeous! We have a similar project to tackle in our home and this post is very inspirational. The stairwell in our 1910 home is also walled in and we'd like to open it up and build a new (old) banister.

It's been beautifully done... but the house deserves no less. I flicked through the images on his blog (once I found it - your final links are screwed up, Susie) and was astounded at the luxurious detailing of this Victorian, from the original inlaid patterns on the floors to the tesselated tilework on the firplaces. When the restoration is complete this place will be a palace!

Oops! Thanks for the heads-up, Blandwagon -- I fixed the links.

- Susie

Wow... not my style, but I can't help but say "wow....". Very nice... Bravo!

It's beautiful, but... I'm sorry, I hate to be negative and rain on the parade because this is a great story, but my background in heritage architecture is making me speak up...

It is all great, but one thing ruins it for me -- the grain.

The grain is totally inappropriate. Yes, the original wood was oak, but it was quarter sawn oak (which you can see if you scroll down on the site link provided above).

Quarter sawn oak is a very different material than the sort of straight-cut oak we are used to from '80s kitchen cabinets. Not only is the grain shape completely different, but so is the texture (no open grain); needless to say, it accepts stains very differently. You can see in the pictures that the two railings are very different in colour and texture, and as a result, look to be very different eras.

I suspect that the company which manufactured the railing did not inform the owner about the wood, or maybe downplayed the differences.

I am sure cost was a consideration, as quarter sawn oak is more expensive, but with the amount of sweat and love that has gone into this project, I am very surprised to see that this detail was not correct...

I'm no expert, but the grain immediately stood out as from a different era to me, too.

My initial reaction was: wow, that looks great. But after reading mschatelaine's comments, I looked at the blog posts and saw the difference between the new and the old staircases. The grain makes a huge difference! Huge. The new staircase is still lovely — don't get me wrong. And it's a vast improvement to the closed in stairway with funeral parlor carpet that was there in the first place. But I do hope the company informed the homeowner of what kind of difference to expect. When you see them next to each other, one will always look like a reproduction.

I also wanted to point out though how much I love the tailored look of the stairs themselves. The very modest overhang of the treads makes for a simple, handsome look. I really like it.

Wow!

The grain doesn't ruin it for me one bit. It looks fabulous!

amazing!!! kudos

Um, who cares about the grain...I still think it looks amazing.

With all due respect: grain, shmain. It's lovely. Your house must feel much happier now.

The grain is an interesting debate. I would say, since it IS a reproduction, let it look like one. It is a reproduction that respects the original design. I would also note that quarter sawn oak, while far more beautiful than other cuts, is the most wasteful and 'ungreen'. Perhaps that was a consideration as well.

pretty, but he clearly didn't get a building permit for this job, as the new railing doesn't appear to meet california building code requirements. the hand rail is not shaped correctly, and a 4" sphere could fly through those gaps.

DEAD ON!!! Bravo and well done.