Nouveau-Classical Handrails

Stone stairs leading to a building with large white columns, black decorative metal handrails, and a garden with bushes and trees in the background.

From my first site visit to explore this handrail project it was clear the four enormous classical columns at the front of the house could not be ignored. The clients, a beloved, art-collecting couple in the DC area, were up for something extravagant and had a sense of humor about the scale of their new home.

Close-up view of two large white classical columns with decorative bases, one of which has a black metal railing wrapped around it, situated outdoors on a patio. In the background, there is a grassy yard, bushes, trees, and a residential house.

The idea that classical architecture is largely known to us through ancient ruins, and the image of a crumbled marble facade covered in vines, was my entry point. The governing spirit of the resulting design is one of tension — tension between old and new, between the natural world and the built environment, and even the tension inherent in representing organic forms through the artifice of ironwork.

A detailed sketch of a decorative staircase railing and a fluted column on steps.
Man working on a porch railing outside a brick house with white pillars, wearing a black beanie, red sweater, and gloves.
A decorative black metal handrail with a dragonfly design, casting a shadow on a tiled and gravel surface.

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