Thinking About Railing...

I have to admit we've been damned lucky so far in our second floor project. I had been keeping my eyes out for things we might need for over a year before we could begin, but generally I've stumbled into whatever we've needed right when we were ready for them. I'm a firm believer in serendipity. Now it's time to start thinking about railing around the stairway. I picked up the bookcases last week and they are sitting where they will be upstairs




I'll need railing between them and on the hallway side of the stairs.


I'm thinking about simple square balusters, after considering other options and even looking for suggestions on the “American Bungalow Bulletin Board”.

The reason for the narrow square ones would be that it will allow maximum light into the stairway. There is no light directly above the stairs, so this could be important. I also think it would probably be cheaper if we actually have to buy new, or mill ourselves.

Other suggestions, or this I've considered include panels with cut outs (I had thought that since my surname begins with "H" that would be easy to do!) or even solid wood panel. Here's a suggestion that came: “Diane Keaton's stairway”. If anyone else has cool ideas, feel free to throw them in my direction!