About

 
Arren Williams is the name, and I'm a stylist, editor and trend reporter. You'll catch my work regularly popping up in print in the likes of the National Post, House & Home and elsewhere. I'm also a guest expert on Citytv's CityLine, and you can occasionally find me on HGTV as well as on ABC 7 News in Chicago.

To keep things fun I've tapped a couple of friends - Julia Black and Jenn Hannotte - to contribute their views on design too. Enjoy!

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Ask Arren > Stair Rails

Hi Arren,

We are building a new home and have decided to go with a lighter colour flooring with matching stair treads and painted white risers. Our spindles are black rod iron and we are not sure which way to go fot the bannisters. Black rod iron bannisters would be grear but out of our budget. We are not crazy about a light coloured bannister. Would you suggest painted black wood bannisters or would you go with a lighter shade as well?

Thanks,
Rob

November 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRob

Sorry, I meant to say light coloured handrail. The bannisters will be black rod iron.

Thanks.
Rob

November 12, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRob

Hi Rob, My personal reco would be to actually go with white wood pickets and a white handrail to work with your white stair face (plus, you probably have white trim too, no?). But, if the black iron spindles are a definite, and they might be, then a black painted wood handrail would fit perfectly. And, to make it all come together, I'd suggest some black framed artwork and perhaps a stair runner in a darker tone too.

Good luck, Arren

November 12, 2008 | Registered CommenterArren

Thanks, Arren. Once other question though that I forgot to ask. If we did paint the wood railing black, would the support posts on the end have to be black as well, and do you have a color code or brand that you can suggest that would be perfect for the job. To be honest, I have not been able to find any pics on the web of this style black railings as everything seems to be brown on white.

Thanks again.
Rob

December 1, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRod

Hi Rob, Yes, to my mind the newel posts should be painted out in black too. Best bet for durability would be to go for an oil paint for this, but if that's too much of a pain to consider (the smell is a bit much after all) then try and pick a higher end paint from the folks at Benjamin Moore or Farrow & Ball, again so durability is key. I mention F&B since they have a great colour you might want to consider called Off-Black that a bit softer and more flattering than a pitch black tint.

Cheers, Arren

December 2, 2008 | Registered CommenterArren