The Western Springs classic.
A straight-run stair with carved walnut newel collars, alternating barley-twist and slender spindles, and a continuous walnut handrail through a transom-lit hall.
Carving is a lost art in stair work. Most modern shops don't do it; the customers haven't asked for it in twenty years. This commission asked for it, and we built it — a chunky walnut newel post with a basket-weave-and-diamond carved collar, a reeded shaft below, and a hand-shaped scroll cap above.
The carving is the project. Each newel post starts as a solid block of walnut and gets shaped on the bench by hand — reeding on the shaft for vertical rhythm, a carved basket-weave collar in the middle for the strongest visual moment, and a soft pillow profile on top to receive the handrail. It's not CNC. It's not stock. It's hand-cut in our shop, one piece at a time.
The balusters alternate. Slender white-painted spindles for the rhythm. Barley-twist spindles at regular intervals for the punctuation. The pattern reads as classical music — a beat under a melody — and runs the full length of every flight.
The setting carries the same level of care. Walnut handrail, walnut treads, white-painted skirts. A transom-lit upper hall with a coffered ceiling overhead. The stair feels older than it is — which is exactly what you want when the architecture is asking for tradition and the carving has to earn it.
Carving is a lost art in stair work. This commission asked for it, and we built it by hand.
The carved newel collar from across the room — basket-weave-and-diamond pattern, all hand-cut.
Vertical context — the chunky newel and the reeded shaft below it.
The newel angled into the foyer — the carving readable at every approach.
Detail of the barley-twist balusters alternating with slender spindles.
From below — the full sweep with the fireplace context beyond.
Newel detail with the twist in the balusters and the carved collar resolved into the rail.
Tell us about the stair your house deserves.
The Western Springs classic.
A straight-run stair with carved walnut newel collars, alternating barley-twist and slender spindles, and a continuous walnut handrail through a transom-lit hall.
Carving is a lost art in stair work. Most modern shops don't do it; the customers haven't asked for it in twenty years. This commission asked for it, and we built it — a chunky walnut newel post with a basket-weave-and-diamond carved collar, a reeded shaft below, and a hand-shaped scroll cap above.
The carving is the project. Each newel post starts as a solid block of walnut and gets shaped on the bench by hand — reeding on the shaft for vertical rhythm, a carved basket-weave collar in the middle for the strongest visual moment, and a soft pillow profile on top to receive the handrail. It's not CNC. It's not stock. It's hand-cut in our shop, one piece at a time.
The balusters alternate. Slender white-painted spindles for the rhythm. Barley-twist spindles at regular intervals for the punctuation. The pattern reads as classical music — a beat under a melody — and runs the full length of every flight.
The setting carries the same level of care. Walnut handrail, walnut treads, white-painted skirts. A transom-lit upper hall with a coffered ceiling overhead. The stair feels older than it is — which is exactly what you want when the architecture is asking for tradition and the carving has to earn it.
Carving is a lost art in stair work. This commission asked for it, and we built it by hand.
The carved newel collar from across the room — basket-weave-and-diamond pattern, all hand-cut.
Vertical context — the chunky newel and the reeded shaft below it.
The newel angled into the foyer — the carving readable at every approach.
Detail of the barley-twist balusters alternating with slender spindles.
From below — the full sweep with the fireplace context beyond.
Newel detail with the twist in the balusters and the carved collar resolved into the rail.