Traditional staircases are by far the most commonly seen stairs. They can include many different individual designs including box newels and craftsman style and even ornate iron scrollwork. The typically will have a little more wood trim surrounding the stairs itself, whether it be wooden skirt boards or wainscoting in adjacent rooms leading to the stair.

There are a couple of main types of rail systems for this category (and all categories of stairs); over the post & post to post.

In an over the post rail system the newels sit underneath a continuous rail and never come high enough to interrupt that continuous flow. This is typically a more traditional look and the newels themselves are typically circular and narrow at the top in order to accommodate the rail fittings.  the fittings, goosenecks, up easings etc’, add another element of detail to this style of rail system and the turns and level changes tend to sweep your hand along the handrail as it changes direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post to post rail systems are more common and the handrail runs from one newel post and terminates in another. The newel post stands higher than the handrail and typically has a cap at the top.  In this system, the rail literally goes between the posts and is not continuous like an over the post system.

You have many different post options with the post to post including box newels which are stout square craftsman style newels that can really make a statement in your home.