We bought a 1964 home and I feel the same way about our white metal bannister and railing...want it gone. Want to replace it with wood, but haven't settled on a style. I'm also afraid of making it still look dated (80's-90's). Would love some pics of wood railings that people find attractive (I liked the one posted earlier, part wood part metal...but I worry that the black metal would clash with our bronze finishes...do they make those balusters in an oil-rubbed bronze color? Or maybe that's a dumb idea, since the railing would be for the long-term but doorknob hardware can be updated every decade or so.)

dated? iron banisters are in vogue right now.

I would replace it with wood. We had a wrought iron railing that was painted white and it made the house look so dated. It's telling that so many people assumed it was an outdoor railing!

Anonymous wrote:I would change it. We bought a house built in 1971 with an awful white-painted iron interior railing. It looked cheesy and dated, plus it didn't feel safe (lower in height than I'm used to). We replaced it with a wood railing and were kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner. It looks SO much better. The handrails match our hardwood floors and the banisters match our white trim. It looks clean and modern.

Where did you get it from?

I would want to eventually change it, but it wouldn't be the first thing on my list. Like the picture posted above, I'm seeing partial wood/partial wrought iron in a lot of new builds so it seems like wrought iron is maybe making a comeback, and I think that style looks nice.

I'm not a fan of the black wrought iron that you frequently see in split foyers or split levels built in the 60s and 70s. It was one thing that quickly turned me off about a house when we were looking (not enough to be deal breaker if everything else was great but just isn't our style--I didn't want metal in my living room). We still ended up with a 60s split foyer that we love, but the previous owners had taken out the wrought iron and installed wood that matched the hardwoods on the railings and were painted white on the balusters. It looks nice with the white crown molding and beadboard wainscoting in the entry way.

sorry not dated, it looks fine and is an upgrade. Maybe your build pushed you to do cheap pine?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like wrought iron bullsters on wood

Terribly dated.

And difficult to clean.

Dated or not I find it beautiful.

Anonymous wrote:
You bought a house together. If this is his priority, cool. What's yours? We each need what we need in order to feel at home. For me, it was the god-awful popcorn ceiling that never seemed to bother anyone else. I prioritized that over a bathroom re-do. To each, his own.

Very wise. Good to compromise.
Dh hates popcorn ceiling, I kinda like it. Ugly wood stairs drive me mad but doesn't bother DH. Our compromise should have been to fix both but we ended up doing neither.

OP here.

I think I prefer the current fully wrought iron bannister/spindles to the wood on top/wrought iron on the bottom look. Ours are not too short - they are the right height.

I'm afraid that we will end up with something that will ultimately look more dated then what we have now. (i.e. some wood bannisters look very 1980s)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's spelled baluster...

If you ever are searching out wrought iron furniture and other items on Craigslist or eBay, make sure to search "rod iron" and "rot iron." Surprising how many people don't know how to spell it.

And those are the people who like this style.

Anonymous wrote:It's spelled baluster...

If you ever are searching out wrought iron furniture and other items on Craigslist or eBay, make sure to search "rod iron" and "rot iron." Surprising how many people don't know how to spell it.

It's spelled baluster...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like wrought iron bullsters on wood

Terribly dated.

And difficult to clean.