REAL WORK, REAL CLIENTS, LEHIGH VALLEY.

This staircase was built for a high-end new construction home near Chatham, New Jersey, where the stair and railing were designed as part of the architecture from the start.

The project combines a traditional railing design with custom details throughout. The newel posts were made specifically for the home, giving the staircase proportions and details that work with the scale of the entryway rather than relying on standard stock profiles.

One of our favorite details is easy to miss: the handrail terminates into the face of the entryway posts with custom lamb’s tongue fittings. It’s a small piece of the overall project, but exactly the kind of detail that separates a truly custom staircase from an off-the-shelf railing package.

The staircase and railing components were fabricated and prepared through our Whitehall shop, then fitted on site to bring the entire design together.

This renovation gave the existing staircase a completely new look without replacing the stair itself. We installed new red oak treads and replaced the entire railing system, selecting the materials and finish colors to coordinate with the homeowner's flooring, trim, and surrounding space.

For the railing, we used 1/2" square iron balusters in satin black, mixing plain balusters with knuckle styles to add some detail without making the pattern feel too busy.

One of the standout details was the custom squared starting step at the bottom of the staircase. We took dimensions from the existing stair on site, then built the new starting step from red oak in our Whitehall shop specifically for the opening. That allowed us to get the shape and proportions right for the existing staircase rather than trying to make a stock starting step work.

We also helped the homeowner select the materials and color direction so the finished staircase would coordinate with the rest of the room. We handled the stair and railing work; staining and painting were completed separately.

A complete stair and railing update, built around the home that was already there.

This one is a period restoration — new construction, built to look like it had always been there. The house was the former dean's residence at Centenary College in Hackettstown, NJ, and it burnt down. The stair you see here was built new for the rebuild, to the home's era.

Calling it a railing replacement would undersell what's in these photos. Turned white balusters, a stained oak over-the-post handrail running to wall brackets, curved starter treads at the base — and look past the stair: stained glass at the landing, paneled wainscot, a parquet border in the foyer. The stair had to belong to that house.

Every part was cut and fit in our Whitehall shop.