The house was mid-century, but when Tim Quigley first arrived, it was anything but modern. “Nothing had been done to it since it was built in the mid ‘60s,” says Quigley, founder and owner of Quigley Decks. “It was really outdated.”
A big part of the time warp was due to the old twisted black metal balustrades throughout the split-level home. The moment visitors stepped in the door those railings dominated the view from the top-level balcony down to the first floor. “It was a very open balcony and stair case, but the heavy railings didn’t show off the house,” Quigley says.
It didn’t help that dark paneling covered the walls, or that dusty, old, dark carpeting covered the floors. Fortunately, Quigley’s client was ready to get back to the future and he knew just the ticket—replacing the old metal balustrades with sleek, modern cable railing. “Because of the design of the house, it was the ideal application for cable railing,” Quigley says. “It’s one of the first things you see when you walk in the door.”
Along with a more contemporary style, Quigley says the minimal lines of the cable infill really opened up the space. “The new railings were just night and day because they let in so much more light. It went from something old and drab to something bright and airy,” he says. “Especially on the balconies and open stair cases, it gives the house a beautiful clean look.”
Quigley further enhanced that look with a light maple wood on the floors and stair treads. He then used that same maple for the top railing on the silver-colored posts for a fresh, pulled together custom look. “The mix of metal and wood really pulled the house together,” he says. “It was a big transformation.”
Quigley’s client couldn’t agree more. “She just loves it,” he says. “And she loves to show it off to her friends now. But you know, every customer with cable railing tells me it looks better than they thought it would because they can see the rest of their house. It really brings out the house without drawing attention to itself.”
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