Either works for me, but I like the second one a tiny bit more. Are you going to use it in another area at the top of the stairs too? If so, have you mocked that area as well?

They look so very similar that you can't go wrong with either.

I'm a bit confused on the portion that is higher than the handrail--why is that?

Oh. I see. They are all different…. Not just the more decorative choices? I am not a fan of the twisted ones….What is your decorative style? Modern… traditional, transitional, colonial….

They will be plain, I just did not have any others.

I am a very transitional decorator.