Very nice.

I may've missed something. If you are doing vertical slats for the deck for safety, why not the other spaces too? Are they not just as dangerous? I just had my interior stair railing installed and went with vertical after my fabricator cautioned me against horizontal slats and climbing children. We don't have small children but hope to have grandchildren at some point down the line.

@Amy Brookshire Good question. The front railing is pretty much decorative. It is basically on flat ground where a fall would be minimal height. Plus, I don't think children would gather there very often. As for the stairs, the fall would be potentially higher (from upstairs to downstairs). But a fall wouldn't be down to a cement slab. My greatest fear is a child falling from the rear deck. It faces a lake, and would be where guests gather frequently.

What do you mean by 42" ?

The stone is really busy.

If you've got as much happening on the front of your house as your inspiration pic does, I'd try to avoid putting up railings on the front porch at all. As Coco Chanel used to say, "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."

If code requires you to put up railings, I'd examine your façade to see which way most of the lines go. For example, if you've used board and batten on the front of your house, vertical balusters will reinforce that look rather than fighting with it.

Horizontal railings read contemporary and thus look forced when the rest of the house is neo traditional. As others have said, less is more so consider removing a few elements for a more classic forever design.

I have to agree with Mark, Jennifer and Hallett. Your inspiration pic is making it hard to have a resting place for our eyes when we look at the elevation.

I don't have a good pic of ours in progress.  We did remove the large stone entrance, but kept some other areas of stone.

Here are some closer pictures of the porch.  In each photo, there is a piece of wood representing the height of railing, one at 36" height and the other at 42" height.

I think your home looks much better without the railings in the front. There are too many elements going on as it is.

Looks like you can skip the railings on the front. If you can, the entire space will feel more welcoming. And hey! You'd save a couple grand to spend on a nice weekend away to recover from house building. ;)

If a railing is not required, do not install it and live without it for at least a year. If you find a compelling need for one, install it at that point. Take the money you save and throw a better house warming party.

I would agree with most of the comments here. The front doesn't need to have railings cause already looks great as it is

I'd say 42" looks more like your inspiration photo.

Agree. No railing on the front. You're at ground level so it's not needed and will be another distraction.

I wonder if the railing salesperson needs a new boat?