I hate this stair railing. We have picked out new, plain iron balusters and craftsman stile newel posts in cherry or a darker wood (can't remember what is was), but in the time lapse since (waiting for the contractor!), I have changed my mind about it. I really, really don't want to see anything there! And since we can't have an open pit, I'm going to have to chose somethign else. I just don't want anything that is a distraction, busy, or a major design element. There's too much going on in this room for my taste already - I don't want to add to it.

I have thought about a pony wall with molding (we don't need more bookshelves), or a glass railing which would echo the deck rail outside the room, or even a horizontal cable rail which would echo the hortizontal slats in the wooden shutters on the window.

Also, I don't see the need for the railing against the wall - my contractor said the builder left too much of a ledge - 9" to pass code - but I'm sure there's another solution.

Please offer advice!

UPDATED with what I hope are better pictures. The whole house is undergoing transformations - but slowly. I'm going to be removing as much of my (new) husband's furnishings, rugs and art as I can get away with. Some of the structural elements I won't be able to change right away (the fireplace, floors, bookcase wall), but anything I can do now to tone down the noise will help me. We've been married almost two years (widow/widower) but I haven't had a lot of time to work on our home because my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about the same time as our marriage. I spend a lot of time driving 90 minutes to be with her each week. My priority is caring for my mom and preparing for her future care, but every time I'm home, I want to tackle some of my projects.