I've had this old baluster my entire life and it, in turn, has had many lives. It was salvaged from the house where my father grew up prior to a renovation. It likely dates from the 1920's. It spent a while in my parents' basement during the early '70s and when I was just a year old it was put on show again. My father painted it a rainbow of colours and fitted it with a base he constructed himself so that it could stand freely, without the support of any railings. It was placed near my crib, and then my little bed, and it had a place in my childhood rooms, from house to house to house, until about the age of 13 when I considered it 'too juvenile' for my bedroom, which was painted a serious gray at the time. It went back into my parents' basement for a little rest.


It was only last year that I decided to reclaim it. It needed to be sanded down and repainted. I chose a dark cream tone, since neutrals work well in just about any scheme and I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.

I like the idea that I will have this 'artifact' from my father's childhood home in any home I live in. I also like the sculptural, architectural detail it lends to the room it finds itself in. In a traditional setting, it blends right in. In a modern setting, it adds a counterpoint of interest to cleaner lines.

The new cream colour on the baluster is a marked contrast to the rainbow-bright tones of its youth. The base, below, is an ingenious construction devised by my father to support the baluster.
The baluster now finds itself tucked neatly in the corner of my living room, where it stands in subtle contrast to its surroundings.