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Sawn Balusters

More Wood Baluster Designs
For Your Front Porch

Predominantly used on Victorian porches, sawn balusters rightly have a place on almost any porch. What may seem like intricate cuts, the designs are often created by the adjoining pieces.

These porch railings are usually custom made. Therefore, you are only limited by your imagination as to selecting a design or pattern for your porch. For one thing we are certain, a sawn balustrade definitely creates curb appeal.

As you will see from the following photos, sawn balusters can be made from almost any pattern and be as simple or as intricate as you can imagine - and cut! Many designs are actually created by adjoining pieces as they are by the actual baluster itself.

Sawn balusters are sometimes referred to as fret sawn. This refers to a fret saw (much like a coping saw or scroll saw) which is used to cut intricate patterns. Notice how, in the photo above, you actually focus on the pattern of the open space of the balusters rather than the actual picket itself.

We really like the clean look of the balusters (photo above). It has real charm and like an optical illusion, you can see several neat patterns emerge.

The balusters make a nice backdrop for the flowers. When designing your balustrade, you might want to also consider what will be placed in front of it, if anything.

This pattern appears elsewhere on the page but is in a different color. Note how color changes the overall look of the pattern. It might be a good idea to experiment with both color and design when creating your sawn balusters.

Also note in our photos, how the color of the rails affect the overall appeal. Complementary colors, instead of using the same color as the balusters, can also have dramatic affects.

Wow - that's color. This may not work for every porch but when it does, it gets noticed!

Don't forget your stair railing. You could opt for different balusters but it does add extra charm when you continue it down your stairs.

Here's another example of replicating the pattern but with a different color. In this case, two additional colors are added to the top rail for a unique look.

One of my favorites. I found this in a small New England town and thought it interesting. I hadn't seen this pattern before and I like it.

This pattern includes an extra piece at the top. You could also design it to have a duplicate piece at the bottom to create an entirely different pattern.

This pattern takes your eyes right to the center holes created by the overall pattern. Striking to say the least.

Sawn Baluster Patterns

You can either make the pieces yourself or purchase sawn patterns. Here are a few examples from Vintage Woodworks.com along with a photo of their work on a porch. Our section on Porch Parts has a convenient link to Vintage Woodworks; we invite you to discuss your project with them.