Now we wanted to add a personal touch to our craftsman style home and began to inlay tiny pieces of walnut, hand cut into the shape of oak leaves, onto a few of the lower treads and around the newel post. The inspiration for the inlaid leaves was for them to feel as if they had “fallen” from the oak branch design on the lantern hanging over the stairs. Here’s what they looked like before we stained our stairway. Notice how the grain of the walnut gives the feeling of veins on the leaves…neat huh?

Craftsman Style Stairs, unstained inlays

Now the Greene & Greene inspired lantern was where the real creative collaboration began. Since buying a craftsman style light fixture like the one I wanted would totally blow the lighting budget, and since I already had experience with stained glass, (at least I did in 1978…) my cabinetmaker suggested that he and I could build the lantern frame together as a sort of a wood shop class/birthday present for me. Oh yeah! As an artist who enjoys the challenge of creating in different mediums, I took to it like a duck to water. Did you know that different species of wood have different smells..? Sorry I digress. We had such a blast making the lantern frame, that Pete encouraged me to stay involved, learn more about the woodworking craft, and continue with the designing and building the stairs. I would be The Apprentice. Oh – and best part? I was the client so I couldn’t be fired!