Reproduction of balustrades
Having been educated as a furniture maker, I usually decline requests to do joinery work (woodworks attached to a building). But when I was asked to reproduce the beautiful balustrades of a porch and balcony on a home from the twenties, I was so enthusiastic that I immediately agreed to accept the work.
The balustrades of the porch and the balcony on the first floor were in bad condition. It was too late to restore the wood, but the pieces were still in good enough condition to show how they were constructed a hundred years ago. Also, the decorative details were visible enough to reproduce the pieces as they were in the beginning. I constructed the new pieces in chestnut, a local hardwood that is known for its durability outdoors. A contractor painted the work and installed it on location.
The architecture of the house is typical for the area of Hoeilaart and Overijse (south-west of Brussels). In the second half of the 19th century, people started to grow grapes in greenhouses in that region. The grapes became widely known for their quality. The cultivation brought prosperity, and many growers became wealthy enough to build villas. By the 1920s, a distinctive, recognizable architectural style developed. One of the features of this style was decorative woodwork.
Photography on location by Ivan Picart