Nerdy Staircase Upgrade: Part 1

My dad was looking for a new woodworking project and fortunately I am his victim. To prevent him from making another coffee table-sized boat model case, I am allowing him to do something which I am a little leery about as it will be messing with original house parts.

This is  my staircase. I apologize for the bad night shot which highlights the dingy carpet.

See the opening to the right? I'm sure it is grandfathered in, but having a large opening with a 7 foot drop, level with the stairs probably is not up to code. The cat loves it AND unfortunately the small child also loves it which gives me a heart attack when I am sitting on the couch and am realizing she snuck up the stairs as she sticks her head out over the side giggling.

My dad came up with the idea of vertical slats filling the space. Not uncommon to staircases of the time so I agreed to his design but wanted to take it a step further because, why not? Anything to keep him entertained longer, right?

These are the original 1918 slats on my parent's staircase:

(I had to confirm with my mom that she was decorated for Halloween. The doll head case is the normal décor though...)

 

See, they have funky tulips! I didn't want to copy their funky tulips but I could only find a couple other photos of staircases from this time period with the funky designs. I didn't find any which caught my eye so I decided to come up with my own. It had to look like it was from 1915 but being the nerd I am, here is my final design decision and the test cut my dad did:

 

I think it has a nice Art Nouveau flower look to it, right? Is it obvious what it really is when it is out of context? I hope no one shuns me for installing this design into my 1915 staircase! But, umm, I really don't care because I think it is going to look fantastic!

 

Until next time, may the force be with you!