Classy.

classy, originally uploaded by jadis_eoc.

When I'm waiting in the morning at the stoplight right before I get on the expressway to work, there are these 3 old houses right in a row, all exactly the same except for different colored trim. This happened a lot back in the days when Wilkes-Barre was still a booming coal town and was actually growing...houses would go up in groups, and the same plans would be used for multiple houses right next to each other as the builders threw them up as fast as possible.

Anyway, this one house at the corner was recently for sale, and I'm thinking that whoever bought it got an FHA loan, because this fancy handrail going up the stairs from the sidewalk to the porch appeared out of the blue one day. For those of you who don't know, FHA has a lot of nitpicky requirements for what sort of shape the property has to be in for them to approve the loan, and the owner usually has to make the house meet FHA's rules before they can close. Things like having to have a handrail on any stairs on the property over 3, no electrical sockets within so many feet of a sink, no chipping/peeling paint, etc.

I'm pretty sure this handrail got thrown up in a hurry for that purpose, and the owners made a rather goofy attempt to spiff it up so it didn't look quite so halfassed. Except, well....FAIL. :D

While the fancy turned spindles are what caught my eye at first (in a totally contrasting unfinished wood than the raw 2x4s, of course), I really think it's the quarter-round molding along the handrail that really pulls it all together!

Did I mention....FAIL???