Peoria, I'm not quite picturing where your problem is--Slateberry's answer is totally different from what I was thinking. Could you clear things up? You say the treads are housed--to me, that means that they fit into the stringer and trim board--your balusters do not rest on the tread, but on the side trim of the stairs in a straight diagonal line, like at the top of the railing. I was picturing the gap as being visible from the top of the tread--that it didn't fit into the trim all the way from front to back--and I couldn't see how the front could fit on every step, but not the back of each? If the treads are open (visible) on one side, with the balusters resting in pairs on each step, then the gap is zero at the front, but wider as you approach the front of the next step, so the gap runs horizontally? It would seem to me that if every step is that way, then they were either poorly done to begin with, or the outside trim was replaced at one time, and the cuts were off.

Bisteces Rancheros Flank or Shoulder Steaks Braised with Tomatoes, Potatoes & Poblano Peppers From "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens serves 4 to 6 2 mdm poblanos (about 8 oz) 2 lbs Flank steaks Or thin-cut chuck or shoulder Coarse salt and pepper 4 tbsp olive oil 2 mdm white onions 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted/ground 1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted/grounds 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, with juice 1 lb small red or white potatoes 2 tbsp red wine vinegar Heat oven to 325 degrees Roast peppers - directly on gas burner until charred, about 8 minutes) Transfer to a mdm bowl, cover. Peel peppers - When peppers are cool enough, slip off the charred skin with your fingers. Slice the peeled peppers open, cut away stems, remove seeds. Cut into 1/4" strips. Set aside. Prep steaks - Lay steak flat on a large cutting surface. With a large knife, cut the steak crosswise into 8 to 10 thin slices, holding the knife at a very steep angle so you are cutting more horizontally than downward. The steaks should be about 1/4" thick, 3" wide, and a long as the flank steak was wide (about 6 inches). Brown steaks - Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over mdm high heat until it shimmers. Add 1/2 the steaks and cook, turning once with tongs, until they develop a ruddy brown exterior, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks to a large cazuela or shallow, 3 quart, baking dish. Brown the second batch. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan before adding the steaks. Remove browned steaks to the shallow baking dish Aromatics and braising liquid - When the steaks are browned, pour oil out of the pan. If the skillet is blackened, clean before continuing, but if there is just a chocolate-brown crust of drippings, continue with the skillet as is. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and heat over mdm-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, stir and saute until limp and beginning to brown in spots, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook for another minute. Pour juice from tomato can into the skillet. Then break up whole tomatoes with your hands and drop them into the skillet. Season with salt and pepper, stir and simmer the juices to thicken them a bit, about 4 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Braise - Slice the potatoes into 1/8" thick rounds, and layer them over the steaks. Stir the vinegar into the tomato sauce and spoon it over the potatoes. Top with the strips of peppers. Cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty foil and slice it onto the middle oven rack. Braise until steaks and potatoes are fork-tender, but not falling apart, about 1 hour. The finish - Remove the foil, increase oven temp to 375 degrees, and braise until tomato sauce is brown and crusty around the edges, another 20 to 25 minutes. Serving - Carry the dish to the table with thick pot holders, and use a large serving spoon to serve. Enjoy. Ann H.

The bed and dresser are just beautiful! Before you decide about the bedskirt (and I think that this is a matter of personal taste - with no right or wrong), why not try out the looks to see how you respond to each. Set it up, using whatever fabric you have available to use for a mock up, without a bedskirt; with a bedskirt over the rails; with a bedskirt inside the rails; and without. Take some time to evaluate each and then go with the look that ultimately "clicks." This works well for me over a time period when I look, ignore, and go back to look until I feel sure. If you decide to add a bedskirt and prefer to show the bed rail, I have a suggestion that has worked well for me. We have a high (step up) Pineapple Poster in our MBR that has a 26-inch drop to the floor from the top of the box spring, which sits a good 6 inches above the top of the bed rail. A "double deck" approach allows the box spring to be covered and the rails to show. A shorter skirt attached to decking falls over the exposed box spring and tucks behind the rail. A longer skirt (in three sections - for each side and the base) is attached with velcro to the underside of the box spring and falls from under the bed rail to the floor. The fabrics can be the same or complementary and the style can be tailored or gathered. I have had several changes of bedding and I prefer that both skirts be gathered and I like to use two fabrics - the main bed skirt trimmed with the complementary fabric used on the upper skirt. When I redid my bedding the last time, I decided to use a long skirt over the rail. It looks nice, but I like it better the other way...and DH would not step on the fabric when using the rail to get in and out of bed, or put on socks!

"Do people with any taste still use these?" LOL! I ask myself that Q all the time! Here are my general opinions: I personally don't like much of anything skirted...but then my decorating tastes are more minimal. With that said, If was WAS going to skirt a bedside table, I would make sure I didn't overdo fabrics throughout the room so it appears everything is bathed in fabric. I prefer more balance of fabrics, woods, and other textures. I would make sure the fabrics on the bed & potentially on windows aren't matchy-matchy with the skirting. I would attempt to either play up the side table, or down-play it depending on what else is going on in the room...to create balance. Either create a focal point or be careful to not over-ride an existing focal point. So, with THAT said, I would personally not put glass on top. To me that's fussy (but then, that's me), so instead of glass tops, I would put a tray or some other nice-looking piece along-side the lamp (or whatever is on there) for the purpose of placing glasses & personal items in a contained and protected spot. Also, to me...when I see glass tops when nearby lamps/lighting are on...I just see the reflection of the glass more than I notice anything decorative. Again, light reflection draws the eye to the glass. Not sure if that happens to anyone else...but that's what I see. You might want to assess the lighting and determine if that's an effect you might be going for.