I will be watching this thread for ideas as I am facing a very similar situation. Currently we have white wrought iron railings on two areas above our sunken living room and I just cannot figure out what to replace it with. DH wants nothing but I feel it is too much of a safety hazard to have nothing there. I'm thinking of a short glass block wall with a top cap (wood, stone, ?) that can be a shelf, but like you, I think it would visually make the small rooms seem even smaller. The wrought iron could be painted but it looks dated to me. It's original to our 70's ranch, but maybe it will look better when we finally get rid of the old ugly carpet and put in wood. ~Betsy

We stepped our main deck level down one step (a small landing outside the door and then a step down to rest of deck) and then used a combination of black wrought iron vertical railing joined with wood decorative posts. I don't know the style of your home, and the overall "color" of your view (ie, if it's light, you may want white railing), but this worked very nicely for us. The white painted corner posts tied in with the traditional style of our home, and the iron blended with the trees/forest so that it is practically invisible from inside, yet the overall look makes the outside area a focal point rather than a railing distraction. Just an idea. I'm not sure if it was all that affordable. My husband did the woodwork, and brought in the iron guy to measure and fill in the railing lengths. Reeha

You are all so helpful and generous with your suggestions, so thank you! I've definitely come to the right place for help. :-) Amysrq, I think I agree with you that my concern over the glass railing isn't that it isn't safe, but that it wouldn't FEEL safe! I think that the mere knowledge it is glass, and glass is breakable, would make me afraid to have my kids pressing against it. Just gives me the heebie-jeebies thinking about it! And looking up at a fingerprint-covered glass railing would bug me, I already know it. SO, glass is out. Hostagrams (and everyone else with this thought), thank you for point out that the black spindles would be easy to look through, where as with wood I would almost have to look around each spindle. (Does that make sense?) It is this issue more than any other that makes me lean toward the black spindles. I don't want to block the view or the light, and I don't want to have to stand up and look OVER the railing to be able to see anything below or out the windows. Sandyponder, I LOVE your railing! Looks very cool and functional, and doesn't block the view at all. But I showed the picture to DH, and he vetoed it immediately. Not rustic enough, apparently. But thanks for the photos - it looks great! Okay, all of this leads me to the fact that I'm pretty sure that a combo of black balusters and logs is the best compromise for DH and I. The logs in the railing would tie in with the log mantel, which is important to DH. I'm thinking that something like this (which is pretty much what is in my original post) might be the best of all worlds. So did all of your great ideas and input ultimately lead me back to where I started? Well, no matter what we decide, you have all been a huge help in helping me think through this decision. So thank you! Alicia

@k9arlene, Thanks. Yes, birds would make a mess. It would be pain to get a ladder to clean the outside of the railing. Luckily, it is only one story up. Industrial is not my favourite look. Thanks for letting me know you think the glass matches the look of my house more. @tibbrix, Thanks for clarifying the view with cable railings. Surely, there is somewhere near me that someone has used them that I can see. As per providing a wind breaker, that does sound nice, but in practice I am not sure how often we would be out there on windy days anyway. I too am concerned about cleaning. Carol