It looks as though you could cut 2 or 2.5 inches from the bottom of the rails-to the bottom of the wall holder. Making them 3 or 4 inches rather than 6+ inches would reduce the impact without interfering with the handhold or strength. You could then run a low profile molding along the bottom. It would be cheaper & easier to paint and stencil them using a motif from the kitchen.

border stencils

Check the building code in your area. We had to use a particular profile in our lake house to meet code. Don’t mess with your pre-existing handrails until you know the changes will pass code.

You could also just paint it a gloss version of the wall color and make it blend in.

Gloss Glacier White Corian handrail. I built one 20 years ago. Beautiful, timeless, functional, code compliant, warm to the touch, never argues with the wall, but oooohh, would I charge for that now.

Joseph, do you mean a 'corian" quartz rail....or is there a paint colour called that? Sorry don't follow....

Betina, you're brilliant, never even thought of stenciling. Maybe could turn these eyesores into a feature. Thx for ideas.

Carey, it would not be Corian quartz (Zodiaq), it would be Corian solid surface, which is acrylic (?)

Joseph, I have been going a little Corian crazy in this house: custom shower receptor, custom vanity tops with a short narrow coved edge that blends with the tile thicknesses, custom toilet paper niche that fits into the tile layout, custom coved shelves that fit exactly into the tile layout, two waste baskets, a "tile" for one specific spot for which no trim tile existed, shelves for the medicine cabinet with holes in them for tooth brushes and razors, and a door to the cat's tunnel complete with "grout lines" and an integrated finger pull, since the cat tunnel in the bathroom also fits into the tile layout.

So I am a little obsessive (thinking of a Corian hood for the kitchen) and the fabricators have gamely made everything I have designed and thrown at them.

I have an open railing (not code compliant) that is wood (white painted and capped with a piece made of clamshell and pole railing.

It needs to redone and fitted with something like mesh in the opening and I will probably make this out of metal for "object integrity" but capping it with Corian and making matching handrails out of corian (Glacier white) and topped with Avonite Fondant (which is the only solid dark brown I can find) would be great and play into my obsessiveness, especially if they could make curved pieces which would probably be out of budget.

Do you need another perspective? Because I think it's a smashing handrail just the way it is. It's a nice chunk of wood :)

I would clean it. That's all.

When I read "crisis" I thought it was loose to the point of falling off, or a kid tumbled over it or something.

Not to belittle your experience, I know how good it feels to have things just so and how bad it can feel not to. I'm very happy that no one is broken though!

I also like them.

I also like this sort of handrail in contemporary houses.

@Anglophilia- butting in here. . .but what product specifically did you use for the black paint ? Priming mine now and planning on a black color ( thanks Jan Moyer!) but not sure what will be most durable.

Palimpsest, you're right..... in a contemporary home they'd, but mine will be more traditional. These just don't fit in with the decor! Iron or wood spindles would be lovely if I had the budget....but I have blown it all on other things in the reno. So it needs to be a DIY design fix. Betina's idea of cutting it down abit and using a stencil intrigues me. Might give that a test run. At the very least they will be painted the trim colour, which will be the same as the risers on the stairs.

Ah okay....sunken living room and the cutout and stair handrail all spelled modern/contemporary to me, also....

well it was contemporary in the 80s which is where this place still was until we gutted it. The cutout wall is gone. I just like traditional....so it will be traditional with a touch of 80s "sunken" :)

Carey:

palimpsest is correct. Corian is a 1/2" thick solid surface sheet made of acrylic and ATH filler.

I'm with pennydesign; I think it's a great handrail and a unique feature for potential buyers should you ever want to sell. Cutting it will involve a lot of sanding and sawdust filtering throughout your house. Consider just paint & stencil until you can replace it?

If I may make a further suggestion, if you want 'traditional', make it work for you. Don't fight the size of the wood, the angles or the fact that the stair rail draws the eye up by using a fussy or static pattern or a stencil with strong lines, edges, a top or a bottom. Work with it. A large, simple and flowing pattern with movement like acanthus, vines or waves would suit the project- a pattern like this:

Lake Conroe Spanish · More Info

Have a look at 'Border Stencils' on Etsy (there are over 6000). Some of those companies can modify the sizes. Best of luck!