Taking Root

At an ordinary site meeting late in the building process, the owner mentioned how he and his family liked the way root outcroppings formed over rocks and “an idea took root,” puns Brad Gardner, vice president of production for Boston-based F.H. Perry Builder. Hickox Williams Architects and Jed Dixon from Northroad Woodshop collaborated with Gardner to incorporate that concept into the new house. The architects had already designed a four-story stair railing that feels lighter as it climbs by subtly shrinking in diameter, so the idea of the final newel post being a root growing into this continuous handrail was an instant hit. Dixon brought in three chunks of mahogany to fit them for height and then hand-chiseled and carved them at his shop. Once the pieces were glued in place on site, fine-tuning the post took several days. The last touch was a specialty painter who applied stains and finishes to enhance the tree-like quality and complete the illusion of one sinuous piece.