New railing, arch cut

Debora suggested I reconsider the railing to have a more open look and sent me a photo showing an example I hadn't seen. All the railings I had seen involved intricate wrought iron work. It hadn't occurred to me to use a basic iron railing that could be made from wood dowels.

I cut down the side walls to the height of the stone portion. I taped a dowel to two porch posts to see how it would look. The lower one might be replaced by a column...not sure yet. And, it looks like I'm back to porch columns instead of brackets.

This will significantly cut down on the expanse of stone on the side walls, making them less intrusive overall.

I used a plastic lid to make the arch under the stairs and cut the opening with the scroll saw. I measured the arch to allow a person to walk through to the side lawn and to accommodate a door on the front of the building.