Modern Porch Railing Design - Chica And Jo

Modern Porch Railing Design by: Chica This page may contain affiliate links and we may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking them. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. share it

When Jo and I completely remodeled my front porch, one of the biggest changes we made that totally transformed the space was installing a porch railing. I came up with a unique, modern porch railing design that gave the porch a fresh new look that greatly increased our house's curb appeal.

The key design element to this porch railing is the flat balusters I used, rather than the typical rounded ones. And the pattern is super simple, too. The balusters are parallel, but just a slight tweak to the spacing between them made all the difference, and made this an easy DIY project.

Materials Needed

For the balusters, I used 1x3 common planks (which technically measure 3/4" x 2.5"), cut to the length I needed. It's a good idea to paint them before assembly, to make it easier.

For the rest of the railing, I used a few common 2x4 boards and two strips of lattice trim that measures 1" x 1.25". I laid everything out on the floor first to be sure I had a plan for how assembly would go.

Building the main rails

The first step was to create the main rail and attach it to the columns. I cut two 2x4s to the height I wanted the overall railing to be and screwed them (from the outside) to the main horizontal 2x4 railing.

Then I held the frame in place and screwed the vertical piece into the columns to secure it.

Then I added another 2x4 flat across the top, and screwed it down into both pieces below, so that everything was solid and secure.

Building the baluster panel

To build the baluster panel as seamlessly as I could with as few visible screw holes as possible, I first attached the lattice strip to the ends of the balusters, securing them with my Ryobi One+ 16gauge nail gun. It's battery-operated, which means no air compressor is necessary!

I kept going, spacing them evenly (3/4" for the narrow space and 3-1/2" for the wider one) and centering them on the lattice, until they were all attached at the top.

Then I nailed another piece of lattice across the bottom of the planks, securing it in the same way.

Installing the baluster panel

To attach the baluster panel to the railing, I held it up against the horizontal railing and screwed it in place through the lattice. (That Ryobi One+ Drill uses the same battery as the nailer... how convenient!)

To support the panel from the bottom, I added another 2x4 railing that stretched from column to column. I pushed it up against the panel's bottom lattice strip, then secured the 2x4 to the columns using toe-nailed screws.

Then I attached the lattice strip to the railing with screws, as I had done on the top.

Final touches

To finish the railing off and give it a substantial top surface, I added a 1x6 plank of PVC molding across the top, screwing it down into the 2x4 below.

I caulked all the seams, gave everything two good coats of outdoor enamel paint, and it was good to go!

This unique and modern porch railing turned out so great that my neighbors are always commenting on it. It made such a huge impact to the overall look of the porch, and was surprisingly easy to do.

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12 comments so far:

• 1 Ginger 06/17/2023 at 2:44 pm

  How long did you cut your 1x3s? We're attempting to copy your railing but I want to make sure that the length looks aesthetically pleasing. We have 40 inch posts but for reasons I'm not going into here, we are not doing the full 40 in we're dropping the railing down three to four inches from the top of the posts & topping our posts decoratively.

• 2 Chica 06/18/2023 at 8:31 am

  Ginger, my 1x3 balusters are 24" long, but that may nor work for your space. I recommend testing with lengths until you get something that looks just right.

• 3 Joe Shape 03/31/2024 at 6:07 pm

  Curios to see if you used pressure treated wood? Thanks

• 4 Chica 04/01/2024 at 8:30 am

  Joe, the 2x4s are pressure treated, but the balusters are not, as that size lumber was not available in pressure treated. However, I painted the pieces twice with an exterior paint that has held up beautifully. And the top railing is PVC, which will last forever.

• 5 Kate 11/22/2024 at 5:23 pm

  I love the look of this- it’s a refreshing take but still appropriate for a traditional home. I’m curious what your all in cost for the project ended up being?

• 6 Chica 11/27/2024 at 12:43 pm

  Kate, thank you! I'm afraid I don't have the all-in cost calculated, and with lumber prices fluctuating as much as they do, my total wouldn't likely be accurate anymore anyway :)

• 7 Dana Kiecker 05/07/2025 at 10:08 pm

  What is the spacing distance on your 1 X 3 vertical balusters? It looks like 1/2" & 2 1/2".

• 8 Chica 05/08/2025 at 10:30 am

  Dana, the narrow space is 3/4" and the wider space is 3-1/2". I've just updated the instructions above with these measurements :)

• 9 Jim 08/06/2025 at 7:18 pm

  What size are the main porch posts?

• 10 Chica 08/08/2025 at 11:54 am

  Jim, the exact dimensions of the PVC boards I used to wrap the columns are 3/4" x 9-1/4", and after overlapping the corners, the finished column size is 10" x 10".

• 11 Bryan 11/15/2025 at 3:41 pm

  Thank you! I have been wanting to replace my porch railing for years but could never find the right design. Wanted something classic but different, and something I could build myself. Saw this posted and knew it was the one. Finished it this week and couldn't be more pleased. Cost was only about $10 a foot. Awesome. If there is a way to share a photo I would but don't see it. Anyway, thanks again for the inspiration.

• 12 Chica 11/20/2025 at 12:09 pm

  Bryan, I'm so glad you liked my rail design! I love it too, and it makes such a unique statement on the house. I would love to see your finished railing... you can email us a photo at [email protected] or if you share online, tag us at @chicaandjo so we can see!

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