How can you get a railing that is both artistic and sturdy? Wrought iron.  The art has been around for centuries making everything from horseshoes and plows to swords and armor.  But just because our iron horses don't need shoes, our harvesting usually consists of weekly going to the grocery store, and swords are no longer the weapon of choice, doesn't mean the art is no longer relevant.

Recently Afton Olsen, in St. George, Utah, showed me some of his work recently installed in a home on the Ledges.  The home is already located wonderfully, bordering on Snow Canyon State Park.  How can you improve on that?  Well, it's in the details.  The kind of stuff that Afton makes by hand. The gate and front door make for an impressive entrance to the abode.  Then the level of Afton's skill can be seen in the rail leading you down stairs.  It is as if a vine morphed itself into a sturdy support.  Next there was a guest bathroom with a wrought iron vanity.  Simple and beautiful  But to top it all off, there was the bridge.

Afton related how the owners originally wanted a rope bridge.  But things like that are a maintenance nightmare in the searing sun of the southwest. So, after discussing a few various ideas for the bridge, they came up with a bridge that looks like it is made from rope.... but it is iron.  

The pictures speak for themselves. But, if you would like to know more about Afton's work, give him a call at 435-668-7153.