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Heavy metal makes a comeback
Ornate grilles, classic spindles. Spiral staircases come full circle.
by I. John Harvey, special to the Star
Bernie Snitman likes to tell people his business is “100 years behind
the times.” Ironically, it puts him right at the forefront of one of today’s hottest
design trends. While décor fashions are often fleeting, true classics never
seem to go out of style. That’s in part why there’s been a resurgence of interest
in ironwork. From the stalwart black iron spiral staircases Snitman’s Steptoe &
Wife Antiques have designed and produced for 32 years to delicate cast-iron
screens and lattices, heavy metal is hip again.
“I don’t think you’ve seen this kind of work in homes for 80 years or more,”
says Toronto designer Harvey Wise of Harvey Wise Designs. “You’d have to go
back to the 1930s.”
Ornate grilles are showing up on front doors and fireplaces, while wood stair
spindles are reverting to classic iron. It’s a full-circle renaissance after the
contemporary look of the 1950s though 1970s had seemingly killed off metal
work as accent features.
“But I think people want to personalize their homes and that’s part of the
reason for the resurgence,” says Snitman, a history graduate who started in the
antiques trade buying up unwanted and unloved grandfather clocks in England,
where he’d been at university, and shipping them to Canada.
Like the timepieces that gave Snitman and wife Marna their start, the ironwork
is a throwback to an era of decorative craftsmanship. The stairs are a key element
to their business, which has evolved from antiques to architectural restoration
products including landings, railings, tin ceilings, and traditional, textured wall
coverings such as Anaglypta and Lincrusta.
“We’ve even done some widow’s walk for restoration jobs on historic homes,”
says Don Santon, who runs the metal shop at Steptoe.
The spiral staircases are classic in their own right. Each piece is cast in a
Chinese foundry from Snitman’s designs, then shipped to the 40,000-square-foot
Tycos Drive warehouse and production facility, south of Dufferin and Lawrence.
Assembled on site, the spiral staircases can have steps that are only 24” wide,
making them useful in tight spaces where a traditional-sized wooden staircase
with wider treads would not fit. The average installation costs about $4,500.
Snitman recently added a 48-inch-wide stair that can create a grand front
entrance or internal stairways for upscale retailers and restaurants.
Over the years the Snitmans have weathered a couple of recessionary storms,
often hanging on by their fingernails. These days though, the economic climate
is good. The couple has also spun off a successful drapery hardware business,
Alhambra, which they operate out of the same space, custom-finishing curtain
rods and finials for retailers such as Robert Allen in the US.
As for the railing, it’s all in the details, which can be configured almost endlessly
and costs about $150.00 a meter installed. The big demand is in commercial
restoration and Santon’s past projects include the Canon Theatre (formerly
Pantages), the Wintergarden, the gazebo at Kew Beach and the railing at the
restored Lansdowne bridge. There are also some high-profile projects, such as
the Lyric/Apollo Theatre in New York.
“We get a lot of homeowners replacing oak spindles with the metal” says
Santon. “Aside from the look, there’s a big advantage in space because the metal
is a lot thinner… so it adds a lot more light.”
The spiral stairs find homes in lofts, basements and cottages and even elevated
balcony-style libraries.
Beyond stairs, railing and grille work, the cast iron is also creeping into tables,
says Santon, pointing to a custom creation in the basement metal shop which
combines carved wood legs in a “rope” style with a wrought iron frame and a
cast iron lattice top, which will be topped by glass.
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