Curved Balcony Design: Faux Wrought Iron, CAD How-To, Prints & Renderings

Don’t I Know You?

Depending on how you’ve come upon this post, some of you may be a balcony aficionados, nay experts. And some may have seen a balcony that looks very similar to the faux wrought iron decorative insert shown. So let me be upfront in saying that much of it was, uh… very inspired by… the photo of a Juliet balcony that can be found on a Google Images search for “Balcony”.

Just Following Orders

At first, because handcrafted ironwork is not my forte, I just copied much of the perceived geometry of this balcony photo’s front insert. I planned on changing it later – after I had the functionality worked out I could change the decorative patterns enough to be authentic.

I don’t want to infringe ruthlessly on intellectual property, but who actually owns the IP? What if it’s a timeless or “free use” architectural theme, as patentable as a Doric column? If someone showed me a picture of the Washington Monument and said they want a yard ornament designed after it, I wouldn’t have to pay royalties to ancient Egypt for copying the shape of an obelisk.

Everybody’s Doing It

This whole line of “Maybe I don’t have to change it” thinking came from trying to find pictures of the balcony online. I found the same exact image 3 different times on 3 different corporate websites from 3 different continents! Asia (China), North America (Canada), and Europe/Asia (Turkey). See the screenshots below.  So if so many different ironworks companies purport to sell the same product, have they all licensed the design (and same exact image, for marketing), or is this an “open source” design that no one can claim ownership of? Until further notice, I no longer feel compelled to change the decorative insert design, especially since these are a one-off set of furniture, not a production run.

If you’re the actual artist or design owner, let me know, and if you want changes. As of the writing of this post, the balconies have not actually been finished nor installed, they’re just a collection of parts for a project that gets talked about being finished every so often. I would like to know where your design came from, and what you think of how it’s made its way around the world.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

As mentioned, I found no fewer than 3 businesses from 3 continents, posting the same photo to their websites, all claiming to sell the same balcony.

Sherlock Homes Furnishings

This print was found on the Canadian site, and it’s the only fabrication print I’ve found for this balcony, which in my mind adds a modicum of legitimacy to the Canadian firm’s ownership of the photo and design. Although it is apparently just a phone camera snapshot of some print, and therefore of questionable origin.

Notice that the balcony in the print is not curved, to match the photo. Maybe they roll it after this weld step? But if those little side rails are welded on, that would be hard to roll, let alone have an angle true to the facade of the building. In other words, maybe this is just their version of copying aspects of the pretty internet picture as I have done?

These guys in China went so far as to watermark the image with their Alibaba store URL. Does this prove they’re the originators of the photograph and design?

Not sure what Jumba Bars are, but there’s that photograph again. This time you can order it from Turkey.

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