we live about 20 miles from the gulf of mexico in a very humid area and chose not to put railing and ballisters on our southern vernacular farmhouse we're having columns only (porch is only 24 inches high
my grandparents and dh grandparents had no railings or ballisters either (pics from the 30's)
before we made that decision, our builder had quoted for vinyl -- and we have hardy flanked columns our porch is 40 feet across

other family members in other parts of the country have wood and are very happy with it depends a lot on your climate

We went with glass railing on our deck. We have a view we didn't want to obscure.

Wood, from Vintage Woodworks, who stock an amazing variety of parts and patterns to make a porch that doesn't look like it came from HD or Lowes. Prime and paint (oil enamel) all sides of everything prior to installation-- our porch doesn't yet need repainting after 15 years in New England, and no one would accuse it of having "the look of real vinyl".

I've never seen a composite or vinyl railing I would want to sit near although Azek comes closer than the rest.

I often use the prefabricated railings from Woodway Products in cedar or mahogany either painted or stained.

Here is a link that might be useful: Woodway Products

duplicate

Here is a link that might be useful: Woodway Products

This post was edited by Renovator8 on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 19:01

Wrought iron

"southern vernacular farmhouse"

Plain treated wood with paint.