I had posted (with renderings) previously about a newel on a pedestal.  I wanted to try the same newel with a rope twist instead of a tapered column.  I like the way it came out.  The pedestal base is 8 inches wide (excluding the base molding).  The rope twisted top is about 5 3/4 inches in diameter.  Other finishes are certainly possible.  You could stain instead of paint obviously. Or one could paint the newel a different color or even paint two colors - one for the spiral top and one for the base color.  The stair above has three balusters per tread (1 3/4 inch balusters) from our 1800's series balusters.  The stair below has a two baluster per tread system using our Williamsburg collection balusters.