Staircase Makeover

If you visit me, the first thing you would probably notice when you open the door is our staircase.

It was for me.

The first time I walked in with our realtor it made me go….”ooooooooo.”

It’s probably one of the prettiest staircases I’ve ever seen.

It didn’t always look this way though.

This is what it looked like before:

Lots of beautiful woodwork, but the color of the wood was horrible.

I immediately knew we could change that with paint.

So, after a few months we painted the railings and pinecone finials a deep mahogany.

What a huge difference that made.

The wood was very dry so it soaked up the paint with ease.

No sanding required.

The dark brown paint we used was Behr Ultra in Expresso Bean/eggshell sheen (has primer in it).

It almost looks black in the photo, but in person it looks close to a mahogany.

Next, we painted the backs of the steps white (color listed below).

We then added a pretty white molding you may notice below.

It reminds me of vanilla ice cream 🙂

We were satisfied for a while.

Then Red slipped, and fell down the stairs.

I was pretty bruised up, but thankfully caught myself with my arm.

It was then, I knew we needed a runner installed for safety.

I desired an indoor/outdoor runner, but the sale I found steered me toward the patterned Berber carpet you see.

You’re thinking, “White?”  Is she crazy?

I plead the Fifth.

However, I will tell you that Scotchgard works wonders.

We also don’t wear shoes in the house.

(Do we Daphne & Valerie?????)

Wait.

Did you notice that?

Go back up and compare the 2 last photos.

Did you notice the wall colors?

I’m not sure who decided to paint the walls dark brown.

Who ever it was needed a slap.

(okay, it was me)

We we finally went back to white like it was when we bought the house.

The white we used was Behr Ultra in Swiss Coffee/eggshell sheen (has primer in it).

Now, it’s perfect.

The beautiful woodwork shines up against the white walls now that it is dark.

The runner breaks up the orange wood on the steps.

Most importantly, they are safe!

There are 4 sets of stairs.

We did them all, but I kept the 1/2 wall on the stairs leading to the basement dark brown.

I liked the contrast with the molding.

 Let me know what you think, and don’t be afraid to paint your stairs.

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Before I go…here’s another graphic I made for you.

Everyone is so busy now a days.

I thought we all could use a little reminder of what’s really important.

Feel free to copy/paste and share.