Looking for entrance way staircase suggestions WITHOUT major reno!

S.s1421331
by S.s1421331
I do not want rip this out and put in rod iron spindles and Yes I will paint it and still thinking about the colors. What disturbs me the most is the handrail is a 2x4 concept, ugly! And it looks like it should be on a deck , outside. IDEAS please without major renovations. If anything I'm trying to think of how to perhaps "cap" the hand rail or how to make it look less 2x4ish! However when coming down the stairs it has 4 drops and turns on the hand rail which -will make it tricky and its lagged to the wall and post upstairs so not even sure how to get it off! My windows, doors and trim are white. (My front door w/2 side windows which is by this is completely black) The baseboards same color as the staircase. I'm trying to draw less attention to the hand rail. Ive checked out a wooden cap to maybe put on top of this handrail from home depot , but again the drops and turns makes this a hard project and then thinking of adding some decorative thin trim or something to somehow cover up the top of the slanted spindles displayed so openly. (Most houses on our street have this ugly staircase. I have seen 1 person painted the whole thing the same color as their white wall- but this is alot of wood and mine is a raised bungalow so the entrance way walls are like 20 ft high! ) PLEASE SHARE ANY THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON CHANGES AND COLOR. Thanks! my staircase on the left and even home depot has this in their system....yucky!!!
  24 answers
  • KatAych KatAych on Apr 05, 2016
    Depends on what look you're going for, but these look like they could be (somewhat) easily removed and replaced with something else - maybe replace with something horizontal rather than vertical?
    • S.s1421331 S.s1421331 on Apr 05, 2016
      @KatAych Thank you for your response I had looked at these types the only problem I saw was that the examples are on straight railings but due to the 4 areas that drop on my staircase its hard to run something vertical. unfortunately most pictures show straight flowing handrails (including the home depot picture) and mine is not like that.
  • Robin Daniels Holt Robin Daniels Holt on Apr 05, 2016
    Paint it black to look like metal.
    • S.s1421331 S.s1421331 on Apr 05, 2016
      @Robin Daniels Holt Thanks for your input. Do you mean paint the spindles black? And then just restain the hand rail part?
  • William William on Apr 05, 2016
    Your right. They look like they belong outside on a deck. A 70's look and a cheap way for a builder to put in railings. A few ways I would handle this. Remove and cut the spindles/balusters to fit in between the bottom and top rail. Pencil all the spindles where they would need to be cut to fit, top and bottom before removing. Cut a spacer block to fit in between the spindles as a guide for spacing when nailing in new position. Remove the spindles, number each one so you know where they go. Cut the spindles where you penciled the lines, leaving the line for a tight fit. Nail the spindles in between the bottom and top rail, following the numbers, using the spacer block for the distance between the spindles. Pre drill before nailing. Fill the screw holes left by removing the spindle with wood plugs and sand smooth. You could also buy decorative spindles instead of using the existing ones. Paint. Another way would be to buy 1x boards matching the height of the bottom and top rails to cover the tops and bottoms of the spindles. This would leave a 1 1/2" gap on the top rail that you could fill in with a 2x2 board, which is 1 1/2" square. Fill any gaps with wood filler, sand, and paint. You could also use 1/4" to 3/8" hardwood plywood cut in strips to cover the top gap. Flexible enough to bend to the contour of the top rail. Glue, nail, sand, and paint. Hope this gives you some options and ideas. Good luck.
    • See 4 previous
    • Jean Myles Jean Myles on Apr 07, 2016
      @William Your explanation is very easy to follow Thanks
  • Jean Myles Jean Myles on Apr 05, 2016
    If you have access to a Router . There are many different cutting bits to choose from that can go around and down the length of the hand rail. Making it look less like a 2x4. That's the best I can explain it my brain and fingers are not on the same wave length today. Good luck
  • Heidi Heidi on Apr 05, 2016
    Enclose it with sheetrock. Add hand railing on inside of stair well. Paint to match existing wall color.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Apr 05, 2016
    In my opinion instead of replacing or trying to alter the railings I would opt to paint them . I think that in itself will give you a different appearance.
    • See 1 previous
    • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Apr 05, 2016
      @S.shantz I would maybe try to match your wall color so that it blends and not be so noticeable. My feeling is it is the wood color that make it worse.I love wood tones but in this case I think that is what is bothering you.
  • Lori Lori on Apr 05, 2016
    I really think William's ideas are the best, especially the first one, that's what I would do. Painting isn't going to change the thing you hate the most. I don't know what your experience level is but you could use a piece of scrap wood to hold up, mark and cut, to see if you have the right idea. It will take a while but you could work at it a bit at a time. Good luck.
  • Robin Daniels Holt Robin Daniels Holt on Apr 06, 2016
    No, I'd paint it all black. Perhaps with chalk paint.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Apr 06, 2016
    You could actually attach a rounded hand rail on top of the 2x4...drill a hole in the bottom of the handrail and one in the top of the 2x4 and use a dowel to glue the 2 together about every 2' or so. Add a newel post ball at the turns. There are various styles of newel post balls. Then paint it the desired color...from experience I can tell you DON'T use white...you will never be able to keep it clean! Google "Balls for Newel Posts" and you will see all kinds of ideas for improving this area!
  • 512181 512181 on Apr 06, 2016
    This is a typical a typical oak staircase from the 70's and 80's. Sometimes, you just embrace the age and style of the house. I don't hate it. Looks like you have oak floors too. What about taking the straight sections down and building a wall with an oak cap and leaving the rail on the stairs? Breaking up the look would help. Oak is not easy to paint due to the pores in the wood. You might not be happy with the painted result, and that is a lot of painting! Maybe decorating in a bit of a retro look would help too.
  • Karen Karen on Apr 06, 2016
    I don't know your skill level or experience....I have little so I am looking at this from a different perspective. I don't own a saw :). It isn't the handrail that is bothering me but the spindles. William's suggestion to cut them off and put them within the handrail and bottom is great but not in my skill set. I think changing the spindles out to something black wrought iron would change the look and class it up a bit. This site had some great after shots. http://cheapstairparts.com/stair-gallery/#. If you are planning to live in this house for many years might be something to save up for and have done. I wouldn't paint it....live with it until you can get what you really want.
  • Jim Pack Jim Pack on Apr 06, 2016
    William has the best idea. I don't know where you live, but if you live in Texas the building code says that the spindles must be be close enough together so that they will not pass a 4 inch sphere and they cannot be horizontal because a child could climb on them and fall over the railing. The guard rail must be from 34 to 38 inches tall so be careful if you try to add something to the top of the rail.
  • Brett Brett on Apr 06, 2016
    I'd paint a dark gun metal/black colour so it's not so much a feature, I'd also put a light green undercoat or maroon and scuff sand ware marks randomly and especially on corners of the top rail with light sand, it looks old but it also depends on your other styling in the room. I'd also replace the rug liner with an old hesion bag type color as the runner
  • Teresa Teresa on Apr 06, 2016
    You could change the look by adding wood to cover the exposed ends of the wood rails capturing the rails then paint them or a dark stain wood create a sleeker look less like an outdoor staircase.
  • Bobbie Bobbie on Apr 06, 2016
    I agree with Jean Myles. Using the router can soften and update the handrail. Very little cost and lots of ideas - which bit to use. I know which I'd choose!!!
  • Sharyn Diaz Sharyn Diaz on Apr 06, 2016
    One idea...painting the spindles black, satin finish and also consider a trompe l'oeil application to the top rail which might be worth a try. Paint the lower part of it black to line up to the top of the spindles. The upper part of the rail would appear to be 2" rather than 4".
  • Rocky Catt Rocky Catt on Apr 06, 2016
    it is what it is any thing other that refinishing it to its ne look will make it appear to be a handy man with time on his hands =love it
  • Sherri Sherri on Apr 06, 2016
    Thank you William, very helpful!
  • Diane Claeys Biedenweg Diane Claeys Biedenweg on Apr 06, 2016
    If you plan on staying in this house a long time I would just save up and replace the railing. Anything else is not going to fundamentally change it and I would bet that after a ton of time and effort you would still be unhappy. If this is a short term living situation I would live with it.
  • Cindi Cindi on Apr 06, 2016
    I would either paint it black, to match the tops of the stairs, or stain it a dark wood. You could also stain the baseboards to bring it together.
  • Fred Fred on Apr 07, 2016
    Your biggest problem with the staircase is one of proportion - the rails are much too thin for the handrail and the baseboard. This is accentuated by them being (cheaply and quickly) put on the outside of the handrail and baseboard. If this were my stairs I would take all the rails off and cut them down to fit on top of the baseboard and under the handrail. The holes left in the handrail and baseboard I would cover with some small decorative plaques to take the eye away from, and break up, the plainness of the wood.
  • S.s1421331 S.s1421331 on Apr 07, 2016
    Thank you to everyone for the helpful suggestions. I believe We will cut down the rails to fit inside. Im still struggling a bit with the colours but will work that out along the way!
  • 512181 512181 on Apr 08, 2016
    On HGTV, Property Brothers, they painted a railing like this black and it looked nice. Might be a good option until you can afford to replace the entire railing.
  • Nikki Nikki on Apr 08, 2016
    I think it would make a huge difference just adding wood to the top of the hand rail to give it a chunkier more expensive look. I think a darker stain on the rail and bottom bases and the spindles painted white would really brighten it up and give it more character.