Making over our staircase
by
Emily
+17
Ever since the many years ago that we moved into this house I have been agonizing over the staircase. When we first moved in we stripped all the (unpainted) wood work in the living room as that was the only room that had the original finish, this included the staircase. But while we then added a finish to the rest of the woodwork, we never did to the staircase. This weekend I was talking to my daughter about it and took pictures to send her so I could discuss painting etc. Once I took the pictures I realized what we had to do, and that is simply to finish the restoration as it was. What do you all think? I love,love, love dark railings and white balusters as are shown in many houses, but since this rooms woodwork has never been painted it might be best to keep the staircase the same esp as the woodwork is so intertwined.
I think your idea is great. The stair case is beautiful and making it different will make it a focal point instead of it blending in with the rest of the wood work.
Restoring to the original would be beautiful! We'd love to see when it's done!
i say stay original! Way to many wood items are being painted over thoughtlessly and sometimes we just need to step back and honor the item in its original state.
I lived in a house in Galveston that had the old wood still in place, but had been painted many times and you no longer could even see the details that should have been there as old as the stilt house was. We removed all the paint, gave it a light sanding and found the most wonderful woodwork under all those layer. We had spoken with the landlord and asked if we could leave it that way and not paint it. He came over and saw it and agreed that all it needed was to seal the wood and leave it the color that it was. We polyurethaned it and he was very happy and we had a much nicer looking apartment. I think he planned to do the same to the rest of the house as the other three apartments came empty. Keep it natural, it will look much better!
Something that might be a nice touch would be to leave the railings and steps the original wood color, but make the risers different. You could paint them or, if you're worried about painting them you could give the risers a painted look with contact paper. This could bring a more elegant feel and break up all the brown. It would also highlight the architecture of the railings/posts. Depending on the decor of your home, if it were me I might paint the risers and the spindles either white or black.
i would probably just refinish the oak with stain and varathane ...if you wanted to update it slightly while keeping the integrity of the wood finish, use a darker stain than what is currently there
I have the same style stair. my house was built in 1927 . stair was all oak, through the years it was painted 5 colors ,Istripped it down and cleared coat. it is back the way it should be . your stair looks great, don't paint it! the wood has it's own great look.
bud.fechtig@gmail.com
Thanks a lot Bud! That must have been a job of work to strip all that wood!
I would leave it natural . Our house was built during the thirties and overethe years it has been torn up in the name of modernization. Our staircase has been chopped up . They took out they wrap around banisters and cut down the width of the stairs to only 28 inches wide. Now there is not even room for a handrail.
Certainly would not paint those steps. Try some Old English scratch cover first -- at least three different shades are available.
We had oak all over our home growing up. It was a nice medium to dark brown. And all the way up, including the landing, was a beautifully decorated good quality rug, running up the stairs with the outer edges of the steps still exposed. It was kept snug, all the way up quite easily with some decorated metal bars (can't remember the name of those!) to hold the rug on each step in place. It could be removed at any time if necessary without damaging the wood. So that could be an option maybe? Good luck!
Thanks, MK. Actually the first thing we did upon moving into this house was remove stair carpeting. But it was not the kind you are describing which is very elegant. I bet that looked lovely and the house sounds very lovely too.
Go with your heart. Life is to short to live with regret. Paint it how you want and smile each time you look at it because it makes YOU happy. Don't conform that's boring and you will resent it every day, hard work for something you aren't happy with is insanity. I love your idea.
Ours was the same as yours. We stripped ours too but then re-stained it a dark colour instead. You can see the transformation here: http://birdzofafeather.ca/diy/take-your-staircase-and-landing-to-new-heights/
Yep, Birds, my husband spent the summer basically working on rebuilding our porch railings for an upper porch. He has turned new balusters and rebuilt some of the old ones (house 112 years old) also columns and posts repaired.
Your staircase looks very beautiful. Were your balusters toe nailed in or does a plug of wood come out from the stair? (May not have worded that right but hope you know what I mean.)