Before I show you my stair makeover I just want to say THANK -YOU for all the uplifting e-mails and comments you have sent me about leaving my job and wanting to make the most of each and every moment. Your thoughtful and kind comments have just reinforced my decisions.
Thank- you so much.
x o to each and everyone of you. You are the best!
Now onto my staircase transformation.
I finally got it finished. It took me a long time, but that was only because I only did a little bit each night, then the holidays came around and I put the project on hold. If you decide to do this and worked on it a few hours a day, you could complete the project in just a few days.
Re-doing my staircase is something I wanted to do the minute I moved into my house – that was 17 years ago. I have always yearned for hardwood steps and white painted risers. Now I have them – yeah!!! The carpet held up extremely well all that time, but after seeing so many successful stair makeovers on so many blogs I decided it was worth a shot, plus it was actually a whole lot cheaper than having them cleaned! Do you remember the before?
Before
Carpeted Steps and Risers
The Process
I always thought since my home was a builders spec house that the steps had no bull-nose. But low and behold when I went to take a peak to see what was under the carpet I was surprised with bull-nose steps – a big plus.
The downside: the steps were not hardwood, but soft pine boards with lots of rough knots and imperfections. I didn’t let this stop me though.
The hardest part of re-doing the stairs was the fact that they were opened on the outer edge. Removing the carpet between the balusters was tough and the carpet was adhered with glue and 20 staples on each outer edge.
Once I got all the staples out the edges were pretty chewed up. My hubby help me sand them, but they were not perfect. Each one had overspray on it from when the detail moulding piece was installed by the builder. This was hard to remove as each edge was rounded bull-nose.
The veryhardest part (you may not have this problem) was keeping track of where Trax the cat was. I didn’t want little cat paws in the stain, paint, and poly. He of course was curious to see what I was up to every time I worked on the steps. He thought he was my helper. He did end up one day with a bit of white paint on his tail.
There were also some other places were the carpet was hard to remove, but it finally all came off.
With the hard part complete, it was now time to have fun with stain, poly, and paint.
Since the boards were soft pine. I used Minwax Pre-Stain Conditioner on each step before I stained them. It prepares soft wood like pine to take the stain better. Once the pre-conditioner coat was on I had up until 2 hours to then apply the stain. I used the traditional Minwax stain in the yellow can. I wanted a dark enough color to hide the knots, but not too dark as I wanted it to coordinate with the darkest part of the grain in the floor and the banister as well as the sideboard in my foyer. I ended up mixing the colors Provincial with Early American and applied it with and old rag.
I stained the steps first. I took the advice of Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick who recommended in her tutorial to do this first as she painted her risers first and then when she stained the steps the stain got on the painted risers and was hard to get off.
I used Zinseer Bulls Eye Ultimate Polyurethane. I applied 3 coats over a two day period, letting each coat dry thoroughly. I did every other step so we could still go up and down. When those steps were complete, I did the others. I put post- it notes on the steps that could be stepped on, just in case we forgot which steps were safe.
When I painted each riser and baluster I used Frogtape to mask out the areas I didn’t want the paint to touch. It was a teeny bit time consuming putting tape around each baluster, but when I removed it I had perfect edges. I love using this tape, I think it is much better than the blue tape I used to use when painting.
After
Hello gorgeous!!!
Why did I wait so long to reveal your hidden beauty?
I love my new stairs! It was a very inexpensive project. I already had the can of white paint (Sherwin Williams Alabaster) and the rest cost under $25. Don’t they look so fresh and modern… and CLEAN?
If your are considering re-doing a staircase in your home, all I can say is – Go Do It – now! You will be sooo happy you did.
I have to thank Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick, Kate at Centsational Girl, Rhoda Southern Hospitality, Stephanie at Crea8tive Designs, and Tracy at Cleverly Inspired for providing me with so much inspiration.
I am linking to:
{ 118 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! What a beautiful transformation. What a difference!
Wow what a project! I think your husband owes you are really special dinner out! Fantastic job, really shines!
The stairs look mah-velous! Why did you wait so long??? 8-) And add me to those saying “atta girl” to following your dream!
Adore this!!!! You did such a great job! Beautiful!
Wow Diane that is stunning!! It looks so fresh and bright now. I think the carpet must of been sucking up the light, who would of known! Great job, it looks fantasic.
Well – my mind is trying to absorb all of this. To these stairs were just waiting for the right set of hands to manipulate them into something gorgeous. You tutorial is marvelous, although I can’t figure out the purpose of the white spray paint. I can’t imagine that you used the spray paint on the balusters, yet, with your skills, I wouldn’t put anything past you. You’ve give me great inspiration and even better — a picture to show my husband so that he will be equally inspired. Congratulations on a beautiful staircase. It’s beautiful.
HI Jan-
The spray paint is what the builder did when he was building the house. They sprayed the balusters and the decorative trim pieces under the side of each step white. You can see it on the other side of the steps also against the wall. Then they put the carpet on. When I removed the carpet the white overspray was on the steps. I had to remove it with lots of sandpaper!
Your stairway looks fabulous. You were so right when you said it looks crisp, that is the perfect way to describe the look. I love the dark stain against the white.
Great job,
Traci
Those stairs are beautiful! I know it was a job because I had a stair case in another home that I made over. Such a great transformation.
WOW ~ the stairway turned out FABULOUS! Love it ;-)
Your stairs look beautiful, Diane! We have the same type of wood on our stairs and we pulled off our carpet several years ago. I would love to do this. I think it looks so good especially with the white risers, but as we hope to move this year I’m not taking on any major projects.
Simply beautiful and I truely admire the leap of faith you are taking!
oh my they did come out beautiful…..and my gosh your cat is huge!
This turned out so beautifully. Nice job! La
Wow! They look absolutely amazing and elegant! I can tell how much work you must have put into that project and it looks like it was worth it! Love it!
What a glorious makeover. I may have to tackle this some day. It looks so much better than the carpet. Lots of hard work, but so worth it. Right now I think the carpet may be safer for my little grand children.
They’re beautiful, Diane. Fresh, clean, updated, pretty… Great job!
What a huge amount of work…but it paid off. It looks beautiful! I’m also glad you’re so happy with the life choices you’ve recently made. :)
Shannon
http://www.akadesign.ca
What a lot of work…that totally paid off! It looks really fabulous. And I’m so happy to hear of the life changes you’ve recently made…wtg!
Shannon
{aka}|design
OMG they are GORGEOUS!!!!! I LOVE the stain you chose….going to share on FB!!! Would you mind uploading a pic on my fb fan page??? Inspire others to do the same project….LOVE them! Congrats and great job!!!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cleverlyinspired/167658409911388
Beautiful! Well worth the effort. You have inspired me to do mine, thanks.
Diane, wow wow wow those are gorgeous!! You had some great steps to work with. What a great color & look. You rock!!
I have thought of doing this, and I must say your stairs are looking amazing! Great job and great tips!
Gorgeous! How did you get them cleaned up enough for stain? I had the exact same type of stairs under my carpet I they were so painted and dinged up that I just went ahead and painted them white. Now they are a mess all the time. I need to repaint and poly and hope for the best or get a runner.
hi Pam-
My husband and I took turns sanding to get them smooth and paint free. There are a few place where a bit of paint was set deep into the wood that we could not remove. The stain covered it a bit, but when you look at the steps as a whole you don’t notice the imperfections.
I LOVE this transformation. Stunning and Beautiful! I’d love to do this in my own home! Maybe one of these days!
What a gorgeous transformation! You did a tremendous job. I love it!
Amazing. What a find to see those lovely rounded steps under that carpet. I wonder what lays under my ugly carpet.. hmmm.
Hi Coutney-
I wish I had looked years ago, but I always assumed it would be plain boards. Take a peek, you may be surprised.
Love them! OH please….come do this for me!!! LOL
We have “out door” stairs as our inside entryway stairs, our “main” level is one floor up (so we can enjoy the view of the valley outside our home).
We need to rip out the construction grade 2X6′s (2 for each step) and replace with a bull-nose piece. Then repair, paint, stain, etc.
we haven’t even started……..thanks for the inspiration!
Heidi Be Happy Today!
Your stairs look fabulous!!! I bought all the supplies yesterday, and am sitting here contemplating whether or not I really want to take on this massive of a project. We have a split level foyer AND a full staircase that goes to the third floor. Sooo many stairs.
you did such a great job and made it look really easy (from where I’m sitting), but I KNOW it was a whole lot of hard work. I’ve done some demolition projects in my house before and remember well! But it is beautiful and makes your home appear so fresh and young! Just like a facelift for the home. :)
Oh. MY!!!!! They look wonderful. We have some steps here that need some TLC and I just hope when I tackle them it will be even half as gorgeous as yours.
OMGosh, I totally love it!! It reminds me of our staircase in the home we just bought….now you have my wheels turning!! lol
GORGEOUS INDEED!!! So beautiful and I know it is worth all the trouble and cat tracking you had to do!
This is stunning!
Lou Cinda
Your patience paid off! That wood looks so beautiful!
Beautiful, just beautiful!! We had a very similar project with the stairs and floors. I posted on my blog decoratingtheville.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing!
Your steps are just gorgeous!!! What a beautiful transformation. Great job!
Cindy
Congratulations on your stairway transformation! I did basically the same thing in the last house I owned, except the treads were oak. There were thousands of staples holding the old dirty carpet (from the former house owner) in place. Before selling the house 12 years later, I repainted the risers to give them a fresh look.
Wow! What a lot of work…but what a transformation. I love the way it looks and I love the way pine “feels” underfoot~if that makes sense…it is just a softer walk.
We have pulled out thousands of staples over the years preparing areas to be refinished and painted. I know your pain!!! But OH! It was SO worth it-your job is perfect! Hugs-Diana
This looks magnificent-what a beautiful staircase-nice job-I’m your newest follower-Come by to visit-Claire
Beautiful….now I want to do mine!
I am so EXCITED your stairs look just like mine with the carpet around the edge and same dingy color (no offense) and I just pulled up a carpet piece and woohoo I have the same stairs. I hope mine can look as amazing as yours. I want to start tonight…but it is almost midnight :( Great job!!!
WOW! What a beautiful job! Simply stunning!
What an amazing transformation! Thank you for sharing! It is an inspiration to see people tackle remodel jobs that seem like so much work! You make it look easy!
AWESOME! Man, that’s some project, though. I may just have to wait till my kids are in college. ;)
Hi Ann-
I did wait till my kids were in college – one is already out. :) Wish I had done it sooner as they look so much better. I know my girls would have liked them better, too.
I know that was hard work! They look great ~
Hi there- these are absolutely gorgeous!!!! I love how your stairs came out- WELL DONE!!! :)
Wow! You are truly amazing and incredibly talented. I’m so glad you are back. It was only a week of you not blogging, but I noticed, and I missed you. I’m happy to hear that you are on your way to simplifing things and most importantly, making yourself happy.
This looks like it was extremely time consuming and maybe took LOTS of patience… the result is so worth it, it looks fabulous!!
I found your site last night through Funky Junk Interiors and loved your stairs. Our stairs look alike (well they did) with the carpet. I believe your last words were GO DO IT! Well, since my husband was out of the house I looked at my son and said “we can do this” and so, we started. It has been a long time since I have been that excited! We got the carpet off of three stairs last night! I just keep seeing your end result! I am inspired! But, you should have seem my husbands face when he got home….I CAN DO IT! Thanks so much for sharing!
oh diane – they look beautiful! my steps can’t wait for you to come over and work your magic! i even have 2 cats to keep you company!!!! :)
great job!
Phenomenal! What a lot of work, but oh-so worth it! You made me giggle with Trax! I can imagine. When I had kittens, I made a wedding dress. 9 yards of satin that rustled every time it moved. It was just too much for the kitties! I finally resorted to cutting the dress out in a small bedroom with the door shut rather than the large living room floor. The whole time I could see tiny little paws poking under the door!
Would love for you to drop by and link up to Passion for Paint this weekend.
http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com
Wow, Great job! It looks amazing. You should link up at DIY Thrifty Thursday @ http://www.thrifty101.blogspot.com
Oh my goodness… totally stunning beyond words! I actually can’t believe that’s the same wood!
Amazing, Diane! Well done!
Donna
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/
Wonderful and very inspiring… I like the idea of having the white only on the “counter step” (don’t know the English word, but you get me, don’t you?… please say yes!). It seems the staircase looks “happier”.
Well done and lovely!! What a difference with sooo little money invested. Worth the the time for sure.
So cute! I will be featuring your project this Thursday at my weekly link party, Hookin Up with HoH #34.
I’m letting you know in advance as I’ll be out of town during the party and will be unable to notify you on Thursday.
Please feel free to stop by and grab a button on Thursday!
~Allison @ House of Hepworths
They are beautiful! I’m planning to do mine this month too, along with changing the balusters to wrought iron.
The stairs are gorgeous and really updated your house! Congrats, I know you have to love it!
Lacy
What a great revamp of the staircase! Absolutely love it! Well done.
Your stair case looks a hundred times better and I love your choice of stain color. Very nice.
-Rene
Wow! I am so impressed. The stairs look beautiful. Your hard work paid
big dividends!!!
They look great ! I”m jealous……… in the middle of doing mine now but I have yucky stairs under my carpet so I had to buy treads.
THANK YOU – I just checked my stairs and under the worn out carpet is bullnose treads – I showed my husband and now we are giddy to do this ourselves…
that. is. awesome!! We did the same thing to our stairs; when we moved in, they had yukky carpet. So much better now!
Beautiful, and your cat is awesome!
Found your blog from the HoH hookup. LOVE the stair make-over!! It turned out absolutely perfect! Congratulations!!!
Wow, thank you for the inspiration! They are lovely. I am so going to tackle my own ugly carpeted steps. Thanks again!
wow, this is amazing! So envious of your beautiful new staircase! ;)
I’d do this in a heartbeat, but have heard from other bloggers where the builder did a slapdash kinda job, that there were gaps between the risers and stair treads. I have a feeling that would be my luck. Yours were very nicely done even with carpet covering them!
Found you through Tuesday’s Treasures!
I’m pretty sure this is the best quality diy step-staining I’ve seen in blogland. The stain color is truly gorgeous!
How beautiful!!!! I have never used frog tape before..I’m going to have to get some of that…
What is the shade of your walls? I am doing alabaster white in my house too and haven’t picked a wall color yet. Thanks!
Stairs look great!
Hi Darla-
The paint color on the walls in my foyer is one of the Ben Moore Pottery Barn colors called Edgecomb Gray # HC-173. I love Alabaster for the trim – it is the perfect go between color that is not too white white or off white. Happy painting!
Oh my goodness, I just stumbled across your blog today and fell in love with your staircase! you did an awesome job, it looks really good. I have been trying to find the courage to do that to mine and you have made it look like it could actually be done! Thank you so much for sharing!
I know I’ve seen these re-do’s everywhere lately, and I love them each time, but seriously your explanations, and tutorial, is SO specific and detailed. I literally at each step was like “Oh, I could do that!”. Thank you thank you! If I can talk my husband into letting me take on this project, I’ll be sure to link back to you!
That is so wonderful! Great job! We’ve pulled carpet off our stairs before and it was a pain but so worth it in the end!
I just love love love your staircase! It just looks so wonderful. Great job! Popping over from TDC!!
Your stairs are Beautiful!! I have been wanting to try this but my husband thinks our three kids would slip down the stairs. And with poly? Do they seem slippery? I would love to convince my husband that the kids won’t fall:)
Saw you on Thrifty Decor Chick … your stair makeover is amazing. I really want to do this in my house but haven’t yet convinced my husband. Are the stairs slippery? And has the stain held up well or does it look worn as the kids trample up and down?
Wow..they look great. I had no clue about that stuff that makes the pine take the stain better. I redid mine a few yrs back but my steps did not have the curved fronts, then there was the stain issue….so I ended up putting peel and stick flooring that came in strips and looked like wood….but I love this.
Look at you! Hanging out with TDC!!! Did your blog blow up today??? Mine did when she spotlighted me a couple of days ago. Again a great job!
I love this! (I found you via Thrifty Decor Chick). One question: do you notice a big difference in the amount of noise? I’ve got a heavy footed husband, two school age kids, and two cats. I’m wondering if the aesthetic value would override the noise.
Hi Jen-
My husband initally didn’t like the way it sounded when we walked up and down right after we took the carpet off. We were so used to no sound, perhaps a creak or two. Now we are used to it and the aesthetic value far outweighs the noise factor for us. If you are on the fence, perhaps you can add sisal tread runners. They look fresh and modern, but add a no-slip cushioning. Tracie over at Cleverly Inspired just did this because her dog was having trouble navigating the new steps.
OMG Diane — What a fantastic makeover! Absolutely stunning! It completely changes the entire look of the hall away! You did such a great job!
Gorgeous! That looks so great! Also looks like a lot of hard work- good job : )
It looks fantastic! I’ve been dying to do this with our stairs and you’re pushing me in the right direction. :) Quick question, though… From the pictures it looks like you still have carpet upstairs. How did you transition from the new steps to the old carpet? Did you have to cut and reattach anything?
The stairs look fabulous; I’ve just started on mine & have a quick question. I can’t find the Zinsser Bullseye polyurethane anywhere (and I live in the Atlanta area); have tried Home Depot, True Value Hardware & Ace hardware. They all carry Zinssser products but not this particular one. Do you have an alternative to recommend?
Many thanks — Mary
Oh wow, those turned out beautiful! I would love to do this to our. I don’t have any over hang on our steps. They just sort of waterfall down. You did a great job!
Okay, I told you I have been inspired. Have a look for yourself.
http://www.revendabierley.com/blog/?p=2570
Thank you!
Your stairs turned out awesome and they were totally worth all of the hard work you put into them. Thanks for sharing your details…. it sounds like a project more homeowners should tackle… the results are so worth it! I am sure you will enjoy them each and every time you go up or down!
LOVE the new steps! I have almost the exact same carpeting on our steps that lead to our basement level. They too are fine “as is” ….we usually take our shoes off when coming indoors so they don’t get dirty very often. BUT, oh how I would love to remove the carpet so I could just sweep the dirt down to the bottom and vacuum it up off the floor itself. I wouldn’t have to use all the attachments for the vacuum to do the steps. It would be so time-saving! And we could come in from outside with work shoes on…like on those days doing messy, spring clean-up!…and not have to take off our shoes! At the bottom we could put a small rug on the area before the tile starts near the bathroom. (That would come in very handy at times…if you know what I mean. –wink, wink!)
Again beautiful stairs! Never underestimate plain old pine!
The stairs are beautiful. What if underneath your carpet is plywood and no bull nose (over lap)? I desparately want to redo mine.
Thank you for whatever suggestions you have.
I have seen it done with square edge steps, too – the bullnose does give it a more polished feel – but if the plywood on your steps is in good condition without not too many knots – you may not even notice that the edge is square not rounded. If I can find the site where I saw the steps I will forward the link to you.
Hi Diane,
I am wondering…I have an overhang on my steps, but it is not rounded. (Currently under carpet.) Any ideas on what to do in this situation? Just let them be squared? Or is that dangerous/ugly/all of the above? The wood seems pretty solid…
Hi Ann-
I have seen steps without a bullnose edge refinished and they look fine. The overall impression of stained steps and white risers will be achieved no matter what the edge is like. You may not even notice it after they are done. If they are in good shape I would just let them be square.
I am new to your blog, and LOVING your tips. I have been hating the carpet on my steps but was not sure if we would think plain wood would feel too ‘cold’, but I love the way they look.
I have a question for you: My steps have a ‘landing’ separating the staircase. I’m wondering how that would look stained like the steps or would it look funny? I know keeping it carpet would look worse. maybe with a side table on the landing it wouldn’t look so bad.
Not sure how brave I am to try this.
It’s beautiful !!! I hope my staircase in the foyer will turn out the same as yours or even better than I expected. My husband and I hire somebody to do this job, for about $1200.00. We’ll end up blaming each other if we did it ourselves and it did not turn out right. In addition to that, he does not have that much patience doing this time consuming kind of work. Do you guys think I’m paying too much? I would like to send you the picture of before and after.
Thanks,
Ellen
Hi Diane,
Gorgeous stairs, congrats. I plan to do this same project but am concerned about major scuffing on the painted white risers (we have pets and young kids). Can you kindly provide reviews on this issue after living with it for awhile? I am considering tiling the riser as a more durable alternative, but this would be more expensive and time consuming than paint. Or maybe I make a rule – no shoes on the stairs. Thanks!
Hi Lisa-
My kids are grown, but I do have two dogs and a cat who constantly go up and down on them. I haven’t had any problems at all with the risers. They look very nice and I am still thrilled at how they came out. Perhaps if you use a very durable enamel or high gloss paint that you can wipe clean – might help if you think they are going to take a beating – the no shoes on the stairs or even when in the house rule is a good one :) You could try the paint and see how it holds up. If it takes a beating you can always tile over the paint.
Excellent advice, thank you! I’m so glad I found your blog.
I need help.
I’m replacing all the carpet throughout the entire house with hardwood flooring but the stairs I want to re-do them just the way you have with stain and paint. I need suggestions on what type of stair strip I should use at the very top of the stairs so that it blends in with the new hardwood flooring. Note: I do not want to put in a stair nose because the stairs already have a square bullnose/lip.
Thanks…
Is there carpet on the floor where the stairs lead or hardwood? Mine was carpeted and I left it in place.
Yes, carpet is everywhere and I want to remove all of it. I’m in the process of putting down hardwood on all floors except the stairs.
There will be hardwood on the floors. :) …Love your ideas by the way..
Those look fantastic…looks like what I’m going for. My big question is, how do take up the carpet on the stairs to get a look the quality of the wood underneath? And is it difficult to reattach that carpet if it’s not quality wood? Do you need a professional do that?
Thanks to anyone who can answer!
Hi Kiki-
To see what my stairs looked like under the carpet, I carefully peeled back the carpet on the bottom step. It was pieced where the fist step ended, and the riser for the 2nd step started. I used an awl and a flat head screwdriver to gently pull it back. I did not remove the carpet- only peeled it back. Be careful as there are a ton of staples and carpet tack stripping. Once I saw that they were nice, I ripped the carpet off. If the steps were not nice, I would have just placed the carpet back in place and back over the carpet tack stripping. Use a hammer to make sure the carpet sticks back into the tack stripping.
Love the stairs so we took our carpet off. We do have that soft pine but our steps turn and where the landing is, they used a piece of subfloor-yuck. Does anyone have any suggestions what we can do to match it to pine steps????
Hi Joan – Not sure the size of your landing, but you may want to look at a veneer. Here is a link to one site: http://oakwoodveneer.com/veneer/pine.html
If you do a Google search for Pine Veneer you will probably find a veneer that matches your pine and will be the size you need. You would need to protect it with polyurethane just like the steps.
Diane – This post caught my eye as soon as I found your blog. What a transformation! When we moved into our house the carpeted stairs were hideous. After six years of judicious vacuuming and cleaning, they are now merely ugly. The old light beige carpet was almost black at the edges by the wall! Doesn’t anybody clean the edges??? You have inspired me to finally give it a try. Fortunately, the lower stairs are open and painted white around the balisters. This also gives me more good news – the steps are bullnose because of this designe choice of the builder. Yipee!!
Thanks for the inspiration and how-to. Wish me luck!
Hi, it’s me again..
Here is a link to my youtube posting that shows my stair/floor reno project. This should give you a better idea of what I am faced with. I am having a hard time deciding what to use as a stair strip to go at the very top of the stairs (landing). The idea is to make the new flooring and the re-done stairs clean and professional looking.
Please send a reply after viewing my video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGNiZPYMOBw&feature=youtu.be
Thank you…
I just love what you did! What a difference! You have inspired me to tackle my own staircase. The last bid we got was for $6000.00 to take off carpet, paint and refinish my staircase. I think I will give it a try! I’ll let you know how it goes!
I love this!!! Going to tackle it this week! How did you separate the carpet from the upstairs?
Hi Becky. The second floor carpet ended right under the bullnose where it meets the top steps- riser. There was a separate piece of carpet going up the steps that ended right under that second floor bullnose. I just kept the carpet intact on the second floor. You can see it in the last two photos in the post.
As a general contractor and electrician I commend you on your work and thank you for the great idea for our own steps!
Beautiful! I just paid $400 to have carpet removed and steps stained….and that does not include having the risers painted….that is something I have to do now!
Hi Leah- Hope the painting went or is going well. I bet they look beautiful!
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