An inexpensive painted staircase makeover…
Yes, this DIY blog post is about painted stairs. But first, a little background, if you’ll humor me for a sec. Last year, we moved out of our urban comfort zone and moved into, I’d have to say, a bit of a country twilight zone. We bought a home on a little land…a place where the kids could run, frolic, and enjoy the wonders of the great-out-of-doors.
Problem was that the in-of-doors was a tad of an ugly-80’s nightmare.This was kinda ok, because I do love me some 80’s. If I had to have picked a theme song for our pad it was probably that Golden Earring song…you know, “Help, I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone…” Or possibly Guns n Roses’ mega hit “Welcome to the jungle”…
You don’t get more classic 80’s hair metal than that one, right?! To prove this home’s 80s-ness, check out this totally gnarly, gag-me-to-the-max bathroom we had. Seriously.
And if you’re still not convinced of this time warp we were dealing with…check out the shower curtain we inherited when we bought “The Twilight Home”.
If you wanna see how this bathroom turned out after it’s rehabilitation, head over HERE. Because right now, I’m gonna focus on another part of the Twilight Home.
This was our 1980’s smurf-er-ific stairwell that led into the 1980’s basement (side note: that smurfy blue color follows us everywhere…check out THIS room we remodeled!).
I know…
In the words of that aforementioned 80’s icon Axl Rose, this place was gonna bring us to our “sha na na na na na knees, knees.”
So, we got to work. Oh, that’s us…in our normal weekend leisure garb. Wish I was kidding.
Our first thought for the stairwell was that we would stain it to match the hardwoods in the rest of the house. The treads on these steps are pine. Pine isn’t the easiest to stain. We gave it the ol’ college try…you can see the result on a couple stairs in the picture above. Not good.
Our buddy Axl Rose probably would have said “All we need is just a little patience”. He’s a very sage and wise fellow. And I wish that we were better with the whole “patience” skill. But we’re not. So we moved on to plan B.
Plan B was paint. Paint and utility grade unfinished oak hardwood flooring for the landing (which costs $1/sq ft..AMAZING, right?!?!).
Above is our work crew. And yes, that’s their weekend garb. Pajamas. Listen, there’s a reason I don’t write a fashion and/or a parenting blog.
Painting this stripe design was a bit time consuming, and we learned a couple tricks along the way. Here’s a link to the full tutorial for our painted stairs.
To save costs and time, we kept the existing handrails and updated them. We spray-painted the hardware, and painted the banisters to match the stair treads. SOOO much cheaper and easier than buying, staining, and installing new ones.
And voila, no more 80’s-ugly! We removed an old builder-grade vanity mirror from that bathroom in the first picture, cut it, and framed it out in some barnboard.
We love barn board here. And that light fixture? Guess how much that boob light makeover cost…ZERO! Haven’t heard the term “boob light”? Well, you’ll see what they are in the image below…
We just spruced it up with some capiz shells and again, the almighty spray paint. Now, I think she’s a “total babe” as they said circa 1988. That’s been one of my favorite, and super-easy DIY projects!
To me, the white handrail with gold hardware feels clean and bright, which are helpful in a darker basement. Click this link to see the makeover of the whole basement space.
Once upon a time, there were walls flanking both sides of this stairwell, floor to ceiling. We knocked one side down to open up the space and make it feel less like entering a dungeon.
We’ve done a lot of stairwells in our time. Funny thing is, this is one of the cheapest we’ve ever done, and despite the low price tag, the finished product is easily one of my favorites.
Hope you like the results! I’m happy to say that we haven’t ditched the decade of valley girls and pinch-rolled jeans completely in this house…it’s just now, we keep our 80’s blastin’ on the ‘ol boom-box rather than staring at it all over our walls.
The 1980’s is definitely a decade that is much better heard, but NOT seen.
If you’re on the hunt for more budget-friendly home decorating projects, and DIY home improvement ideas, make sure to check these out, too!
Pssst…before you go, I sure would love to hang out with you again really soon! Sign up now and get a no-cost copy of “Builder-Grade To Beautiful: 10 Totally Transformative Home Decorating Solutions, All Under $100!” Click here to enter your email or on the image below. Your copy will be emailed right away!
Barb says
Love everything you’ve done Did you do the barn door or buy it? My next project as sliding barn doors and I want them distressed as well. I absolutely love yours. Thanks,
Heather says
Hey Barb! Thanks so much. We bought that vintage door, prepped it by removing all the chipped paint, and gave it a clear coat of poly so that it wouldn’t continue to chip, then hung it on the sliding rail. Good luck with your project! It’s a fun one!
Barb says
Love everything you have done. Did you do the barn door or buy it? My next project is sliding barn doors. I want the distressed look…absolutely love yours! Barb
Linda says
I just sent this link to my son & DIL who plan to spruce up thier stiars in the still needs work townhouse. My teen did ours a few years ago. It’s almost time for refreshing. Thanks for the tutorial.
Linda
Sandy hartnett says
I loved reading your comments and how to’s. I am a big fan. I love all your make-overs. I did my basement steps in mosaic. I will be posting them soon. How do I follow you? Hugs, Sandy
Val says
Hi Heather! Can you share where you bought the chevron rug runner? It looks to be the perfect size I need for our long, narrow entryway. Thanks!! I’ve been exploring your blog today. That toile bathroom is enough to make me find something to wallpaper toile in my own house. 🙂
Heather says
Of course! We got it from Overstock. Here’s a link to it…it comes in various lengths. We’ve been very happy with the quality 🙂 http://goo.gl/aF6kqS
Sabrena Miller says
What a beautiful and clean finished product! We are about to embark upon a 1984 "frat house." Or that's at least how it looks (and in some places smells). I would like to do something similar with the stairwell, particularly in taking down the left side wall. Any chance you would pass along some tips? Demolition is new to us, and we'd want to hire the right contractor but still keep the budget down…since we have all those kegs to clear out too. 😉
Heather says
Best of luck Sabrena!! Definitely make sure you use some painters plastic to seal off adjacent rooms in the home before you demo anything…that drywall dust goes EVERYWHERE!! If you have any specific questions for us, let us know! Happy to help.
Kat says
Hi! I just wanted to say that I wish were best friends so that I could have you come over to my house and give me some awesome ideas too! I have loved the painted stairs look for a while and just love how you pulled it off — awesome! : ) Question tho, what color paint did you use for the stripes and is that also Benjamin Moore nimbus painted on the walls down the stairs and in the basement? (ok…that was 2 questions!) I ask about the Nimbus color, because about 4 years ago I picked that out as the first color I wanted for my kitchen do over… but I thought it was too dark. I love how light the color looks in your basement, it looks light and airy for what I assume is a windowless or a space that has very little nat'l light. So, I was wondering if it's full strength Nimbus or actually a different color… Anyhoo, sorry for the worlds longest comment, and thanks for any info. I really, really, REALLY love what you and your hubby are doing with your house! : ) Cheers!
Heather says
Thanks so much Kat 🙂 We have Nimbus in our foyer here, but not here in this post. On the walls in the basement, we used a color called "White Duck" by Sherwin Williams. Yes, Nimbus is a great color, but definitely would be dark in a space without a lot of natural light 🙂 As far as the stairs go, we used porch paint in Behr Ultra White, and Behr Baltic Gray. Good luck!!
Tenneil at R7 says
Gorgeous!! We are working on our stairs and you've given me a lot of inspiration! You can check out how we used barn wood in our basement remodel coming soon on our blog. Well, after it airs on March 21st on the DIY network. Glad to be following you 🙂
Our Pinteresting Family says
Absolutely beautiful. We hope to do a.similar project on our basement steps soon. We are building a playroom in our unfinished basement now. Your basement looks spectacular.
Leslie Harris says
what an amazing job you did! The stairs came out fab and what a difference opening up that wall made. Congrats! Also love the shot of that barn door.
Michele @ The Nest at Finch Rest says
Oh my word, you did a FABULOUS job on this make-over! WOW!
Gotta love a good work crew, eh? Too cute.
The painted stairs with the "runner" is so awesome, love the color too. WELL DONE!!!
Wild Oak Designs says
You guys are amazing! It looks so great! Did you use special paint for a high traffic area?? It all looks so great!
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
Heather says
Hey Nancy! We used porch paint, and it has been holding up great thus far!
Shirley Arocho says
Stunning! I love, love, love your style!
marty (A Stroll Thru Life) says
Wow, what a huge difference. Amazing makeover. Gorgeous. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.
Amy | Canary Street Crafts says
Such a huge improvement!! Love all the upgrades you've done, especially the stairs!
Amanda Fettig says
LOVE these stairs! You are amazing! It looks 150% better! It's so awesome you have all those befor picture; you'll have so much fun looking back at the horrible mess it was before!! I love seeing your makeovers!
Rue says
Woah… that was a time travel post! LOL
The staircase looks fantastic!
I'm painting one in my house too, but although I love the way yours turned out, I'm not doing another pattern after the one I did years ago on the walls of the bathroom I had. That diamond pattern still gives me nightmares 😉
Bella♥Storia says
I LOVE how the stairs turned out! Great choice of pattern. I admit I've taken all of my free time today to read your blog…the whole thing. From the beginning. Uh, yeah. Ha! You've got great stuff going on! I'd love to see more how-to's, and little projects here and there. I have a blog, too, and I know it's time consuming to write a post, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves your style and could gain by your DIY experience!
Heather says
That is so incredibly flattering. Honestly, I don't think even my Mother has read every post! Thanks so much for the feedback, too. I agree, I need to write more how-tos…I just tend to shy away b/c, let's face it, if you google almost ANYTHING, you'll find some type of tutorial…that being said, I suppose there is always room for one more, right? Right. I think 😉 Anyways, thanks so very much again, and so very happy to have you visiting us.
Jenise says
What a gorgeous stairway makeover!!! Just gorgeous!
Lani @ Simply Fresh Vintage says
Love, love, LOVE how the stairs came out! We're in the process of building out our basement and every time I walk up and down the stairs my mind starts twirling with ideas to spruce it up. Yours has definitely inspired me!
On a side note … the barn door … did you do a post on it? We're putting a few in the basement 🙂
Kate Crossley says
That is some amazing transformation! Well done – a lot of hard work there I can see.
Anonymous says
Your stairs look beautiful. I have to paint our cellar stairs because our dog knocked over a can of paint. This will look beautiful. Thank you. When we were having our second floor renovated, I told the contractor no boob lights. I think I embarrassed him or he was shocked I knew that term.
Little Farmstead says
Your stairs look amazing!! Love how you took the risk rather than just stain… it really gives your space personality and charm! ~julie
stephanie, sandpaper and glue says
huge improvement!! and I feel you on the blue walls… we had those too. With country basket/cat wallpaper trim. Whyyyyyyy.
Heather says
Oh, come on! Nice little country kitty wallpaper borders? That sounds pretty darn FABULOUS to me!
Kirsten Thompson says
I love this so much! We are getting ready to tackle our unfinished staircase down to the basement and I'm loving the idea of painting the stripes. Can't wait to read your tips on that. Gorgeous transformation! Axl would be proud…or feel really out of place – which is a good thing 🙂
DD's Cottage says
Great transformation-FAB!
Darlene G. says
WOW!! what a beautiful re-freshening you did on this stairway and basement!! I really like how you painted the stairs to make it look like a carpet runner 😉
Kim @ Savvy Southern Style says
Y'all work really well together. I know all about the fashionable work wear. Those stairs are just awesome!
Heather says
Thanks Kim…if you only knew 😉 We definitely try. Home improvement as a couple is either therapy, or will send you there. Am I right?!