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Friday Favorite: the New Stairway

September 7th, 2012

Mr Chiots and I were talking about all the work we’ve been doing around the house and which part was our favorite. Oddly enough, with two new bedrooms and a new bathroom, my favorite part is the old stairway that just got a bit of a redo. They were covered in beige carpet, the only remnant of the original house. They were plain pine stairs, just like the ones that went to the basement. We debated on covering them with wood that matched our hardwood floors, but the way they are installed would make it very difficult and it would have been very expensive.

I decided to paint the risers and trim white and stain the stairs dark. The results were nothing less than remarkable. Instead of spending almost a thousand dollars on wood and the headache of trying to figure out how to install it, I spent only about $30 on supplies (paint, stain and some moulding) and a few days painting and staining. (I used a mix of half Mahogany half Walnut Minwax Polyshades)



The area needed a bit of flair, so I printed out a bunch of old Grow Your Own posters and hung them. This stair area, which used to be the only eyesore left in our home, is now a real focal point. It’s my favorite part of the house redo.


When it comes to stairs there’s nothing I dislike more than carpet. I find them very difficult and tedious to keep clean. The wood, on the other hand, cleans up in a snap! This stairway is my current favorite thing about our little house.

When it comes to stairs do you like with or without carpet?

22 Comments to “Friday Favorite: the New Stairway”
  1. Andrea Duke on September 7, 2012 at 5:37 am

    Beautiful!!

    Is there anything that you have done recently that makes you think to yourself that you wish you had done that a long time ago? That happens here often after a project has been completed.

    Did you print the pictures at home? What a great idea that I may take for bookcases that hold my canned goods!

    Reply to Andrea Duke's comment

    • Susy on September 7, 2012 at 7:07 am

      I did print them at home. A few of them are printed in blocks and pieced together.

      I kinda wish I had done these stairs earlier, but most other projects I don’t really care so much about.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Rhonda on September 7, 2012 at 8:02 am

    WOW! Now that is beautiful! It looks so much better! Whodathunkit?

    Reply to Rhonda's comment

  3. Christine on September 7, 2012 at 8:11 am

    Does it kind of bum you out that you’re leaving your house after making all of these awesome changes? Do you think it will change the way you approach remodeling/renovating at your next place (doing it sooner rather than later)? We’re moving into a new house next month (assuming everything goes well), and we’re trying to figure out whether we should throw down money to make the changes we’d like immediately, or if a slow-but-steady approach is better, and am curious to how you’ve felt about it.

    Reply to Christine's comment

    • Susy on September 7, 2012 at 11:35 am

      Not really, we’ve slowly been making changes all along, we just wanted to make sure our house was the nicest on the market so it would sell quickly. We’ll probably wait a few years before we make many changes at the new house to figure out how it flows with our lifestyle. The bathroom will probably be done fairly quickly though as it’s in need of an update.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. Beth on September 7, 2012 at 8:18 am

    That looks great! Way to come up with an economical and beautiful option!

    Reply to Beth's comment

  5. daisy on September 7, 2012 at 8:33 am

    The transformation is amazing! Hate carpet anywhere, prefer wood everywhere!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  6. Ashley on September 7, 2012 at 8:36 am

    Love this so much!!!! Its so inspiring to get onto some of my projects. Can you tell me how you printed those posters, would love to know.

    Reply to Ashley's comment

  7. Mary W on September 7, 2012 at 9:09 am

    I like the look of wood stairs and how they clean up, but when my dog got old, she couldn’t keep her grip. The carpet was key to her mobility and letting her continue to be part of the family. But what a pain to keep clean.

    Reply to Mary W's comment

  8. whit on September 7, 2012 at 9:19 am

    Wow! Awesome job, Susy!

    I’m with you…bare wood stairs all the way! Our new house has painted stairs (white rails and bases, dark olive green treads and banisters) with a carpet runner requiring dusting and vacuuming…two of my least fav things!

    Reply to whit's comment

  9. Stephanie Beall on September 7, 2012 at 11:03 am

    We have carpet on very shallow stairs and it is very difficult to vacuum. I love the look of what you did on yours, it’s beautiful!

    Reply to Stephanie Beall's comment

  10. melissa on September 7, 2012 at 11:11 am

    ALWAYS without. not only are they a pain in the butt to keep vacuumed, but once the carpet gets worn down they get really slick. Before I replaced the carpet (sadly I couldn’t afford anything else, and I didn’t have the nice finished wood stairs underneath that you did) I slipped and fell down the stairs about once a month.

    Reply to melissa's comment

  11. Bethany on September 7, 2012 at 11:34 am

    Love the look of it, but I have a habit of falling down stairs. I’ll be doing something similar with my stairs when I can find time, but I think I’ll have to add runners.

    Reply to Bethany's comment

  12. Maybelline on September 7, 2012 at 1:41 pm

    Youch. I avoid any stairs whenever possible.

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  13. KimH on September 7, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    They look beautiful & I think Im going to do the same thing with the stairs going to our second floor eventually… after I ever get my craft room done. ;) You did a fantastic job!!

    I was thinking the same thing as others have said..about it making you wish you’d done them sooner. It would have me.

    There are loads of things I want to get done here but I always seem to have a couple dozen roadblocks.. Energy & physical issues being the biggest problems.. however, in the last year or two, they’ve been becoming less of an issue so Im able to do things in bits & peaces, so Im still moving forward! :)

    And I prefer wood everywhere… we have them going into the basement but one of these days Im going to put some strips on them because I’ve slipped down them many times & literally fallen down them 2 or 3 times.
    They’re really too steep too, but I dont see me building any new stairs anytime soon. ;)

    Reply to KimH's comment

  14. tj on September 7, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    …Wow! I love what you did with the stairs! I for one dislike carpet, period. I don’t like that I can’t pull it up and clean under it. Crazy, yes? :o) So, pretty much, give me hardwood floors any ol’ day of the week.

    …I’m really beginning to think you & Mr. Chiots rival HGTV. Seriously. ;o)

    …Wonderful, wonderful job & great choice in colors too!

    …Enjoy your evening!

    …Btw, did ya’s get that nap? ;o)

    …Blessings

    Reply to tj's comment

  15. Brenda on September 8, 2012 at 12:21 am

    I love that you put so much care and effort into your home even though you are moving on, the person who purchases your home will be very fortunate xxBrenda

    Reply to Brenda's comment

  16. Aparna on September 8, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    That is beautiful. I love how handy you are and such attention to detail.

    Reply to Aparna's comment

  17. songbirdtiff on September 10, 2012 at 8:00 am

    Wow! The stairs are beautiful! I love it when a project comes together without a major expense. I love those photos, too. Are these the ones you have pinned?

    Reply to songbirdtiff's comment

  18. Virginia on November 3, 2014 at 10:45 am

    Beautiful! What mixing ratio did you use for the 2 stain colors?

    Reply to Virginia's comment

    • Susy on January 20, 2015 at 2:39 pm

      Walnut & Mohogany

      Reply to Susy's comment

    • Susy on January 20, 2015 at 2:39 pm

      Walnut & Mahogany

      Reply to Susy's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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