It all started one afternoon when I got all this random courage to rip the carpet from the stairs. I never liked it anyway...something about the way the carpet was just totally dated the house. So, rip rip rip, off the carpet came. Dangerous stuff leaving me alone for a week at a time. By the way, did I mention I am supposed to be on "modified bed rest"...yeah DON'T think a stair remodel would please the Dr...or the baby at this point in the game. :)
Now that the carpet was gone, I had to take out ALL the staples, and a million nails. The blogs all said this was the hard part...but ya know what?!? It was the EASY part! I would GLADLY do this part again if someone else finished the rest for me! Then it was time to scrape the wall (which lead me to tearing ligaments in my back left side...yeah that was a ROYAL PAIN...HUGE AMOUNTS of pain!!!) They got all this glue or carpet...maybe a mix of both...on the walls and getting it off was HARD WORK!!! It hurt your entire body like you just did some crazy triathlon...ugh never again...NEVER!!!
Technically, we were supposed to put in ALL NEW stair treads...because our actual treads are not the right wood. Don't ask me what kind they are, because I have NO IDEA! But, at $40 PER TREAD and TWO little boys in my near future, all I could see was money spent on an expensive stair case with toys banging them up, ruining them. Sooo we skipped that stepped, picked a dark enough stain so you couldn't really notice, AND called it a day. When the kiddos are grown and out of the age of terrorizing my house (does that age ever come with a boy?!?) THEN we will get new treads and make them even nicer...for now, this totally works AND does the trick!!!
Painting the banister was hard...you would get one side all smooth, and then realize its all drippy and ugly on the backside (or front side...how do you know with a banister?!?) So you would smooth it out, then it would be on the opposite side. I spent FIVE HOURS painting 16 spindles, and you know what, I finally had to let my OCD know that I was NOT spending more time on them. They look GREAT not PERFECT, but GREAT and THAT is why I love DIY projects...because they look awesome but don't take away from the character of someone doing it. PLUS, we no longer have the nasty orange/brown color...win win!!!
Transitioning from the stairs to carpet is our FINAL hurtle. We THINK we know what we need to do...but we aren't 100% positive how to do it. Shaun had to come in and help with this part...because it required taking out the subfloor on the top of the stairs for a smooth transition. We got a new tread in, only to realize it WAS NOT flat, and cracked within hours because you would step on it, and since it was uneven, boom crack! So that tread is still in right now, while we try to figure out how much more subfloor we need to take out. Honestly, I am so OVER this project...it is just going to stay like that for awhile now!
I originally wanted it ALL complete before company came over...but the way this pregnancy is going, I have had to rest A LOT more than we originally planned for. The drying time on the stain was HORRIBLY LONG so it was do a coat before bed, let it dry and do another coat the next day. If I tried to do it during the day, little footprints ended up on it. Granted, Lincoln was a CHAMP during this project so I couldn't really be made at the little prints.
A new coat of paint on the risers (white) completed the actual stair part...for now. Like I said we need to get the top stair done and then we can FINALLY enjoy it. By the way, I never realized how much stuff blows in your house EVERYDAY! These stairs have to be cleaned everyday to keep them looking nice...which is a pain BUT my OCD loves it at the same time. It is actually starting to become Lincoln's chore or washing the steps..win for me! :)
Hopefully before the baby comes we can get the entry way and hallway painted which will be a khaki/tan color and REALLY make the stairs pop. It is a dirty, yellow, white color right now so it doesn't look quite right. HOWEVER I know the paint is coming in the near future...but I think we have to hire someone. How do you paint vaulted ceilings where there are stairs?!? You can't get a ladder up there...hmm things to think about.
Anyway, here are some pictures of before and after...it REALLY adds to the look of the house. And now that our living room is painted and furniture in, it makes me feel so grown up and sophisticated! One more project done, another one already started...one day it will be ready for friends to come see it...one day! :)
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