Painted Stairs (The Reveal)

Do you remember some months back when I said we were thinking of ripping the rug off the stairs?

Well, we did it and it's finally painted and ready for the big reveal.

Warning:  lots of photos ahead!

You can find out the whole ugly rug story by looking at this post, but if you need a reminder, here's what the rug looked like when we bought the house:

I know you are all slapping your foreheads saying, "Oh yeah, I remember now, how could anyone forget that atrocity?"

After a few years living in the house, we had this berber installed:

After almost 8 years, it started to look worn & dirty...so in March 2012, my husband happily ripped that rug of the stairs.

This is what we found under the rug:

Not too pretty, that's for sure!  Hmmm...here's a closer shot so you can get the full horror effect:

Oh yes, my friends, we always get more than we bargained for in this house! 

Having no clue what we were going to do, I started working on the stairs with a heat gun, trying to remove all the paint.  (That is after a good cleaning & my husband removing all 132,648 staples.) 

My sister-in-law walked in one day while I was heat gunning.  Needless to say, she made me come to my senses (something my husband had been trying to do).  Aside from the fact that she convinced me that I would likely still be removing the paint 48 years from now, she also brought up the fact of the old house & loving all of its imperfections for what they are. 

So after some thought, and with the arrival of April, it was time to prime the stairs, imperfections and all.

It took another month for me to decide on a paint color.  Lots of back & forth on that one.  I really did not want black treads, although I knew that was the most practical solution.  I wanted to paint the treads the wall color (Ralph Lauren Nantucket White) but I knew that it was too light for walking on.  So on a whim, I chose Sherwin Williams Baguette, a golden brown color with white semi-gloss for the risers.

It seemed as though the painting took forever, having to do every other step so that we could still use the stairway, not to mention all those baseball & softball games in between.  However, when it was finally done, I could breathe a sigh of relief!

It did require some touching up and caulking after this photo was taken, but still I knew it needed something else.  I know that painting numbers on the risers is popular, but I wanted something different.  My husband kept telling me to just leave them alone, but I don't always listen. No surprise on that one.

I found some pretty vinyl decals in a vine pattern from Abby's Vinyl Wall Art on Etsy.  With little effort in applying them, they added just that something else that I was looking for. 

So now in June, they are finally finished and ready to make their debut:

The whole process took alot longer than I expected, but I'm so pleased with the results!

From ugly to pretty......

They are so much easier to keep clean too.  No more lugging the vacuum up & down the stairs.  

So much better now...I really do love them!

Happy Monday everyone...it is so hot & humid here today, I feel like a wilted flower. 

Linking to:

Your Cozy Home Party at Cozy Home Scenes

Swing into Spring at DIY by Design

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Thursdays are Your Days at 52 Mantels

Share Your Cup Thursdays at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

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