The Beginnings of the Stair Makeover

Every time I tell myself not to add more to my to-do list, it seems I then make every effort to give myself the middle finger. While I have every intention of finishing up the exterior trim within the next week, for some reason I decided that I’d make myself miserable by painting the stairs, too.

They are starting to look really good, though. Funny enough, before I started reading blogs, I had no idea how people managed to paint their staircases. When I finally learned that the best way was every other step, let dry, then every other step… it seemed so obvious. Of course, doing this when you also have a dog can get a little weird, so for the last few days I’ve had to carry her up when it’s time for bed.

I chose white semi-gloss paint because A) it was already in the garage B) the stairs are so old and tired that staining them would probably look terrible and C) despite starting yet another project, I’m not so nuts that I’ll go out of my way to make this difficult by testing out other color options.

It looks like four coats are what it takes for these stairs, but when I’m finished painting, I’ll have to seal them with a clear coat and put a runner up the middle, which I’ve already purchased and will share in a future post. The protective top coat will protect the stairs from puppy feet, and the runner down the middle will help protect puppy feet from sliding down the stairs (she has a little trouble every now and then on the bare wood, and I assume a slicker paint surface will make things even harder for her).

Hopefully soon I’ll have a beautiful staircase to decorate for the holidays. Plus, it’s a perfect project to work on in the winter since it doesn’t require daylight. Happy Monday!