One of the key projects in turning our house into a functional space was to redo the staircase. When we first moved in, there was no flooring upstairs. After that was finished, having a nice, working staircase was a necessity. Not having floors in our house allowed dirt and dust to spread everywhere, so finishing stairs was a big step into keeping the space clean on a weekly basis.
Here is a photo of the stairs when we moved in:
Some of the treads had been replaced prior to us moving in, and I’m guessing for good reason. It should also be noted that the photo doesn’t give the amount of grime on these stairs justice.
Given that some treads were different wood and that we (and the big dog) spent a lot of time outside in the mud, we decided that painting the stairs was a much better option than carpet or even a runner. A main focus of our space, and I would argue that it should be for yours too, is functionality. Why spend time, money, and effort making your home look great but lose the ease of actually using it? Plus, both upstairs and downstairs are wood or LVP, so keeping them a hard surface made sense.
In choosing a color, I first decided that the side trim and risers could stay white. We plan on having all white trim through the house, so this made sense. But I knew that white stairs would be difficult to keep looking clean. I decided on a super dark, deep brown called Rocking Horse by Magnolia. After several coats, caulk, and some sealing, they turned out great. For sealing I used a polycrylic satin clear coat. This ended up being a perfect finish, and I’m glad I got the big size so that I can touch up in the future and use it for other projects.
Here are the stairs after painting:
One concern was that having the stairs painted would make them slippery. I didn’t want anybody to fall down them, but I also didn’t want the hassle of having to try to clean a stapled runner each week. I anticipated that that wouldn’t work very well for us, at least right now.
I landed on these removable stair tread pads that serve as a super practical runner. They are machine washable, have a great pattern, and were a decent price compared to the cost of installing a full runner.
Here is the final look for the stairs:
When we do the whole house trim project, we may stick some quarter round on the sides. Other than that, this project is complete! If you’re thinking of refinishing your stairs, I say go for it. Not only was this project done in 2 week nights, but it totally transformed the feeling of the space.
The total cost for this project was $145, but that includes extra paint and polycrylic that we have continued to use on other projects.
Thanks for following along and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
Stunning!