When we first bought this house our stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor looked like this. The runner doesn’t look so bad in this photo but in reality it was badly stained and worn, and I could not wait to tear it out!
On the day that we had our upstairs wall-to-wall carpets replaced, I was so fired up when the installers were ripping out the old carpet up there that I spontaneously decided to remove the stair runner myself right then. By the time the upstairs carpets had been laid I had the runner off and was busy pulling out the 79773 staples from the treads. I was so happy to say good riddance to that disgusting thing!!
I painted the spindles and risers white, and that made such a difference to the feel of our house!
Then I took a break from working on the stairs to finish painting the rest of the house interior. The plan was to eventually stain the rails dark and refinish the beat up treads the same shade as our natural red oak floors.
But things don’t always go according to plan, now do they? We loved the contrast of the dark rail with the light treads,
but after many hours of stripping and sanding, I realized that some of our old, stained, tired treads either needed to be replaced OR……this dramatic alternative!
René says
Wow! It looks great Lisa! Staying tuned to see how you architectural detail. Would love to add a seagrass runner to our stairs too.
Michelle @ Ten June says
HOLY COW! It looks amazing, Lisa! It will look fabulous with the light wood floors. Bravo!
[email protected] says
They look so lovely, Lisa! BEAUTIFUL! Jealous!
Suzy www.savedbysuzy.blogspot.com says
WOW! Another fabulous stair makeover! If I had a house with stairs, that is exactly what I would want!
Jenny says
So lovely and classic! Cant wait to see the runner you choose. I have stairs in desperate need of this treatment!
A Vintage Vine says
So wonderful! I am soooooo far behind you! What did you put on the landing or was the wood already there?
marty (A Stroll Thru Life) says
Oh what a huge difference. I love the dark stain, your stairs is stunning. Such a lovely job. Hugs, Marty
CalypsoInTheCountry says
I love what you have done! I have been obsessed with stairs lately since I have been thinking of updating mine from the plain oak. You really did a great job!
-Shelley
Jean @ Flower Hill says
Looks great! Love the dark stain!
Noelle says
Wow they came out amazing!! I can envision the sisal runner and I can't wait to see the architectural detail on those walls. You all did an amazing job!!
Sarah, Three Boys says
Absolutely STUNNING. I love the contrast. That before and after is amazing:)
Carrie @ Hazardous Design says
Looks like your hard work definitely paid off! I'm just loving the final result. The sisal runner is going to be the icing on the cake 🙂
Privet and Holly says
I wanted to do something
similar but had to compromise
with my hubby as he has
slipped down the stairs a
few times, even with it
carpeted! So, we installed
wood in our upstairs hallway
and our master bedroom
and replaced the carpet on
the stairs in the kid's rooms.
The things we do for love…..!
And I DO love your new look!
xx Suzanne
[email protected] says
I *love* it! You did an amazing, amazing job.
Carly {xoxo teacherista} says
Oh my goodness. This is my favorite look for stairs right now. The dark stain looks incredible! What an amazing before and after!
Ange says
SO beautiful! I am a tad jealous, I hate our carpeted stairs but that's a project for another day. Can't wait to see the rest when it's done! Great job!
Carli says
Gorgeous!!!! My hubby began working on our stairs (going to the basement)and never finished, so I have half oak and half ebony stained stairs :(. I'm hoping his finished product looks half as nice as yours!
Cindy says
i would like to do the same with our stairs but under our carpet is crappy particleboard treads and risers. i went to home depot to price out the cost of replacing them and i think i am going to have to find them second hand….they were $10 for the treads and i could probably do the risers with mdf but the cost is prohibitive… i love the way yours turned out….i am pinning it for further consideration…
hugs, cindy
Cristina Garay says
I love how your steps turned out!!! I want to do that to mine, but I'm kind of affraid at how it's going to look with dark steps and the rest of the floors on a light shade?! Maybe I have to begin with the rails as you did!
Ann Morrison, MA, CCC-SLP says
I just found the picture of your steps on Pinterest. I know it's been awhile so I was wondering how the finish held up. We have dogs and I'm hoping you say it did.
judy mccoy says
This is beautiful , do you remember the stain color . Would like to try this.
Lisa says
The bannister is Polyshades Ebony. I emailed you about the steps!
Mary says
Hello! Your stairs are just lovely and I’m hoping to try this- at least by painting the stairs- could you share what type of paint or stain you used on the treads? It looks gorgeous! I’m dying to rip up the nasty carpet on my stairs.
Lisa says
Hi Mary! I stripped the treads with Citristrip, a gel stripper, then stained them but there were stains on them that were coming through even though I sanded them with a palm sander and cleaned them really well before staining, so I ended up using Polyshades on them, which is a product that has the stain and the polyurethane combined. The product actually sits on top of the wood like paint does, but gives it the appearance of stain. It can chip like paint if it’s in a high traffic area, but because I put a runner on my stairs the sides have held up great. The dark color is hard to keep looking clean though – every speck of dust shows. I would go a shade or two lighter if I had it to do again! Thanks for stopping by and for your kind comment. Good luck with your project!
Mary says
Thanks!! I will definitely use a lighter shade and wait till Ive picked out a runner to start this project- I appreciate your responding- and with so many helpful specifics!!