Staircase Refresh

 On my continuing mission to change every wall color in the house, I decided I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to get rid of the depressing orange on the staircase between the 1st floor and the basement. It was previously a color by Valspar called Copper Hide. While I feel dark paint has it's place, I don't think it's appropriate for small spaces such as a stairway. Like so many other rooms in the house, I changed the ceiling to Super White and the walls to Decorator's White- both by Benjamin Moore. 

Before: 1st Floor Looking Down

Before: Basement Looking Up

It's kind of a miracle I got through this one without falling and breaking my neck. There were some very high spots so taping and painting those nooks and crannies was really a challenge. This one was really tough and I had to enlist Brent to help me with the ceiling portion of it.

Then he had to enlist Liesel's help to tape that same spot. You may be asking yourself if there's really that much of a difference between Super White and Decorator's White that the taping was really even necessary and if you know me at all, you know the answer is absolutely yes. If it had been off, it would have kept me up at night and driven me crazy.

In the girl's bathroom I have framed photos of each of them at 3 months and now that Sydney has been baptized, I wanted to have their baptism photos lining the stairs. When I had hers framed, I changed out the cheap frame on Liesel's at the same time so they would look different yet cohesive. It took a while and custom framing is always pricy but I am SO happy with the results! 

After: 1st Floor Looking Down

The huge mirror used to hang behind the door of the powder room and it had just been sitting downstairs. Initially, I was going to paint the frame a simple black but in the end the frame complimented the light fixture. Speaking of the light fixture, I used to hate it- I felt like it added to the drab feeling of the staircase but once it was brightened up with the white paint it suddenly looked more charming. The mirror on the landing reflects the light beautifully! 

After: Basement Looking Up

The funny thing about this refresh is that in many ways the staircase looks better, but it did emphasize some of the construction- especially the baseboards- are just not done well at all. Once the walls were light and bright, suddenly the carpet looked incredibly dingy. When you line the Before and After up side by side, the carpet actually looks worse in the After. 

I mentioned this to Brent and I could see him inwardly groan that even as I was wrapping up this project I was mentally beginning another one that would inevitably be more expensive than just a can or two of paint.

All in good time my dear, all in good time. When we have the funds, not only will we replace the carpet but I think we can upgrade the handrails and I'd like to get lights along the baseboards just to ensure anyone walking down the stairs can easily see where they are going. I really wanted to finish this project before Sydney and I headed to Utah and I'm so glad it's done!