The Dreaded Stairs

The Dreaded Stairs

 

Here they are before we moved in.  Notice the stains?  The wallpaper? ick.

Then the day after The Lettered Cottage and HGTV crew left I took advantage of the Discount Dumpster Rental left in our drive way and, with the help of my hubs and mother, we ripped up every inch of carpet in the house…including THE STAIRS. If you don’t have this kind of resource like I did, then roll off dumpsters would be a great alternative, go and click here now for extra info.

I had a vision for these sad little stairs.  I never wanted the super put-together look of fancy, shiny stairs for this house.  I had a vision of using the builder grade stairs meant for carpet covering and hammering/chaining/beating/aging them in to a beautiful rustic stairway.  One problem:  I have never, ever, ever seen this done.  I googled and googled hoping to find someone who has done what I envisioned in my head.  Nothing.  THEN (trumpets sound!)……Pinterest to the rescue!  These stairs showed up in my feed one day and they are identical to what I’ve been envisioning.  So it IS possible!

 (sorry for the blurriness)

I’m not quite sure when the stair project will start, but it will probably be right before or right after we get the carpet cleaned by a professional carpet cleaning service and then have the caret placed up stairs sometime within the next month. I’ve been reading about the method to age wood by using vinegar and steel wool.  It seems to be the method that gives me the color I’m looking for.  I’ll be testing it out on some scrap wood soon!

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12 responses to “The Dreaded Stairs”

  1. Sand the wood and then try a light stain by rubbing it in then off again. You can make wood look aged with paint as well. It looks pretty rustic now. Stain and a sealed protector on there will fix it right up.

    • Isn’t that the worst? I mean, if it was my dog’s mess it would be gross…but since it was someone elses it was even worse! That’s why I’ve preferred living on sub-floors over nasty carpet since September!

  2. I can’t wait to see! I have carpet on my stairs.. Not old but I don’t like it. I want to take it off..but I feel that I need some kind of runner down the middle because I have 4 kids that run up & down and I don’t want them to slip.
    I need ideas! 🙂

    • I definitely love the idea of having a runner too. I don’t have kids (yet) but will probably get some kind of runner for the stairs eventually. I mean, I’m a clutz myself…I don’t need slippery stairs to help me fall;-)

  3. Hi Emily,
    What an exciting project! I’m really looking forward to seeing your results. I’ve thought of you guys so often since Rhoda and I were there helping out with your family room.
    Glad to hear the reno still goes on!
    Lori

  4. I love this idea and can’t wait to hear how the transformation goes for you! I have kids and my concerns would be safety and noise. But I guess I could always carpet again as a last resort. Please do this soon- I have a stairway that looks just like this and I would love to give it some character.

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