It's been awhile since I've posted any home updates. This full-time teaching thing sure can slow a lady down!
You may have read in an earlier post - the previous owner of our home painted the entire interior of the home and installed new carpet before listing. Unfortunately, I did not care for the paint color or the carpet. There was A LOT of creamy yellow paint, A LOT of cheap beige carpet, and A LOT of 90's reddish-brown stained wood goin' on. Not my thang..
Below are some {BEFORE} shots from our first showing. I spy Mr. Place!
You may have read in an earlier post - the previous owner of our home painted the entire interior of the home and installed new carpet before listing. Unfortunately, I did not care for the paint color or the carpet. There was A LOT of creamy yellow paint, A LOT of cheap beige carpet, and A LOT of 90's reddish-brown stained wood goin' on. Not my thang..
Below are some {BEFORE} shots from our first showing. I spy Mr. Place!
We first had the entire foyer professionally painted in SW Repose Gray. I painted the railings black, the spindles white, and some of the brown trim that remained to SW Pure White. We also relocated the wiring for the hanging light fixture to be centered in the entire foyer and purchased a new one.
I really thought I wanted a wooden staircase. You know all those gorgeous photos you see on Pinterest or Houzz of dark, pretty, CLEAN treads? Yeah. Those people don't own dogs. Or have kids. None of them. All it took was about 24 hours of three kids and a big lab living on just 1/2 of an uncarpeted stairway to change my mind. Let's just say, our sweet labrador, Louie, was NOT a fan of the wood stair treads. Holy moly. There were some mornings that I thought he broke a leg walking downstairs. Well - that made my job much easier.
MUST. HAVE.CARPET.
The three photos show the process of refinishing the small portion of our stairway that would be exposed. Our treads were only stained on the outer 1/3, as the rest has always been covered up with carpet ever since the home was built in the late 80s. I used a chemical stripper and then two electric sanders to strip the treads. Luckily, it was pretty fast and easy, since it was just about 1/4 of the steps.
The left photo is a close-up of the previous stain color (top portion of photo) and our new stain (lower portion of photo) with a sliver of the white spindles and treads showing. The new stain was a mix of about 75% Jacobean and 25% Classic Gray. The middle photo shows the plywood landing. The photo on the right is the newly painted white risers and the stained treads.
I really thought I wanted a wooden staircase. You know all those gorgeous photos you see on Pinterest or Houzz of dark, pretty, CLEAN treads? Yeah. Those people don't own dogs. Or have kids. None of them. All it took was about 24 hours of three kids and a big lab living on just 1/2 of an uncarpeted stairway to change my mind. Let's just say, our sweet labrador, Louie, was NOT a fan of the wood stair treads. Holy moly. There were some mornings that I thought he broke a leg walking downstairs. Well - that made my job much easier.
MUST. HAVE.CARPET.
The three photos show the process of refinishing the small portion of our stairway that would be exposed. Our treads were only stained on the outer 1/3, as the rest has always been covered up with carpet ever since the home was built in the late 80s. I used a chemical stripper and then two electric sanders to strip the treads. Luckily, it was pretty fast and easy, since it was just about 1/4 of the steps.
The left photo is a close-up of the previous stain color (top portion of photo) and our new stain (lower portion of photo) with a sliver of the white spindles and treads showing. The new stain was a mix of about 75% Jacobean and 25% Classic Gray. The middle photo shows the plywood landing. The photo on the right is the newly painted white risers and the stained treads.
Some other {BEFORE} photos.
New carpet below! And buyers - shop around! I went to two stores in town and the second quote was about $600 less than the first for nearly the same carpet. The left side is flush with the board & batten wall and the right side is edged with gray binding. Louie is one happy dog!
Isn't amazing what paint and new lighting can do for a space?
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