We’ve never been more all over the place than we have been lately (Clara’s room, the master bath, the kitchen, the sunroom veranda) and we can’t believe it has been around a month and a half since we last mentioned our staircase. Several of you have been eager to hear about the new runner that we ordered, and we’ve been eager to tell you all about it (it was back-ordered and arrived a little behind schedule, but it’s finally here). But the last vestiges of the old carpet in this house were standing in our new runner’s way…
When we finally removed the carpet from our master bath, the stairs became the sole remaining carpet location – even though we had ripped it off the top step in order to install the hardwoods back in May. But between avoiding the tedium of the task and worrying about a small dog and a small human navigating those slick uncarpeted steps, we’ve just been living with this lovely situation for the last five months.
But with our new runner just glaring at us from within its packaging for the last several weeks, we decided to start chipping away at the eyesore once again. You know, for the sake of the puppies.
The task really wasn’t that hard. It was just boring and meticulous. Here were our weapons of choice, basically all serving the purpose of prying things up (carpet, tack strips, staples) at varying levels of detail and care (crowbar for yanking up carpet, pliers for delicately twisting stuck staples out).
Once the crowbar helped me loosen a corner or two of the carpet, it was fairly easy to just yank it up by hand. Well, by gloved hand since the carpet was rife with staples and other sharp objects determined to pincushion me to death.
It’s what lurked beneath the carpet that was the true joy (italics = heavy sarcasm) of this project. Sure, the blue foam padding was quick to tear up… but the staples. OH THE STAPLES.
You can’t even really tell in these pictures just how many staples there were. So I decided to mark them (along with the nails holding down the tack strip) with yellow dots. I’ll save you from counting. There are 49. Multiply that by 12 steps and it’s nearly 600 things that Sherry and I had the pleasure of prying up.
Most of them weren’t that hard. We could just stick a flathead screwdriver under and pop them up. Usually only one side came lose from the wood, so we’d have to go back and pluck it out completely with the pliers. But some got stuck. Some broke. And at least one or two made us mutter some not-Clara-approved words under our breath as we went.
Slowly and steadily, we stripped each step clean of its metal and moved on to the next one.
We worked on it over the course of three days on and off, so Sherry would steal a few hours here and there and then tag team me and I’d go back in. All told it was probably around seven hours in total. And if we were to play you a montage of the process, it would basically just be a bunch of Burger cameos. I’m not sure if working on the stairs just made us notice all the times he goes and up down on a normal day, or if he increased his usual number of trips just to satisfy his curiosity about what the heck we were doing. Yes, that’s him doing some stretching in the middle of the staircase.
I’m mostly convinced he just wanted to be near us (there was one point where Sherry was leaning forward, full of concentration, and got some Burger tongue to the nose). I also had a particularly hilarious run-in with him when he was sitting on the carpet that I was about to rip up.
Here we are, at the end of our montage, with a completely carpet-less staircase and (more importantly) and completely carpet-less house. So one of Sherry’s before-I-have-this-baby goals has officially been met. And she’s pretty jazzed about it. Just don’t mention staple removal to her. There will be grumbling.
The wood left behind is in good, but not flawless condition. It’s not very scratched up, which is a relief considering all of the pointy tools we had near it, but there are some little more-noticeable staple holes in a few spots (these two steps on the bottom of the photo above are the worst, so we wonder if they used a different tool or re-stapled them here for some reason).
We still plan to paint the stair risers white – but not the treads (like this) – so that should help to hide most of the tiny holes (we can putty them before we paint). For the tread holes, the new runner should cover most of them and we’re hoping to do the same thing we did to fix up our downstairs floors before installing the runner, which should fill/hide some other slight imperfections. Note: we’re not planning to change the color of the stair treads since they flow into the upstairs flooring, which we chose to be a very close match.
One other step that we had to tackle before runner-time was painting the walls and the ceiling leading up the stairs, since we didn’t want to do that after installing the runner and risk dripping paint on it. But we’re glad to report that we knocked that out too! We thought it would be fast and easy (it’s not too much actual ground to cover) but the fact that it involved balancing on a ladder with a giant roller pole did add a few levels of difficulty (it was about 16 feet high in some points) – which is why this terrible picture is the only one we managed to capture of the process.
I also used our tape-the-paint-brush-to-the-pole method (detailed here) to get into those upper corners. All told, that was about another 3 hours of work, but it’s really nice to have it done. As planned, we used the same Edgecomb Gray color that we used in our foyer (we chose that knowing we’d use it up the stairs and in the upstairs hallway too). You can see where we stopped painting by the arrows along those two edges. We just wanted to do enough so we wouldn’t worry about dripping on the new stair runner, but tackling the entire hall means buying another gallon.
Hopefully early week will be the full runner reveal, assuming we can get those risers painted and dry in time! But the good news is that in the meantime both Clara and Burger have had no trouble on the carpet-less stairs. They’re not really slick at all (maybe from years of being lightly worn under a carpet?) so we’ve mostly put that worry to bed. But we’re still excited to add the new runner, just to be safe and to soften the blow if ever do lose our footing.
Is anyone else removing old carpeting and plucking every last staple out by hand? Does it make you rue the day that staples were invented? Yeah, me too.
Tracey Bradshaw says
Huge transformation already – must feel great to get rid of the old carpet – it looks so fresh and clean – can’t wait to see the finished project.
Madhu says
We ripped out the carpet on the stairs few years ago and very pleased with how easy it is to keep them clean now.
Addie says
Looks like LOADS of fun… not so much. But it looks a lot better! Can’t wait to see the finished product! Great work, guys :)
Rachel G. says
Did you paint the ceiling the same color as the walls? Is that what you did in the foyer? (I don’t think so, just trying to remember. The transformations are amazing. What a difference paint truly makes. I give you guys credit for not fearing that process. Painting a room is so daunting to me and I know it shouldn’t be, but I just don’t have that gene. :) Keep it up Petersiks!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, same color as the foyer walls downstairs (we did the ceiling too since it all flows together and it’s a nice light color, so we think it chops the stairway up less that way.
xo
s
Jenn says
Looks great! I am just about to start our second stairway revamp. Our first required pulling up carpet and staples, ripping out old particle board treads, and fabricating white oak ones with a custom stain to match our floors. TONS of work, but totally worth it! This time (in our stairway going down to our basement) I am doing painted stairs with a wide runner. Good timing on this project…I feel your staple pulling pain! :)
Kelly says
Oh if only ours were done! I have been working on removing all the staples for WEEKS. I’m finally at the point where I am having trouble getting the ones that are tucked under our risers or at the far, far back of the treads. Nothing I have fits in the tight space I have to work in, so I’m still trying to figure out what to do.
I have plans to paint the risers and redo the treads since ours are in such bad shape, and I’m still on the hunt for the perfect runner.
The only thing I have gotten done is updating our railing which I LOVE. Seriously I could stare at it all day!
Here’s where we’re at: http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/2013/10/how-to-update-railings-and-spindles-on-stairs/
YoungHouseLove says
Oh Kelly, I feel your pain! It felt like a never-ending task! It’s amazing how looking at something so “undone” (like plain wood stairs) can take so many hours of undoing when there are tack strips and staples involved! And your railing is BEAUTIFUL!
xo
s
Kelly says
It’s seriously driving me nuts, but I know we’ll get there eventually. Can’t wait to see how your runner turns out. :)
Thanks! It’s one of those things that I thought about ripping out in the future, but you guys inspired me to try a makeover and I’m glad I did!
Lisa says
You might try a mini pry-bar. It is like the crowbar shown in the photos but much smaller. I’ve found it very usefull to remove carpet staples. Good luck
Anne Phillips says
Hurrah! I’ve been eagerly awaiting more work on the staircase. I’m doing the same… hoping to sand and stain the railings this weekend and paint the spindles next. Looks great!
cappy says
Wow! Already looks great! I was wondering…if you did not have oak floors underneath, would you have installed them? Or just paint the sub-floor and then add a carpet?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, that’s a good question. I think since this is our forever house (or at least for a loooong time house) we’d install them. The grain is really nice I think in a classic colonial like ours. But in a ranch or something that could be more modern, just painting them black or dark brown with white risers and a runner would look awesome I think!
xo
s
Amy says
Looks great!
I have removed enough carpet that the mere mention of the phrase “carpet staple” makes me shudder.
YoungHouseLove says
We need to start a support group! I think it should be called Don’t Say The Word That Rhymes With Marpet Maple.
xo
s
Ana Silva says
Sherry that litterally made me laugh out loud. You’re so corny and funny. You remind me of myself.
YoungHouseLove says
Cornballs unite!
xo
s
Jennifer says
My husband and I just went through the painful staple pulling process a few months ago. Its tiring but it sure is worth it!
This is what we started with:
http://www.jjmodern.com/2013/04/19/stair-refinishing-update/
Here is our final product:
http://www.jjmodern.com/2013/05/17/solid-wood-stairs-finished/
YoungHouseLove says
Wow! Those are STUNNING!
xo
s
Kaesey says
Looks great! Even without the runner installed it’s a huge improvement. You’ve also given me ammunition in my let’s-NOT-carpet-the-hall debate here at home. =)
Raquel says
Oh, my gosh, yes! We have carpeting–I hate carpeting!–throughout most of the house and on the stairs. Especially disgusting was the carpet on the stairs to the basement. I couldn’t deal with it one more minute and a couple of weeks went through and pulled it all. No nice hardwood underneath, so it was roughly 2493 staples and nails to pull. I still have to go back and pull some more, sand it all down and paint the darn things. Not looking forward to it, but at least I’m breathing easier. Carpet has no place in a home with animals. Your stairs look wonderful!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, that sounds rough Raquel! You’re a trooper!
xo
s
Ellen says
I painted my basement stairs white. They just go to a drive-under garage and storage/workshop. I did it mostly for safety, but I wondered if I’d regret it. Turns out I really like it. It’s probably been more than 10 years, and I’ve re-touched them only once. It’s probably time to do it again.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome Ellen!
xo
s
Raquel says
I was thinking white too–with maybe some random colors on some risers just to shake things up and have some fun with it. Good to know I can get 10 years out of it–thanks, Ellen!
Allyn says
Your proposal of a new runner on the stairs intrigued me and I was seriously thinking of pursuing it on my uncarpeted oak stairs. But then, a week ago, I slipped and fell on my sister’s carpeted stairs and broke my ankle. I now think carpeted stairs can be just as slick and dangerous as non-carpeted stairs, so I won’t be putting a runner on my stairs. Ouch! Oh well, that’s money saved that I can spend elsewhere, eh?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! We’ve heard so many differing opinions on it (carpet softens the blow if you slip so it’s safer, carpet makes you fall more so it’s worse, etc) so I think in the end it came down to what we thought would be best for Clara and Burger (all kids/pets are different anyway). Since we’ve lived with the carpet runner for 5 months without falls, that gives us some peace of mind. And Clara and Burger both seem to have better traction on rugs than hardwoods in general (Burger especially slides around when he runs). It also probably depends on the grippiness of the rug (we’ll be replacing the old softer carpeting with something more grippy). We also have a no-socks rule (since we hear the #1 way to fall on carpeting is to have socks on and slip down) – so for the past five months we’ve all just been barefoot or worn grippy slipper sock things. My best friend has two kids under 4 and she just got a runner installed after her little one slipped down and banged himself up the whole way her wood stairs, so her thought is that falls seem to happen either way, which I tend to agree with – but the runner at least softens things if they do occur. We could totally change our tune and be ripping ours up someday though, so we’ll keep you posted!
xo
s
Susan says
I (along with everyone else in the family) have slipped on my parents’ carpeted stairs on numerous occasions. I have yet to slip on my own uncarpeted stairs, but I know it’ll happen someday. I think your no socks rule should definitely help a ton, and then you just gotta remember that stairs can be slippery no matter what and resist the urge to run up and down them (which is sooo hard when you’re in a hurry).
We ripped up the carpet on all THREE of our staircases a few months ago. That’s a LOT of staples. I definitely feel your staple-pulling pain. In fact there are still a few stubborn ones I have yet to finish prying out. Once I get the motivation though, our plan is to paint the risers white and sand and re-stain the treads in a nice dark finish.
Lorena says
Hi John & Sherry!
I wanted to pipe up about something that came to mind when i saw your new house has stairs. We have a little Chihuahua & had stairs like yours in our apt. Well, all the up & down did a number on our poor dog’s vertebraes. He was barely 4 & injured some disks in his back. He healed from that instance but the damage was done. Last year (he was 9) he re-injured himself and had to have pretty serious back surgery. Our neurologist vet told us to carry him down the stairs & to not let him jump off furniture. It’s the landing that is hardest on them. We hadn’t even considered the stairs as an issue, figuring it was good exercise for him! Lesson learned! The runner will help absorb some of the shock so it’s def better for him than bare stairs.
Btw, your stairs look great & I can’t wait to see how you finish them!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, poor guy! Thanks for the tip! Will chat with the vet about that at our next apt!
xo
s
Lisa says
I love Burger. The pic of him stretching on the stairs just makes me smile.
Good work getting rid of the carpet and painting. I almost lost my mind painting our stairwell, and to be honest, am less than happy with the results. I just couldn’t manage to get the right finish dealing with a long pole and my brush taped to a stick. Maybe I just needed more practice.
At any rate, your stairs look much, much better. I can’t wait to see the final results.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, don’t give up on yourself. It was crazy hard! I’d say it was an 8 on the difficulty level of painting – and we paint things all the time! The pole + that ladder = rough!
xo
s
Mandy P. says
Any chance someone could help me understand how to stabilize a ladder while on the stairs? We would LOVE to paint our stairwell, but we are terrified of the idea of putting a ladder on the stairs, climbing up, and painting with a long pole! How does it work?? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We have an adjustable A-frame ladder, which allows you to make one side shorter than the other, so it’s safe and stable on stairs.
xo
s
Anne @ Planting Sequoias says
I’ve done my fair share of staple pulling, and it is not the most fun! Especially when you want to preserve the wood as much as possible….eeeesh!
April says
We had our stairs re-carpeted over the summer, and made the sound decision to remove the old carpet/padding/staples ourselves the NIGHT BEFORE installation.
** insert 30 second sigh **
Dem staples… oh, and those medieval carpet spikes that hide in the crevices. I’ve never been happier to be up-to-date on my tetanus shot.
Your naked stairs look great. Puppy carpet runner?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, they’re just on the packaging of all Dash & Albert rugs. There’s a link in this post in the first paragraph to the rug we got :)
xo
s
Barbara says
Ugh, I’ve done it, and will probably do it again to save myself some money on carpet installation. It’s been a few years, so I’m up for the challenge…but not looking forward to it.
Brit [House Updated] says
I have removed carpet from stairs and the accompanying thousands of staples. I wouldn’t wish that job on my worst enemy! It is all worth it when it is done, but pretty much makes you want to cry when you are doing it. So glad you guys got through it and can’t wait to see the new runner!
Brittany says
I love how Burger wanted to hang out with you guys while you were working on the stairs. Haha what a cutie! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Mia says
Hoping, for you, that the answer is yes, but did you remove the garage-to-kitchen-steps carpet? (mentioned on your pre-baby to-do list)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah, no! Totally forgot about those! They’re just three stairs of different carpeting (an old red runner) – but I can’t wait to get that up! Might have to do that this week just to say “there, now we’re REALLY done!”
xo
s
Laura at RatherSquare.com says
Wow, I can’t believe you got all those staples up! I’m sure that took a lot of patience and persistence. But I’m definitely excited to see what it looks like painted and with the runner in place!
We also had a “de-carpet the stairs” project that we tackled when we bought our house, but we went with a “Phase 1” update for now – we just replaced the old carpet with new carpet. Down the road, I think we’ll do exactly what you are planning (painting and runner-ing), but the wood on our stairs right now is not in workable condition (it’s stained/finished only on the edges!). Hence, new carpet until we can afford to spend more to make it nicer:
http://www.rathersquare.com/2013/08/carpet-tales-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-neutral/
YoungHouseLove says
Looks great!
xo
s
Amanda says
Beautiful wood! Curious, did you guys consider leaving the blue foam padding? Are you going to replace it, or go padding-less? I wonder if it’s a crucial component on carpeted stairs.
YoungHouseLove says
We are going to install some new rug pads, just because the width of our new runner is slightly different so we didn’t think the old pads would work.
xo
s
Dana says
Hi John & Sherry!
I’m making settlement on a house in 2 weeks and I’ll be tearing up carpet on the 2nd floor and steps so it’s great to get tips from you both. Soon I’ll be able to “feel your pain” & not looking forward to it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, good luck Dana!
xo
s
JustMe says
The reveal photo of the carpet-less stairs made me breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t imagine how good you both felt! Gorgeous!
Jenny says
dash and albert??
its gonna be cute!
YoungHouseLove says
Woot woot!
xo
s
Kara says
Hahah, I read that as “Woof! Woof!” (almost appropriately, given the presence of Burger in this post and the puppies on the rug wrapping!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Joy says
With such a staple aversion after the ordeal it was to pull them all out, I’m wondering how you are planning to secure the runner to the stairs?
YoungHouseLove says
Nail gun! Wahoo! At least that’s what a few tutorials that we’ve read have called for… but it might be loaded with staples (the nail gun) so we’ll have to see. Don’t make me think about it! Haha!
xo
s
Jordan says
Oh goodness I can join in on the staple removing agony! Last week I ripped out our completely carpeted stairs to refinish them and the amount of staples I took out one. by. one. was crazy! Did I mention I forgot to wear gloves? Blister city.
The end result was worth it but I can definitely empathize with you guys!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Blisters suck.
xo
s
Brittany says
We did the SAME with our stairs (and I was 6 months pregnant)! I felt like we were never going to get all those staples out – our whole house was under reno, trying to get everything completed before the bebe was born, and it took us days to get staple-lee stairs. We ended up with taupe walls, white runners, and black treads.. although we’ve been bouncing the carpet runner back and forth since the black treads get a little scary at night when we don’t have the lights on! This all looks great! Can’t wait to see the finished product – maybe it will give me the push I need to order that runner! :)
Samantha says
Wow, looks great! When we moved into our current home, I was terrified of the wood stairs considering I had fallen down our previous home’s carpeted stairs twice. But, as long as we don’t have on slippery socks, I’ve found they are less slippery. So strange! Of course, I still death grip the rail just in case… ;) Can’t wait to see what your runner looks like! I’ve been drooling over pretty stair runners!
Emily @ DavenportDIY says
I think carpet on stairs can be just as slippery, if not more so, than wood stairs. I really like the wood tread/painted riser look and SO wanted to do that in our house, but my husband veto’d it in favor of all carpet on the stairs. Boo. Can’t wait to live out my stair dreams vicariously through you! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Emily! I worried the same thing about carpeted stairs at first (doesn’t it make it super slippery?!) but after 5 months with it, I’m so thankful to report that we haven’t had any falls from anyone, and now I think it makes me feel better to know that if we did slip, with a runner there it would soften the blow. Burger especially seems to slide around on hardwoods (he goes down the stairs slowly, but when he runs on flat hardwood he slips more than on carpets) so I think since we went with a grippy runner we’re hoping it adds some traction (even more than our previously soft fluffy carpeting did). Will keep you posted for sure!
xo
s
Emily @ DavenportDIY says
Yeah my husband’s reasoning was similar to yours- we had a 13yr old dog at the time we were re-doing our stairs, so we had to take his needs into consideration too. I have to say, socks on carpet can be scary slippery, although I imagine socks on hardwood to be similarly scary. You know, stairs in general are just scary/slippery! I am talented enough to usually fall UP the stairs though, rather than down. Ha!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Erin says
We removed carpet from our living room, dining room, hall way, and 3 bedrooms in one day last weekend! What a chore! We still have to decide on what to do with carpet in the basement. I am for certain I am removing it from the stairs and replacing it with just a runner, where did you get yours? I’m having trouble finding anything I like for a not over the top price!
Also, just in case you were thinking we were done with carpet removal.. we have to remove it in the kitchen an on the front porch as well :)
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post with more info on that for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/stairs-a-novelty-to-ranch-owners-everywhere/
xo
s
Rosie says
Carpet in the kitchen? Now that’s a lot of carpet!
Hilary @ My So-Called Home says
Sigh…I am just loving this house more and more. With every post that goes up I just think “yes!” and “love!” multiple times as I’m reading through. I’m loving your more traditional take on things while still infusing that awesome J+S we all love :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Hilary!
xo
s
Christie says
I feel your pain! Our entire main floor of our house was covered in plush pink carpet when we bought it. Removing all those staples was so tedious but totally worth it! The hardwood floors underneath were in excellent shape. Everyone once in a while though, we still find a random staple. Sooooo many staples…
lizaanne says
It’s looking fantastic!! You got really lucky with the condition of the stairs under the carpet – it could have been ugly.
Just a word of advice (because, you know, you guys don’t ever get any here – LOL!) – try not to wear socks on wood stairs. They can be extremely slippery and dangerous. Barefeet are usually the best – but slippers with gripper bottoms are good too. After slipping down a flight of stairs myself this way, I speak from (painful) experience.
:-) Looking forward to seeing the runner!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Lizaanne! We established that rule with the runner over the last five months (socks = more slipping in general I think) so it’s still in place with the steps all bare!
xo
s
Kellie says
I second this. I live in St. Louis in a big, tall, skinny brick house so we literally have 6 flights of steps going from the basement to the 3rd floor. I actually got some slippers from Sperry (I love boat shoes and they have SLIPPERS!) to pad around in in the house. I have fallen numerous times in socks and more importantly in a hurry to get the doorbell or something. I found that I liked having something on my feet and they are good enough to run around outside a little if needed. They are comfy with great grip, sometimes I will squeak around and sound like I’m playing basketball!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Kellie!
xo
s
laura says
Oh man! removing old carpet is so worth it! We are currently dealing with a “strange basement smell” and I am positive it’s the old carpet. We actually just refinished our stairs and painted up our entryway! what! what! Cheers to fresh beginnings!!
http://oomphlove.blogspot.ca
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Good luck with that basement smell Laura!
xo
s
Kaitie says
The freaky blur is making the picture of John painting look like he’s sporting some mad unibrow. Also, hooray for carpetless stairs! :B
YoungHouseLove says
He’s so fast his facial hair can’t keep up!
xo
s
Jen T says
It seems like you are pretty much done ripping out staples, but for anyone else – I highly recommend using vice grip pliers. We keep finding random staples and nails in our floors from the days when they were carpeted, and the vice grips make short work of them every time! They seem to provide more leverage and a better grip than needle nose pliers.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Jen!
xo
s
Shaye says
We’re you able to get all the staples with just one pair of pliers? When we did our hall, we went through four pairs because the grippy lines on the tips kept wearing away. I had nightmares about carpet pad staples for weeks. I’m happy that you’re finished. I still have my living and dining rooms to tackle.
YoungHouseLove says
No way! That sounds especially nightmarish! Ours worked the whole way through, although they’re pretty worse for wear now… and should probably be replaced!
xo
s
BrookeJ says
John,so glad you posted the link to the “paint brush taped to a pole”–I’ve been needing to paint my stairwell and have been wondering how I’ll edge at the ceiling–now I know! Genius!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Brooke!
xo
s
Mandi says
Oh man. My dad does hardwood staircases/floors as a living, and he used to hire me in the summers as a teenager to help him. Staples and tack strips are the bane of my existence.
I think growing up with that job makes me really sad that you’re covering them up again. I know it’ll look great, but I just love the bare wood so much.
Side note: I always find that I trip MORE on carpeted stairs than those that aren’t. Maybe it’s just what I’m used to, or maybe I’m a total klutz. haha!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I worried that would be the case too, but after 5 months here with plush and super soft carpeting (the runner we’re adding is a lot nubbier) none of us have fallen (KNOCK ON WOOD!) – so I think we’re just more comfortable with a runner while the kid(s) are little (that way if they do fall, it cushions the blow a little).
xo
s
Kelsey says
My sister and her hubby have an old home (1883 built) and it’s all hardwood floors (except one small office). My niece (20 months) doesn’t have any issues climbing up and down the stairs. We used to have to be careful and hold her hand and now she’ll disappear from the family room and we’ll hear her giggling and jabbering her way up the stairs (usually the dog is close behind). I only ever would get worried when I would be carrying the babies down the stairs with socked feet. I guess if you learn to walk on hardwood, stairs are no problem!
YoungHouseLove says
We decided to just see how the carpeted stairs went and after 5 months with them (and no falls) we just feel more comfortable with them. But John and I both grew up in houses with stairs and were ok (his were carpeted and mine weren’t) so I definitely think you’re right that hardwood can work without a runner too!
xo
s
Cindy B says
Pulling staples has been horrible for us too, until we started using a Channel Lock Cutting Pliers/Nippers to pull the staples. I used to gouge out the floor trying to get the flat screwdriver under the staple to pull out. It was bad! Then my husband gave me the nippers to use, and I just grabbed the staple and rocked it back and forth until it was loose and came out. It took a lot less energy to remove staples that way. You should invest for your next house that has tons of carpet!
YoungHouseLove says
Love the tip! We have those around, just didn’t think to use them. Our staples kept breaking when we rocked/pulled (one side would come out, the other side would break off, and then we’d have to pull that one out). So frustrating!
xo
s
emily says
love it! I know the babies make you want to put down another runner, but do you think you’ll go bare wood when they’re older?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a definite possibility! I think we’ll have to see how we like it and where we end up. Runners are really fun too, so we might always love one for the color/pattern it can add, but I also love gloriously unadulterated hardwood stairs. Haha!
xo
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Bonnie @ The Pin Junkie says
The hard work was worth it! Those stairs look so much better without carpet!
Lauren K says
Oh man, I feel your pain too. We just did the same thing – removed all the carpet from our second floor and stairs. The stairs were the worst! Hours of pulling staples. Totally worth it in the end. We just had new carpet put in upstairs and it is so much better. Still waiting on our runner too…
Paula w says
Looking marvelous already. My carpet staple problem has been carpet that was tacked to cement or linoleum tiles on the basement floor. Pulling up the tack strips has included little chunks of cement ( and the tiles are the right vintage that they could contain asbestos, ugh). Only one room is now left needing carpet up. The floors will remain bare (old paint) cement, it is a studio floor, but at least the dirty carpet will be gone. Oh and carpet on the stairs to the basement, with ( I believe) particle board stairs under. THAT has to go eventually, but not sure a runner and paint will do it, too much wear from several dogs. We’ll see. Meanwhile I will watch your progress, might prompt more of mine!
Courtney says
We ripped out the runner at our new house and removing the staples on the steps was 100X worse than removing staples in an entire room (we did that in the last house). You mentioned painting the stairwell and balancing on a ladder. We too need to paint our stairwell, but the ceilings are SO tall that I’m not I could even get it with two poles taped together. Where did you put your ladder that helped? I’ve never hired professionals to paint my house, but I’m almost ready to suck it up just for the stairwell. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We have one of those awesome telescoping ladders from Home Depot. We got it years ago and it’s made to work on steps (one side can be shorter while the other side is longer). I don’t know the brand, but just check out what they have at Home Depot and get one that’s tall enough for your space. Good luck Courtney!
xo
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Isabel says
Oh, yes the word that rhymes with marpet maple… Our first house had carpeting throughout except for the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms and when we took it out the stairs were the worst. The stairs and I got to know each other really well. Our current house has no carpeting except for the stair runner, which we eventually would like to replace but I’m not looking forward to making this stairwell’s acquaintance just yet!
The Burger shots crack me up, they remind me of our dogs, especially the male who ALWAYS needs to be sticking his nose on what we’re doing. Last time we painted, our female leaned against the freshly painted wall and spent weeks sporting blue fur.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! That’s really cute though. I mean you probably didn’t think so, but it sounds adorable.
xo
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Isabel says
At first I was mad but at my husband cause I thought he had done it; he does it to the male dog all the time, cuz you know, he’s his helper, but the female tends to stay out of the way. Once I knew it was her “fault” I thought it was pretty funny, especially since it was my husband’s side of the wall she had leaned against ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! I love it.
xo
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Lindsay says
May I ask how you maneuvered the ladder on the stairs to paint those upper walls? I need to repaint our stairway walls as well, and I thought I’d have to get scaffolding in order to reach up there. Do you have a fancy ladder that can angle itself on stairs? (Or maybe that’s a normal ladder feature and we just have the world’s most bo-bo ladder.) Do tell!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we have one of those telescoping ladders that allows you to make one side of it longer and the other side shorter so it can work on stairs. We just got it at Home Depot a few years ago. It also folds up nice and small to be stored.
xo
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Christa says
Our first house had wood stairs and I super glued some stair treads to each stair. Not the best idea since my husband never liked them but we couldn’t remove them since they were stuck and would damage the wood underneath if we ripped them up. We didn’t have the money for a carpet runner to go up, plus our stairs turned half way up so we didn’t know what to do with that angle. Can’t wait to see the finished look. I think the white risers would look better too, more modern and more your style.