At least that’s how I feel about them. I know some people hate stairs, but after seeing about a million gorgeous staircases on Pinterest and a whole bunch of awesome DIY stair upgrades, I was all “I waaaant stairs.” A la that girl in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory who sings about wanting a bean feast (?!). And then, as luck would have it, after seven years of owning one-level houses we fell in love with a house that has stairs. Half of me feared I’d live to regret the change, and half of me couldn’t wait to go on a blind spree, pinning ten million staircases per minute. I was like Ariel singing about being “part of that world” but instead of daydreaming about strolling around on that – what’s the word again? street! – I was daydreaming about stairs and runners with a shell bra on.
Well, after three and a half months of living in a house with stairs, I’m certain about two things:
- We actually like stairs! It’s nice to have some division between the living areas of the house and the private/sleeping/getting ready areas that are tucked away on the second floor. We’ll always have a soft spot for a cool mid-century ranch, but now when we have people over we don’t have to clean every last room – we just tend to the first floor and it’s all good if there’s a pair of underwear or seven million toe-murdering legos on the floor upstairs.
- We have woefully ignored our stairs this entire time – even after being intensely excited to make them over. Yup, between the blue baseboards and balusters to the old carpet, it’s looking pretty bleak.
Why is that stair runner still there? Well, we were going to pull it out before moving day, but John mentioned that it might be nice to keep it there to protect the wood stairs from any moving-day beatings they might have been subjected to as we dragged half of our worldly possessions up there. We also thought Burger and Clara might benefit from us keeping the stairs covered with some sort of a runner, so we didn’t want to rip it up until we had something new to put down. So we gave it a thorough cleaning, moved in, and figured we’d get to it within a few weeks.
A few weeks turned into a few months (oops) but I’m finally ready to pull the trigger on a new runner thanks to seeing a few pictures of black and white stair runners on (where else?) Pinterest.
- Let’s see, there’s this one (this runner was my favorite, but there’s no ebony rail with white balusters here, which I’d like to add)
- Then there’s this one (the rug pattern isn’t my favorite, but we’re aiming for a dark ebony railing with white balusters like this)
- There’s also this one (the rug’s a little boldly striped for me, but of course I love the dark rails with the white balusters)
- And this one (once again I fell for the high contrast striped runner, paired with a dark railing and white balusters)
*Spontaneous drinking game (the secret word is balusters).
Anyway, I showed John those links (he’s a visual creature, so it’s nearly impossible to get him on board with anything using words alone) and it was enough to spur both of us into “let’s really do this” action. So I did some googling in the hopes of finding a runner that was well rated to stand up to lots of wear and tear (no sense putting in something that’ll look terrible in six months) and also in the hopes of finding something that we liked when it came to the look of it (without spending 1K on a new stair update). My BFF swears by Dash & Albert (she has two crazy active kids who each have ten of their friends over and beat up on all of her rugs, but they still look great years later thanks to being well made) so it was nice to have that lead to pursue. And after clicking around over there, I found it. Almost the exact same (if not THE exact same) rug from my initial inspiration pic – the one I liked best of all:
It was nice to see it used on a staircase in the photo, since that suggested to me that they thought it would be good for that application (guess I’m a visual creature too) and even though the stairs were all white with a modern black & white railing, I had this original inspiration photo to remind me what it could look like on wood stairs, and this one to remind me what adding a dark railing and some white balusters might do to the whole shebang.
When I showed John what I had found, he was sold (I even earned a highly coveted hubby-high-five) but before entering our credit card number I searched for other Dash & Albert vendors, just in the off chance that someone was running a sale. Bingo.
A site called rugstudio.com came up, and I was psyched to score a discounted runner price (we’d need two 2’5′ x 12′ runners, so we saved $32 through this sale) along with free shipping. On top of that they were also offering 20% off every order with the code CLEARANCE20, so it sort of felt like stacking three coupons. In the end it was under $199 (instead of $280!) for two extra long runners that we hope will last a crazy long time once we tear up the old carpeting and install them ourselves. They’re back-ordered for another week or so, but we hope they’ll show up soon so I can work on my rug-pulling muscles and send the old runner packing in lieu of our swanky new striped one.
So while we waited I thought it was time to start painting all of that blue baseboard and those blue balusters on the bottom half of the staircase.
Oh but we can’t forget about the two up here in the hallway now, can we?
First I broke out some primer and did two coats (I know the drill with this blue trim by now, it takes four coats – two of primer and two of paint).
This is it after two coats of primer and one of white paint. We chose BM Simply White paint (in semi-gloss) to match the rest of our trim, but here are some other designers’ favorite white paints you could choose instead. See those blue lines peeking through? Infuriating, I tell you.
No sirree, third time’s just not the charm in this case.
But something magical happens after coat #4 and everything dries and it’s white! Glorious not-blue-peeking-through white! So even though it took about five hours over two days to have at it with a short handled brush (that’s my secret to not having to tape off – it gives me a lot more control) it was WORTH IT.
There might have even been a mic drop in the middle of the foyer. And by mic drop I mean paintbrush drop. After it was clean and dry. Because $herdog’s no fool.
Boom. We’re one step closer to the whole striped runner + white balusters + dark railing equation than we were back when these stairs were blue city.
In fact I had a little fun with Photoshop on the railing. Are you picking up what I’m putting down?
Oh man, I still can’t believe we have stairs.
Denise says
Was Clara completely comfortable with the stairs from day one? I remember well the stairs and gates days! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=646604268697057&set=a.153148921375930.26867.139472446076911&type=1&theater
YoungHouseLove says
I was really worried about it, and we thought about getting a gate right away, but we moved in and she was great! We have a “no socks in the house” rule just because they can make the stairs slippery (carpet + socks = stairway slip & slide) but it has been really functional for us so far.
xo
s
Paula says
I don’t think I could survive your house – I wear socks literally all the time. 85 degrees inside? Socks on anyway, even to bed.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Lil says
It has got to feel so good to have that done! One of those jobs that you know is going to suck, but is making you crazy. It’s looking good. Can’t wait to see it with the runner and the dark railing.
Tracey B says
It looks great so far guys – huge difference getting rid of the lue.
My kids LOVE stairs and always found it a novelty when we visited family and friends in two storey homes. I on the other hand, am not a fan thanks to a dodgy (Aussie slang for not good) hip and knee thanks to a car accident. Well next week we move into a house with stairs and the kids are madly excited – thankfully it’s only their games/rumpus room upstairs so I will not have to lug laundry and cleaning supplies up and down. They have promised to clean and vacuum their “zone” – so it may just be a mom free space (maybe a weekly inspection for my peace of mind as they are boys aged 12 & 14, so things could get rather scary if I don’t heck in every now and then).
sarajane says
You were right to leave the old carpet in place until the last minute. We ripped up our stair carpet shortly after moving in (thanks to the DOG incident), then stripped and stained them. We just got a runner installed on them this summer(ahem, 15 years later) and I can’t believe we didn’t do this sooner! No more slippy-slidy on the wood stairs – and it’s soo much quieter. Though we did get to gaze at all of our stripping and staining handiwork for a good long time. Can’t wait to see how to install the D&A runners – which was my runner runner-up.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds so pretty!
xo
s
Julianne says
Thanks for always including your inspiration pics…i guess I’m a visual person too, so seeing a pic of what you’re striving towards when you describe it is really helpful. Painting those spindles white made a world of difference! So fresh and clean. Liking the bold rug choice, too. Can’t wait to see it all come together. :0)
sarajane says
Oh, yes – sand the snot out of the balustrade (hand rail). You will be sooo happy every time you put your hand on it.
YoungHouseLove says
I love it. Will be sure to get down to the snot.
xo
s
Nicole says
WHYYYY. WHYYYYY did someone think that blue was a good idea?! I’ve thought it since you guys moved but it is especially icky on the balusters. You’ve probably mentioned this in an earlier post, but you guys have any idea what decade that, um, INTERESTING tone was acceptable all over?
Great job seeing the potential through that (afternoon sky?) (school uniform?) (San Diego Chargers jersey?) blue! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I think there are probably design decisions we make everyday that will have folks saying “whyyyyyy???!!!” in a few decades too! But as for the blue, we think it was a trend in older homes (colonials especially) here in Richmond. It was referred to as “Williamsburg Blue” and I think people loved it at one time. I have a theory that this house was thebomb.com back in the day (an intercom system! blue trim! faux brick vinyl flooring!) but trends have definitely changed since then.
xo
s
erin says
a 1000% better. seriously what were the owners thinking that blue. KILLS me every time!
Rachel says
hahah I love this post – you seriously crack me up. “Sherdog’s no fool” hahaha. It is crazy what a difference paint makes – looking good :-)
haley says
Looking good! I’m starting to really like that tile in the foyer.
Ruth says
I can’t wait to see the completed project. Everything you say makes sense, but my brain can’t put it together.
My favorite part of this post was the picture of ShAriel. Inspired! :)
Cate says
I see what you mean about the newel post. The part of the newel that pokes up is a finial. If you painted the newel post white, you’d do the block and finial the same color as the rail. I don’t know how it would look, but it might be fun to test in photoshop.
p.s. I’ll see your baluster and raise you one newel!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha! Tipping my hat at your raised newel. Sounds like a job for photoshop for sure!
xo
s
Carly says
I’m gonna lock it all up in my pocket, IT’S MY BAR OF CHOCOLATE.
…Andddd end scene.
Looks great. I can tell between y’all and Clara (and Burger?) that runner is gonna get a lot of petting. :cue Careless Whisper by George Michael:
Maybe I should drink less coffee.
YoungHouseLove says
GIVE IT TO MEEEEE. NOOOOOOOOW!
xo
s
Laurie says
Our first house, which we lived in for 10 years, had stairs. When we were ready to buy bigger digs my main qualifier was no stairs. Of course, our first house was not as big as your current house, but I hated entertaining in a two story because my house felt cut in half and it always seemed crowded. However, I didn’t have wood stairs with an awesome railing. I might have felt differently if I had. I, too, love mixing wood tones so I am with you on the dark railing and white balustrades and I love the runner. I can’t wait to see the finished product, should be lovely. Question….has your tile for the floor in your sunroom arrived yet? What is your ETA on that project?
YoungHouseLove says
That has arrived but we have only carted about half of it home so far. We want to finish all of our painting and install the fans and then move onto the floor, so we have some trim to add, paint on the walls and doors/windows in there, and then fan-hanging followed by floors! Wahoo!
xo
s
Penny says
That looks great so far! I’ve lived in a two story house for 21 years and am extremely safety conscious, as I know you both are. I have wondered this since you moved into your two story house, have you worked out a fire escape plan? It’s recommended that you have smoke alarms in each of the bedrooms, the hallways and the main living areas. (I have wireless smoke alarms so that I can hear if there is a fire in any room plus hear upstairs if there is a fire downstairs.)I also have escape ladders in the bedrooms so I would be able to get out the window. Because my grandchildren are so young and would be unable to use a ladder by themslves, I also have a ladder hidden outside with a hammer to be able to get INTO their rooms from the outside.
I hope you don’t mind me going on like this but I just think it’s so important.
We had a local family of four trapped in their home by fire two years ago. They were extremely fortunate and didn’t die but they were burned plus they were deprived of oxygen which caused all kinds of damage to their muscles and they are still receiving surgeries to this day to try to release their muscles so they can walk, etc.
Again, forgive me for going on, but I just think it’s so important and I want to spread the word. (Also there are a variety of different escape ladders so if you would like a link to the one I bought, just let me know.)
YoungHouseLove says
Such an important message, thanks for the important reminder Penny! Growing up we had fire drills at home and ladders in all of our rooms. I like the idea of having a ladder outside to get Clara since she can’t get down herself. We have all of our smoke alarms in place (some are even wired directly to the fire department through our house alarm and some are wireless in case we lose power).
xo
s
Nancy says
Sherry, I’m surprised your hard-wired smoke alarms don’t have battery back ups.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I think you’re right! They do! The alarm co just said to keep the existing ones as well as having them add wired ones that alerted the fire dept, so we have both!
xo
s
Penny says
Oh good, I’m so glad! You guys must angle your camera carefully because I don’t ever remember seeing a smoke alarm in your pictures;-) I know I sound paranoid but I just like to think through all the possibilities. Since my grandkids are so little I am picking up some kid’s life jackets from Good Will, tying one end of a rope to them, and the other end to something heavy such as the bed, then shoving them under the bed. The reason being that even if I’m in the room with them, trying to get them down a shaky ladder in the midst of chaos would be pretty impossible. I could put them in the life jacket, drop them down with the rope and then go down the ladder myself to get them.
I also bought a smoke hood off Amazon for $150 (gulp!) as this would give me the ability to get from my room to theirs. I did this after I accidentally left a plastic jar opener on a burner and the house filled with fumes that were choking us even though I had pulled the plastic off within 10 seconds and it was no longer burning. It was an eye opening experience. I’ve always known that it’s the smoke that usually kills you, but this really brought it home as I hadn’t thought about all the stuff that releases toxic fumes when burning.
Okay, message done!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, they’re there in some shots (upstairs hallway, corners of bedrooms, corner of kitchen, etc) but not easily seen from every angle. Eeks, that’s scary about the plastic jar opener burning and filling the house with fumes!
xo
s
Cara says
My heart sings a little every time more of that blue trim goes away.
Kaitie says
Ahh, the white balusters look awesome! You must be so excited to get rid of that manky carpet. Can’t wait to see the darker rail and the new runner.
Also, I just earned my “Made It Through The Entire YHL Archive” badge. Hoo-ee.
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Cue the confetti! Also, I love you for the use of “manky carpet.” Made me laugh out loud.
xo
s
Dana @ House*Tweaking says
Eeeeeeeeek! The stairs are looking good already but they are going to be FAAAAB-U-LOUUUUUUUS after you finish having your way with them. Awesome.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Dana!
xo
s
Jennifer R. says
I was nervous when we bought out house. It is two story with all the bedrooms upstairs and all entertaining/living spaces down. Everyone told me I would get tired of the stairs. One year later, I still adore them. I adore the separation of spaces, a little extra exercise, and that great big closet nestled under the stairs that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Oh, and all the extra yard space from having living space going vertically. Plus, there is something just sweet yet stately about a staircase. Yes, I love my stairs.
Kiran says
We have mid tone stairs with white balusters and dark (kona) railing. It looks fabulous! I love the contrast of wood tones and paint. It gives the space balance.
Sherry as Ariel = hilarious!
Nancy says
I love a ranch and I love a 2 story. We started with the ranch, currently have stairs (no joke, they are good exercise without trying) and will probably end up with a ranch for my old arthritic bones. We changed our railing to ebony stain (not easy and it is wearing in places since we started with oak, not naturally dark wood) so might have just gone with black paint in retrospect.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s good to know Nancy! Never thought about that!
xo
s
Julie. says
What is it about that color blue??? We had some window trim in that color when we moved into our house and it took me four coat to cover it too!
Corinne says
Amazing what a few coats of paint and primer can do! I would personally leave the railing the color it is now, but it’s your house and your preference :) I’m sure I’ll still love you guys no matter what!
Any tips or ideas on what to do with open stairs? I hate hate HATE the carpet on my stairs (and on the second floor), but I can’t find pictures of open stairs in a normal people house.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I think I’d try googling “open stairs” (maybe search that on Pinterest too?) and see what comes up? Wish I had a link to share but I can’t think of anything specific either! I bet someone has done something awesome though!
xo
s
Corinne says
The searches I’ve done so far haven’t been very successful. A couple random good ones but no details sadly! Keeping my fingers crossed that someone else reading your blog has a normal, 2-story colonial with open stairs!
YoungHouseLove says
Someone help Corinne out and send a link her way!
xo
s
Jen says
I’m not sure exactly what you mean but we have a colonial that has an open staircase on the second floor. I guess I’d have to see a picture of what you’re talking about!
Elaine says
That looks amazing! It makes such a difference. I’ve lived in only one house with carpeted stairs. I fell down those stairs repeatedly (or rather slid) because I would get going too fast and would end up sliding down on my butt. I think no matter what’s on the stairs, you just have to watch your feet!
YoungHouseLove says
So true!
xo
s
Jennifer says
I love that runner! I’ve been eyeing Dash & Albert’s runners for my stairs, too. We did a DIY project on ours-ripped out the carpet, covered up the existing with wood, then painted them black and white. I’ve been waiting to get my puppy housebroken before putting in a runner and I “think” we are finally there. I can’t wait to see it installed (and pick up tips)!
YoungHouseLove says
Woot! Congrats on the housebroken milestone!
xo
s
Angela L says
Sherry (or John!):
How high is the ceiling in your foyer? Our stairs is totally enclosed on both sides, and I’m pondering ripping out part of the wall on the entry-way side and putting in balusters to open it up and make the whole area lighter. I just don’t know how high the ceiling needs to be to make it look good.
YoungHouseLove says
Ours is a smidge over standard height. So it’s like 8’3″ or something.
xo
s
keegan says
my parents did that in our entry way and it made a HUGE difference! their ceilings weren’t high but it added so much to the space, especially when you’re coming down the stairs and you’re enclosed on both sides in a tunnel, which can be so claustrophobic. go for it!!
Christine @ Little House On The Corner says
We restored our stairs a few months ago. It took for ever (okay, maybe not for ever, but 250 hours! certainly felt like it) to do. (http://www.littlehouseonthecorner.com/diy-duel-staircase-restoration-its-done/) I’d definitely keep your runner until you have a new one, as if your stairs are anything like ours, they can be quite slippery!
YoungHouseLove says
Woah! 250 hours = no joke. Congrats Christine!
xo
s
Jennifer says
I noticed in all of your inspiration photos that the stairs themselves are painted white on the vertical, with the wood grain left on the horizontal. Are you going to paint the stairs themselves? I think that would add a lovely contrast.
YoungHouseLove says
I’m on the fence about that so I think when the runner comes I’ll lay it down and eye it and maybe even snap a picture and use photoshop to see how that would look! That way I don’t have to paint it and then regret it once I lay the runner down if we don’t end up liking it, but I’m sure it could look really nice!
xo
s
Kelly says
I’m working on the same project, though mine is taking much longer. I have one more coat to do on our balusters today and then some touchups. Our balusters are so weird though-they have these thin parts at the top that make it impossible to just use a brush so I had to painstakingly tape everything off.
I did the railing first-similar outcome. I will have to posts pics in the forums when I’m all done.
I also pulled off our gross blue carpet on the steps (gag me) and I’m trying to figure out what to do with the steps now. I had to pull out a million staples, and while I wanted to do the white paint/dark stain on the steps I think we’re going to opt for a runner too.
YoungHouseLove says
I’d love to see pics when you’re done Kelly!
xo
s
Jen Keane says
I thought this post was so funny, mainly because I’m always quite jealous of the huge, spacious, ranch-style homes you guys have owned and crashed. In Ireland, stairs are basically the norm, as are semi-detached houses (which tend to still be much smaller than the square-footage you guys are working with). Your house is an oddity if it doesn’t have stairs, not the other way around :)
If you move further out of urban areas, you might find some single level houses, but you would likely be much further away from any amenities, and not really in a “neighbourhood” any more.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny!
xo
s
Patti says
I really like the darker handrail! I also think it would look great if the newel post was painted white like the balusters and the handrail dark (like in the third pic of your pinterest pics).
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Patti! Was just talking about that with someone else! Will have to photoshop that to see how it looks!
xo
s
Mary @ Redo 101 says
Oh my, so much better already!!! Can’t wait to see them all finished!
Mary
Shawn says
Hi — The stairs look terrific – great update. Question – where did you get that awesome star pendant? MUST OWN!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! It’s from a local spot called The Decorating Outlet here in Richmond. They sell them at Shades of Light too, but for full price.
xo
s
Kelly says
That is the best photoshop you’ve ever done, Sherry!! You make an amazing Little Mermaid! hahaha
Dizee says
Great, I played your drinking game and now I am drunk at 11 AM!
One balusters
Two balusters
Three balusters
Floor
(PS – Nice paint job ! Can’t wait to see the runner in action!)
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! Gives a whole new meaning to the name Dizee!
xo
s
Dizee says
My husband gave me the nickname Doofy Dizee…. tequila may have been involved. Balusters definately were not.
YoungHouseLove says
Ha!
xo
s
Jenn says
Do you plan to stain the stair treads after you’ve removed the old carpet to match the railing? I noticed it was like that in your inspiration picture, which I think looks amazing!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve seen a few inspiration pics with mid-toned stairs like ours but a dark railing (our current stair color matches the hardwood flooring that it runs into at the top of the stairs), so I think we’ll go that route first and see how we like it.
xo
s
Jennie says
We have an ebony handrail, white balusters, and wood-tone stairs and really love it! I think it’s a good look, but I am biased :)
YoungHouseLove says
Mmm, sounds delicious!
xo
s
Megan says
Sorry if you already answered this… the comments are going up so fast! Curious to know if you’ll cary any sort of runner through the upstairs hallway? Do they typically stop short of the top stair?
YoungHouseLove says
Ours will stop at the top of the last riser, so the top step (well, actually the hallway floor, not really a step) will remain wood.
xo
s
Evelina says
I’m so excited that you guys are working on the stairs! I couldn’t wait for a stairs post when I saw that you bought a two story home. Hurray! They already look beautiful!
Stephanie says
So glad you’ve embraced the term “baluster”! You really are stair people now. ;) Looks like a fabulous transformation is in the works. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Stefanie says
The white spindles and trim looks awesome! I know some people have asked about staining the stairs to match a dark railing but my question is, have you considered keeping the medium wood on the tread and painting the stair risers white? It looks like 3/4 of the inspiration stairs have that going on so I was wondering if you were consciously or subconsciously responding to that!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! I think I like that idea but want to wait to get the runner and hold it up (and take a picture and photoshop it) – just to be sure since it’s hard to go back after you paint wood!
xo
s
erin says
We have that exact runner in blue/beige! It’s so durable. I’m curious to see how you’re going to install it because our staples keep coming out (I’m sure it’s human not rug error). I want to trade in all of my other rugs and buy D&As!
Sally G says
I think it’s going to look beautiful! Love the dark railing. Love the runner. But I will say… every time I see you do another beautiful something to the foyer I think… somehow that floor is looking less and less like it fits. But, as a new homeowner, I totally get working with what you have until the time/ budget is right. I know you’ve mentioned possibly a grout change… maybe that’s the answer. I mean all this in the most respectful, just chiming in an opinion way. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Sally!
xo
s
Anne [A Squared] says
That Ariel photo just made me LOL at my desk– thanks for the morning giggle!
Pam says
HUGE improvement. I applaud the amount of work that went into painting that trim and those railings. And commiserate on the rug pulling-up! Our basement just flooded for the third time in five months, and I spent the morning pulling up wet carpet and pad. I am pretty sure it is my least favorite DIY chore. I’d actually like to see a tutorial on pulling up carpet, because it can’t possibly be as hard as I make it.
Amanda says
That Ariel photo made me almost spit out my coffee! :) funnily enough, I just took a vow not to live in a house with stairs again after falling down mine and breaking my ankle this summer ha!
Kayla says
$herdog, I am smelling what you are stepping in. Love the makeover you have planned.
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahaha! Never heard that. But I love it.
xo
s
Emily says
Earlier this summer I painted my balusters (thanks for educating me on the actual word I’ve been calling them “those spindle-y things”) white and put a dark stain on the railings and I can’t believe what a difference it’s made! Love it! Of course now I just keep seeing all the “oopsies” I also left behind with the white paint so I need to find the energy to go back and fix them. For now, just don’t look too close!
Laurie says
It’s funny what we can get excited about when it is new to us! Stairs, to me, look like an obstacle to getting laundry to and from the laundry room. Which is why I embrassed my Ranch! But I do agree that they can look glamorous so I’m really please you have them to play with!
Also, I can strongly recommend to everyone that you start your big projects right when John and Sherry move into a new house so they do all the tough research FOR you! I was just looking at rugs the other day and wasn’t thrilled with some of the sources. Now I’ll have to check out yours and I like what I’m seeing!
I think you should probably get interested in replacing an outdoor flush-mounted ceiling light though. I really need one of those.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Tania Bulmer says
Can’t wait to see how you guys install. I would like to do this on stairs heading to my basement. I don’t want to leave bare because I am worried about the kids slipping. This looks like a great solution.
Kristen @ LoveK Blog says
The balusters look great! I’m excited to see the railing darker too! I’ve been wanting to tackle that at our house for years but have been too scared to pull the trigger!