Work in Progress Wednesday: Updating Stairs

I always advise clients who are buying a new home to upgrade to hardwood stairs with the builder.  It’s one of those things that are more difficult to do after, even though it may cost a little less. 

Carpet grade stairs which are a builder standard have plywood underneath.  If the stairs are a straight run between walls, tread caps can be added after without too much customization. It’s when the treads are of varying widths or if there are bullnoses, curves and landings, homeowners may run into higher costs. 

This home of my client was built in the 1980’s and still had the original carpet on the stairs (oh, no)!   They could have simply replaced the worn carpet but they are planning on selling in 3-5 years and thought it was money well spent.  Wise choice.

Look how the upstairs railing doesn’t follow the curve of the stairs!  Builders really knew how to cut costs back then. This is just wrong!

A professional stair refinisher can do wonders with your plain jane, carpetted (is that even a word?) stairs.  They will take a template of your stairs and fabricate the new treads and risers offsite.  Installation and painting/staining are done on site.  This is how the stairs look now.

What a difference.  Scroll back up just to see the Before again!

We chose a stain that matched the hardwood in some of the adjoining rooms.  Having two different stain colours can look a bit disjointed especially if there is other flooring (in this case, ceramic tile) present.

A railing company was able to curve the railing at the top of the stairs.  This change really updated the look and feel of the home.  Painting the stringers, risers and spindles white (BM Cloud White) and staining the treads, hand rail and newel post is a classic look. 

The walls, painted BM Manchester Tan, make the once dreary entry feel fresh and airy.  My clients only wish that they had done this sooner!

I’m linking up here.

 Do your stairs or other areas in your home need a facelift?  Please contact me at vanessa@vanessafrancis.com.