If you still haven’t peeked under the carpet on your stairs, this one might give you some extra incentive. Inspired by my stair project, long-time friend and reader, Nicki, ripped off the carpet from her stairs too and redid them with just paint and some hard work.
Here are her carpeted stairs that she was unhappy with.  I know the feeling. 
And after the carpet was pulled up, she has what looks to be pine boards down. Not fancy, but with a little wood putty and caulk, they are going to look great. 
And they look fantastic with their new coat of black paint on the treads and white paint on the risers! She also painted her post and top railing black too, which adds a lot of punch.
So, if you’re still thinking about this one, get on up from the computer and take a peek at YOUR stairs to see what is lurking under there. Nicki’s stairs were in SO MUCH better shape than mine were and you might luck out on that too. For all the details on Nicki’s project, go on over to her blog.
Fantastic job, Nicki!
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Our friends over at One Project Closer are starting their Before and After summer project contest this month, so if you’d like to get in on that, click on over here for all the details. They are choosing the best projects to feature every week on their blog and if your project is chosen, you will win a $50 giftcard to Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon. They will also donate to Habitat for Humanity on your behalf too. At the end of the summer, ALL the projects will be compiled and there will be a final winner picked from a voting poll.
I entered a couple of years ago with our outdoor patio and won a $50 giftcard from Home Depot. Any project that you’ve done this year is eligible, so go over and enter. You might win too. I’ve entered my stair project this year!
Wow…what a transformation!! When we moved into our 1940’s home we found beautiful oak under the carpets in every room!! It had never seen footprints before! We were SO lucky and I am so happy for Nikki. The paint looks awesome! Thanks for sharing Rhoda!
I wanted to mention that each time I comment I have to fill in the box with my name, email and website. It was saved in the past and now I have to type it in each time. Is there a reason for that? Just wanted to remark on it as it takes more time…
xoxo
Jane
Hi there wanted to invite you to my bloggers brunch and couldnt find your contact info on your site. Can you please contact me? Its June 16th at noon.I will send you the details my site is talkingwithtami.com
Hey Rhoda,
What about stairs that are in the entry way (right at the front door) and your floors are all hardwood? do you think the stairs need to match the hardwoods?
Hey, Debra, I think that is what Nicki has in her house. You can see her hardwoods and she painted the railings black also, so no, they don’t have to match. But, I think you could also leave the railings dark wood stained & paint the stair treads black too. I don’t mind the mix on mine. I kept all my railings dark stained and just that set of stairs painted black & it all works together with my hardwoods in the foyer. I’d say go for it!
Thanks so much Rhoda for showing this! I love it and it really was a great project. In fact I’m headed to a friends house today to see if she is going to do this with her stairs. 🙂
Carpet on stairs always starts to wear sooner that the rest of the house so it makes sense to have wood. The stairs look great now & will be so much easier to keep clean! When we finished a family room in the basement, we painted the stairs the same way… I can’t imagine having carpet on those stairs.
Looks awesome! We just recently painted our back staircase, and I am so glad we did…much better than dirty carpet and so much easier to keep clean.
Hi, Rhoda –
I’ve been so inspired by your recent stair re-do and my husband and I have been mulling it over here and there (we need to replace the carpet – do we clad it in hardwood or do we do what Rhoda did and just paint the stairs and risers???). What’s crazy is that we’ve been thinking about this from the standpoint of wanting the flooring to match the eventual downstairs hardwood (whatever that will be), but after reading some of the comments, I’m getting the feeling that having it black and white is no problem!!
LOVE this transformation!! Heading over to her blog to check out her details!!!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Great change.
Lovely, classic styling.
cbean
I just love this transformation!! Very sharp and clean looking. Job well done! Mary
Thanks for giving the redo site. I sent in my rent house fireplace area before and after.
ooooh! I’m inspired! Love the striking simplicity. But, with three full sets of staircases in my house (two covered in horrid carpet) I shudder to even think about starting on them. It’s in my “someday” pile 🙂
That will really brighten up and change the feel of the room. A great improvement!
Wow!! Just love the transformation. I have beautiful Brazilian cherry flooring in my foyer. But the stair railings are oak and ofcourse we have a carpet runner on the stairs. I just want my stairs to be wood with no carpet. What color do you think is best for the railings and the stairs? Do I have to match with my flooring? The black and white in the above picture is absolutely wonderful.
Hi, Gita,
You absolutely don’t have to match your flooring. You could do your railings darker to go with your flooring or you could paint your stairs black and do the railings (not spindles) black too, like Nicki did.