That title just about sums up this entire post. And this one nearly made me hang up my DIY Diva toolbelt.
Not really, but this just might be my most challenging DIY project yet.
If I had any sense at all, I would never have torn the carpet off the steps, but I don’t and I did, so here we are now with something pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. Carpet across blogland may be flying off stairs after this one. 🙂
Let me remind you what the stairs looked like BEFORE, matted ugly carpet that was wrapped around those ends of the stairs on the left, like a furry little animal. Not my favorite look. It was impossible to refluff the middle of the stairs in the traffic pattern no matter how much I vacuumed.
And you’ll remember these beautiful stairs, which head to our upstairs rooms, which we had finished in hardwood when we moved in here 4 years. ago. The quote to do the downstairs set of stairs was an additional $1000, so that didn’t happen at the time. So, my goal was NOT to match this set of stairs, but to do something that would complement them.
I proceeded to rip the nasty old carpet off that downstairs set of steps……
And this is what I ended up with. Sad, isn’t it?! If I had any illusions that my stairs underneath were in somewhat decent shape, that was quickly put to rest as soon as I finished tearing off the final piece of dead carpet. I had myself a really BIG project ahead of me.
Can you believe the ugly here?
Not one to be put off by a challenge, I quickly embraced my inner-DIY Diva and set forth on this journey. I knew my carpentry skills were sorely lacking, but that didn’t stop me either. This pic was even after most of the hideous and evil tack strips were pulled off. That wasn’t fun either. But, this was what I was left with. Notice the gaping seams on the ends and underneath each step. There was nothing even resembling a finished set of stairs underneath that carpet. The best thing they had going for them was a nice thick stair tread.
I’ll save the complete HOW-TO for another post, along with all the rest of the horrible pics of just how bad the BEFORE state these stairs were in, but for now, let me just show you what I’m completely proud of at this moment.
You will NOT believe this until you see it! I promise you….
I know, your jaw is hanging to the ground about now, huh?? I can hardly believe I did this either, but I really did. With my own little nubby nailed hands.
I sanded, I puttied, I cut molding with my miter box (a whole bunch of molding), I caulked and I painted and painted. And I bought a cute little jute khaki and cream runner from Overstock (which looks totally different in the pic, but I do love it) to use down the middle. And I could NOT be happier with the outcome. It was totally worth the effort, the scratching my head and the nubby nails.
And let me just say, as with all of my projects, this one is neither perfect nor would an expert carpenter pronounce it anything but wrong, but I made it all work for me and I’m pretty much over the moon about how this looks right now. And it did take a lot of work, but again, totally worth it.
When I show you some of the close-ups, you’ll see nails painted over, raw wood painted over and lots of dings and staple holes. I think that all gives them plenty of character and isn’t that what we’re after these days. 🙂 Well, these babies have plenty of character, to say the least.
This is actually the right side of the jute runner I ordered, but when I got it in, I totally liked the smooth side better, so that’s the side I used.
A staple gun was what I used to adhere the runner to the stairs. Lots of 1/2″ staples. And I used black porch and floor paint for the stairs, so they should hold up just fine with 3 coats.
The staples do show a little bit but feeling particularly OCD, I got out my craft paints and just touched them up a little bit, but for the most part, they don’t show too bad. That I can live with.
Since I used the wrong side of the runner, there’s a raw seam on this side, but that didn’t bother me too much either. I just let it show at the top of the stairs.
You can see here all the molding I had to add to the stairs to trim it out and hide ALL the gaping seams that were in these stairs. I’ll do a complete tutorial for you soon so you can see the blood, sweat, but no tears that went into this project. If I can do this, so can you! I was not fortunate enough to have nice and finished stairs on this project (like Sarah did on hers, lucky girl!!). These stairs were just about as bad as it could get. Wait til you see the other BEFORE close-up pics I took, then you’ll appreciate even more how great they look now.
Here’s a glimpse of how I finished out the end of the stairs with molding. This part was the biggest challenge of all, but I figured it out and cut all these pieces with my trusty miter box. Molding and caulk hide the ugliest of sins.
I’m completely, totally and deliriously happy with my new stairs!!
You can see the entire How-To on this post!
And for a fun painted steps twist, check out Donna at Funky Junk’s staircase painting. It’s very cool and they don’t call her funky for nothin’!
Added to Shanty2Chic’s Made it Without My Hubby Party!
Lisa says
I am SO impressed! It looks amazing! I can’t wait to see the step-by-step so I can get ideas for my stairs!
Cynthia says
Rhoda,
You did a fantastic job. I have a set of stairs that I need to tackle. You are giving me some inspiration.
Cynthia
Mandy says
WOW!!!!!
I want to rip the UGLY carpet off our back stairs…but it’s about twice as big of a job…I think I’ll have to wait till the kids go to camp this summer to tackle that one!
Great job!
You are awesome!
Carmen says
Wow! That was definitely a job! I tore the carpet off my stairs last year and they are still sitting there waiting to be sanded and refinished or painted. At least mine were finished at some point so they are completely raw like yours were. I am in awe of this project. Go you! The stairs look great!
Sara @ Russet Street Reno says
Amazing! I really wouldn’t think you could pull that off after seeing those nail-filled steps. Bravo!!
Pat says
Oh my goodness, you did a wonderful job!! I hope that you have a power miter saw. I purchased one at Big Lots several years ago for about $100 and it was money well spent. You are a very skilled woman!
Angie says
Fantastic job! I will be doing mine soon. I have been putting it off for so long! I am totally motivated now!
joni webb says
OMG OMG OMG OMG
my jaw DID drop!! these are the cutest stairs EVER!!!! EVER!!!!
I am in shock and awe! unreal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sami G. says
You go girl! Great job.
Sami G.
Tami says
Wow…..they are gorgeous…love the colors you used!
Sylvia says
Simply stunning.
Jess @ Frugal with a Flourish says
Beautiful! I love the way they turned out and all your little detail is wonderful! I am quite certain it was a pain – but boy was it worth it! 🙂
Carey says
What a great job!!! You go girl……I wish I had some stairs too:)
I am so impressed with all the DIY you take on, very impressive. Keep up the great work!!
Jennifer says
I can’t wait to see all the how-to photos – I currently am in the process – and it’s going to be a long process – of painting my stairs also. We had two – yes, two – layers of ugly carpet nailed – yes, nailed – to the stairs. It’s going to be hours and hours of pulling out nails and filling holes and sanding, etc. I’m so glad to see a finished product in your pictures!
Pinky says
OHHHH!!!! This makes me want to do our stairs to the basement NOW!!!!!!!!!! They are the same way….all worn down in the middle and no way to make them FLUFF UP!!!! I woud do ours exactly the same….LOVE the black and the runner!!!! Fortunatly my hubby is VERY skilled at mitering and molding so here’s hoping we will pull this off too!!!!!!!! XO, Pinky
Tracy says
Wow! You did a fantastic job Rhoda! They look fabulous! It certainly looks like your hard work and nubby nails paid off! I like the colors you selected.
~ Tracy
Julia @ Hooked on Houses says
Holy cow, Rhoda! If I pulled the carpet off and saw that mess underneath, I would’ve covered it right back up again. I’m amazed by this transformation. Beautiful! Wish I could hire you to come and do mine now. 🙂
Heather says
wow, your stairs look fabulous! maybe you can find a pretty piece of trim to cover the raw seam.
Richella at Imparting Grace says
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. You had your thinking cap on, didn’t you? What a great creation! Congratulations!