It was 3 years ago right after we moved in this house, that I decided to tackle this project that I originally posted about here. In fact, click on that post from last year for all the details on how I did mine. If you have those light oak railings and banister on your staircase, you might want to do this too. It was a really easy project!
These top 2 pics are the Befores and you can see the dramatic difference that stain makes below. The beauty of Polyshades is that it’s stain and poly all in one. I did NOT sand, prime or do any prep to my railings, I simply brushed on the Polyshades to darken and deepen the color of the stain and I’ve been really happy with the outcome.
My foyer table has come a long way too. See how light the oak railing is in the above pic?
This is After: Polyshades Bombay Mahogany applied.
I was looking for contrast with the floors, so I’m fine with the 2 different tones of wood.
This color blends very well with my older vintage pieces of furniture in the living room too.
And I love the darker, richer depth of the stain now. I’m so glad I did this one! So, I’m digging this project up again, because I met a new blogger recently who was inspired by my post last year to do the same thing at her house.
(Kate’s foyer, BEFORE)
Kate at Centsational Girl, mentioned that my project had inspired her to do something with her plain oak railings in her house too, so she has just finished this project and I thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce Kate to those of you who have not yet met her. Kate lives in CA, has fantastic taste and a wonderful DIY blog that you will totally enjoy. So, click over to her railing project too. You will love her entire blog and be hooked like I am!
And, AFTER
Check out what Kate has been up to with wallpaper and moldings too. What a change! I just love it all. Notice how she painted the bottom of the staircase molding white too. Click over to Kate’s blog for all the details. She will tell you all about how she did it and the color stain she used. Now, I want to go back and make mine even darker!
Hope ya’ll will also be inspired if you have those light oak railings. This is a great way to get an instant update for just a little elbow grease.
You are a mind reader. Every time I think "gosh, I'd like to paint my banister or beadboard my island" up pops a post from you–I love love love it!
That was a great difference on your railings, Rhoda! What a great job this gal did from inspiration from you! I'm going to go and visit her!
Have a beautiful day!
be a sweetie,
Shelia 😉
Praise the Lord I found you again Rhoda!! I've been trying to talk the hubby into changing our stairs foreverrrrrr and well he's not biting. This will be the trick..I love the look and he will like the easy factor. You inspire me and many others too.
Question for you…We're ripping out the carpet in the den and I want to put in a dark hardwood-walnut color. My other hardwoods are light, more blonde looking in the kitchen and foyer. Is it o-k if they don't match?
Be good,
Bridget
oooh Rhoda, I love it! I have light oak bannister & railings which i can't bear! My hubby won't let me paint them, but I think this just might do the trick. I am going to go to your how-to post right now!
Hi Rhoda–
Your banisters look so much better, and so do Kate's!
In my old house, I took things one step further and had my banisters painted BLACK. I hated the light oak railings. Painted black, though, with the white spindles, I thought they looked wonderful. It did take a bit of work–sanding, oil-based paint, then a top coat of polyurethane for extra protection. That's why I had it done by professional painters. But a talented DIYer could do the same thing; it would just take some patience.
Have a great day!
What a great transformation…love the darker stain! Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your blog!
LOVE it….my hubby is not going to like you ladies for much longer. First, getting me hooked on thrifting now staining! 🙂
Wow Rhoda! I hadn't seen your bannister transformation before… what a difference! I love it that you're willing to tackle something like that. And that you inspired Kate to do something so beautiful too… you must be so proud. One day soon, I'll show you what you've inspired ME to do!
Wow!! And no priming, huh? Rhoda, chikcadee, you need to write a book at some point!!! I am going to road trip to Katie's blog after a shower (just ran and then put a coat of polyurthane on a cute table that I'll post about later this week!!).
Hugs!
Susan
Whoa! That is awesome the contract. The house area is gorgeous too. Wouldn't have thought of this … TTFN ~Marydon
Wow! I just got through sanding, priming & painting my bannister because I thought I would have to endure months of sanding to simply darken it. ARG! If I would have only known….Thanks for the pics! I still have 2 bathrooms worth of oak cabinets to do…I am going to follow your directions! Thanks a million! It looks gorgeous!
This is a great idea! I'm going to put it on my list of projects to do at home. I follow Kate's blog and love it, too. Thanks for sharing this. You are both very talented.
Jane
WOW! What great transformations! I am totally inspired. Our banister is the exact color that yours was before you spiffed it up. Right when you walk in the front door it’s the first thing you see in our home. We’ve talked about darkening it for long time but we’ve taken on other projects and put that on the back burner. Now that I see what a difference it makes and by what you say it seems fairly easy I just may take this project on this weekend. Where did you purchase your product? I love the color you selected as well. No sanding right? Was it hard keeping the product off the white railings?
Thanks for much for sharing! Looks like I need to look through your old post to see what I missed.
Hi Rhoda! Your new stairs look great. I wold love to do this in my home, and paint the spindles white. Love it!
Oh my, how did I miss this post first time around?? What a change it made to your entryway and to Kate's! I hope this great product is available in Canada. Luv the fact there is no sanding, priming or prep work involved beforehand.
Would it be a good product to use on teak furniture? I've been thinking of giving our bedroom set an update "in true Rhoda style" with maybe a darker color stain, new hardware, etc. TFS! Sheila
Both stair cases are gorgeous! Love it!
Hi Rhoda! The banister looks great. I have a question for you.
I purchased a baby crib and dresser from a yard sale this weekend and they are in IMPECCABLE shape. However, they are the blondish oak and I'm not too fond of the color. I had plans to stain/refinish them but I didn't know where to start!
Would this method be good for them you think? Do you think I would need to sand?
It seems to good to be true!
The mahogany color looks great! Think I could do my oak kitchen cabinets? How does it wear?
rosie
Wonderful idea! I can think of a couple of projects for the polyshades. Love Kates banisters. I'll go visit with her next. ☺ Diane
I JUST bought that exact same color of Polyshades for my "turning-an-old-door-into-a-headboard" project, beautiful! I am so excited to try it, it looks gorgeous in your photos! And I checked out Kate's post and her banister is gorgeous too! Now I can't decide if I want to try to go darker… 😉 Thanks for posting this!!