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First, an update on my last project. I was finishing up all the final details in the bathroom/utility room painting and was working on this chest.
Now it’s done!
I like how it came out. It adds some needed color and cuteness in there. The colors were chosen to go with the shower curtain.
I’m sure this room could use a lot more decorative attention, but I’m not in the decorative stage. I’m done with that room for now. The next step: The steps!
Yesterday afternoon, I painted the stairwell.
(There’s a shadow and light thing going on here that makes it look as if a bit on the lower right side in the stairwell isn’t painted. It is. It’s just the way the light is playing there.)
I don’t like to paint stairwells. Stairwells are scary. Lots of reaching-reaching-reaching to paint while standing on a step. Lose your balance and you’re done for! I even had to get a chair and set it at the top of the stairs to reach around with the brush to do the detail work around the light over the door. But, I finished! And I lived!
This stairwell could use a few things, like a real light fixture instead of a bare bulb, and also like a second hand rail. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so those things will have to wait a bit, but for now, my next project is to stain the steps. The steps are raw wood. RAW WOOD. I like rustic, but that might be a bit much. I’m keeping the concrete floors as is, and that’s enough industrial rustic. By the way, I’ve had many questions about the floor. I’m not painting it. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!!!! I’m painting enough. I’m going to use indoor-outdoor area rugs–the kind they make today for “outdoor rooms” that are soft on the feet but can be hosed off. Perfect. (You can see some examples of what I’m talking about here. They will really soften and brighten the spaces without painting.) But the steps– In this picture, the bottom step has been stained. It still looks rustic, but rustic like somebody’s paid some attention to it. The difference isn’t dramatic, but I think it’s worth doing. The elbow grease and stain don’t cost too much.
There are a lot of steps.
I’ll see you in a couple weeks……….
UPDATE: You can see the finished stain project here.
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on July 16, 2011
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Granny Trace
http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com
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LOVE the chest–the colors match the shower curtain perfectly.
The stain shouldn’t take much elbow grease. Brush it on and then let it sit for several minutes before wiping off. If you skip steps, doing every other one, then you can still get up and down the stairs while waiting for the stained ones to dry.
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Karen Anne, I could reach on my tippytoes! The ceiling slants down as the stairs go down.
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Also – we ran a string of tube lights down our basement stairs, just below ceiling level. The bare bulb at the bottom of the steps always messed with my eyesight; this provides continuous light all the way down and I just love it, and eliminates the problem of a fixture hanging down at the bottom of the stairs. Particularly if you need to carry stuff up and down, or have tall people whose head might bump. Just a thought ~
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Those wooden steps are beautiful. I love that stain you’re using. It gives it a nice warm and worn look
Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather 
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I would never paint those stairs. Stained real wood is so beautiful!
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I wish I could be there in Sept., but I will definitely soak up the photos.
Nancy in Iowa
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