The Stairwell

Oooh this blog title sounds like it could be the title to a scary movie or something...
...yeah, something like that. 

The stairwell in our house was quite the project.  And I cannot really take credit for much of it.

You see, about 10 years ago the stairwell was changed.  Originally, it was carpeted and led straight to the downstairs.  But it was changed completely.  The carpet was totally removed.  Gone forever.  A landing was made right toward the bottom of the staircase and an opening was cut into the wall that led into the laundry room.

The reason for the change was because some family members needed a place to stay for a long while.  So my Dad and Brothers worked endlessly to make our basement into an apartment.

Now, Justin and I are renting the house.  Our landlord aka my Mom, wanted the opening to the utility room closed off and the stair case changed back.

Justin and my brother did that...but left it unfinished. 

This is pretty much what our staircase has looked like for more than a year:

Okay, it didn't really look this bad for the entire 10 years.  The banister on the stairs was installed.  But do you see on the right wall all the drywall compound?  That is where the opening used to be.  The stairs themselves are plain ol' wood.  They are deadly, too. 

So, it took about 2 weeks but Justin finally finished smoothing out the drywall compound.  We both helped to paint the stairwell.  I got to pick the color.  It is a gray color made by Olympus called "Secret Passage."  I also painted the railings and banisters white.

Before.

After.

What do you think?

Painting the railing was SUCH A PAIN!!  I hated every moment of it.  I am much too lazy to be brush painting.

When it came to painting that banister, I cheated and spray painted it with Krylon Glossy White.  Sure, the whites aren't exactly the same but I am the only one who knows that. :)

The best part of this project is that we had carpet installed!  I am so happy to have carpet back on the stairs.

The stairwell project was a small accomplishment.  We are going to be painting the entire house.  I have the pallette all picked out and I am SO excited. 

It has taken a while to get started though.

One day at a time....one project at a time.