Stairwell

I love my new house.  I love every last bit of it.  I do, however, have a favorite part.  The stairway.  I don't know if it's the contrast of the colors, or that it turned out even better than what I had pictured, but it's easily my favorite. These are the before pictures.  The walls were tan, and the paneling was a darker brown.  The handrails were a light colored wood.

The walls, like everything, I decided to paint gray.  The paneling I painted an Ultra White. In order to paint behind the handrail and get an even look on the paneling, the handrail had to come down.  At that point, my plan of staining the handrail "later on," became "Well, it's already off the wall...I may as well do it now!"

I used MinWax PolyShades in Bombay Mahogany.  PolyShades is nice because it has the stain and poly in one.  Yay!  After some light sanding and 2 coats of stain, the handrails look awesome! 

 

 Don't mind my Game of Thrones on the television.  

When I get brave enough, I'll eventually rip up the carpet on the steps.  It's the only carpet in the entire house and I have visions of a beautiful wooden staircase.  I'm not sure what it looks like underneath though, and the carpet looks fine for now.  I'll get brave when I have the money to replace the carpet if it looks terrible.  For now, though, there are other fun projects that take priority! :)