When we moved into the house the stairs were covered in a worn synthetic persian stair runner rip off. Which we then quite literally ripped off, leaving the stairs looking like this:
Normally we don't keep hammers on the stairs though. Bearing in mind that at the top of the stairs there are new polished brushbox floors, and that new boards will eventually be laid at the bottom of the stairs, we have a dilemma about what to do with the old staircase.We very quickly ruled out the 'rip it out and replace with new' option because the old staircase is beautiful (if you squint a bit and try and blur your eyes to hide the weird nicotine stained paint.)
Actual options:
Polish the stairs and strip back and repaint the balustrade, and somehow make some kind of dividing ridge on each step where the polish and paint meet
Strip and repaint the balustrade and then cover the steps with a stair runner
I have been a bit dubious about the stair runner idea but this morning I noticed that Desire to Inspire have posted a series of images of well done stair runners and some of them are lovely. Like these:
I vote for Strip and repaint the balustrade and then cover the steps with a stair runner. Although the stripping sounds like a bit of a bitach of a project. You could go with the paint over option and just strip the hand rail as above. Love the coir matting stair runner in the picture. Can I have your house when it is done?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Alice on this one. There's a runner on the stairs at my parents place and its the only part of the house with carpet. So good, for the following reasons
ReplyDelete- Stairs are SO NOISY when people clatter up and down them without runners.
- The carpet is nice and soft and provides a good spot to sit on the stairs. We did a lot of stair sitting as kids. Not sure why, but it was very comfortable.