Hi friends!! I’m back today with another DIY that I’m SO excited about! I’m going to be sharing with you a project that I literally have been wanting to do since we moved in 7 years ago. I finally painted my staircase white, and I couldn’t love it anymore! I’ve disliked the orange wood color of my staircase railing and steps from the moment I saw it. It just looked dated to me, and it honestly just wasn’t my style. I decided enough was enough of looking at it and decided it was time to tackle this project head on. I’m not going to lie, it was time consuming and hard at times, but it was so worth it in the end. Before I share with you my tips for painting your staircase white , let me show you what it looked like before I got started.
Staircase Before..
What do you need to get started painting your staircase white?
The first step is to clean your staircase. After that, you can use a hand sander to gently sand the top layer of your wood that you are painting. FYI- I did not sand mine down before painting, and it still worked great; however, I would recommend sanding. Next, I used KILZ interior primer to prime my stairs. Then, I chose to use Behr Paint in the color Ultra Pure White in a semi-gloss enamel to make cleaning easier. The total amount of coats that I needed to cover my stairs was 3-4 and my gallon of paint was plenty to get the job done.
How do you paint around the carpet on your stairs?
Since my staircase had carpet on it, that made painting the stairs a lot more complicated. I decided to pick up a taping knife and it worked great! I wedged it between the carpet and wood stairs and started painting. If you have carpet, I highly recommend using this tool to help protect it.
White Staircase Reveal
I know, I know, it’s a lot of white, but I love it!! It is exactly how I envisioned it. It looks so clean and fresh now. I also love how it makes my chandelier really pop against the white. I contemplated painting the rail a color like black or grey, but in the end, just decided to go with white.
Surprisingly, the stairs wasn’t the hardest part. The time consuming challenge came with the spindles. Even though they were already white, I still had to paint them to match everything else. I found that after they were covered with the first coat, a small roller helped make covering them easier. In the end, I used two coats of paint on the spindles.
While I was at it, I decided my brown front door needed to be white as well to blend in with everything. Love this new view of my entryway! Also, just a reminder that I shared my new entryway table HERE.
Stellar Air Vent Makeover
Did you notice my air vent got a makeover too? I finished off my staircase makeover with a new vent cover from Stellar Air . This is one of the best inventions EVER!! Even though my stairs were looking so beautiful, it didn’t even matter because I still had a very old and ugly air vent. Stellar Air came to the rescue with this beautiful vent cover!
They have 3 options to choose from when it came to the frame style. I chose the wrap around style because I wanted my frame to be completely replaced due to my other one being so old. Then, all I had to do was choose one of their 11 beautiful designs that they offer. I chose the cubes design, and I love it so much!! They also offer a variety of sizes or you can get it custom made to fit like I had to. If you are looking for a way to cover an ugly air vent, you for sure need to check out Stellar Air!
I’ll leave you with one last before and after view of my staircase and air vent makeover. Like I said earlier, this project was a labor of love. In total, I spent about four days on and off to finish it, and I think it’s safe to say that all the hard work paid off. I love how this makeover turned out!
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I just wanted to tell you it looks beautiful! I had no idea there existed such as thing as a taping knife! I am off to the hardware store to get myself one. We have gorgeous hardwoods and a VERY dingy looking (used to be white!) footboards, so I’m hoping to use one of these to get a good edge on those when we repaint. I agree that getting custom air vent covers really adds a touch of class. The entryway looks lovely. Congratulations! And thanks for the tips.
Hi Laura! Thank you so much! It really made a huge difference. It’s holding up so nicely. You will love the new look! The taping knife was a lifesaver against the carpet. Good luck! So happy to help!
Ok so I’m about to start the same project on my stairs! I bought paint that has primer in it. I’ve tried a small section and the brown is still bleeding through. Should I buy a primer and apply before?
Hi Nancy! So excited for you! I would recommend doing a primer first before your paint in primer in one. I did a few coats and even though it’s time consuming it’s totally worth it. I hope that helps. Good luck!
Hi there! Would love to hear how your staircase is holding up a couple years later:) We have pretty much an identical one to you and I plan to paint it this winter. Yours turned out beautiful!
Hey Lindsay! It has held up so good! I was worried about it as well but I have only had to touch up a few spots from something hitting it and chipping the paint. It also cleans easily. I would do it again for sure!