Stair makeover! No Sanding!

When we purchased our stunning brick 6558 sq ft Colonial in Laytonsville,  Maryland In Nov 2021 Jason and I knew we'd have our work cut out for us.

Not only does our fabulous home set on 1.25 acres right next to state woodland with mature trees galore, grass, and flower beds that always seem to grow exponentially every second! Also, the house is 20 years old, and that all-the-rage lovely pine-ish orange cabinets, hardwood floors, and yes, stairs... Can I say it needs updating! 

UPDATING

And that, my friends, is where my tale begins lol

So, how do you eat an Elephant?

One piece at a time.

and that is how I'm tackling our home - one piece, one room, one project at a time with, and might I add, I have to take breaks in between to recover as I now realize my 51 yr old body and bones are crying out with - 'hey, Helen, you've not got an 18 yr frame anymore' LOL and as much as my inner Helen mindset someday thinks I still have, I don't LOL

To date, I've updated the pantry, mudroom/laundry, girls' bathroom - which is still needing the vanity redo, guest bedroom & primary bedroom, the sunroom, added curtains throughout, paint, and now the stairs. We also had all the doors and hardware replaced. We have all-new lighting fixtures in boxes in our formal waiting to be installed as well as all-new still boxed GE Cafe stainless steel appliances in the garage and next month the kitchen will get ripped out and redone! Eek.... Then, once that is done, then it gets even more, messy/dusty - tearing out the hardwood and replace with some gorgeous java color new hardwood flooring.

Back to the stairs! Now our stairs aren't a small regular sized one - HECK NO! And not one that I'm used to but instead we have a gallery landing and split stairs, the main and kitchen stair. All with plenty of white spindles and all that orange pine-ish treads, base, and handrails.

First, I set out to find a blog that had already done this task lol * Make it - love it blog*and I found one that I showed to Jason and I said, this I can do and it will save us thousands of dollars - as we had discussed initially replacing the lot. But instead, it cost us a tad over $200 and a lot of my time and elbow grease. *( 4 weeks worth of some full days from 10am - 7 pm with only the break to make dinner) 

Mind you, our stairs are large and not everyone's will cost that much to stain if you only have one to redo :) 

Here she is! Isn't she lovely! My heart leaps every time :)

But this shot will look so much more stunning once the hardwood flooring is replaced and I can't wait :)

I knew tackling the stairs would be quite the job, but gosh... 4 weeks worth! From tearing up the carpet, first, pulling all the staples and nails, scraping off old dollops of paint and gunk, and then filling all those tiny holes and making sure all the stair treads were ready to stain.

ALL THE BEFORE FROM HOW THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD IT - FROM ZILLOW POSTING

The Process

TAPE 

& STAIN.

Like in the blog I linked above - I used those sponge brushes you can get in any craft section at Walmart or the dollar store, they worked great and I bought *lint-free rags to wipe off the stain* off Amazon.

I purchased GENERAL FINISHES JAVA & WATERBASED TOP COAT from AMAZON TOO

FIRST COAT 

That gold light fixture will be replaced with this beauty! Which I might add is sitting in a box in my formal dining room lol

I had to do my stairs one at a time! That way we could still use one. I will say that if you only have one stair then it might be wise to stay at a hotel or do one half of it at a time making sure you blend the seam well. This is what I had to do with the joining between both stairs and the 3 top steps. You will see that in the picture below.

Apply, let it sit for 5-10 mins depending if you live in dry heat or a humid state, then wipe off using the rags! OH, don't forget to wear disposable gloves lol 

I also allowed 24 hours before I applied the second and third coat! I live in a humid state and it needed that time to dry so I could step on it or otherwise it would have been tacky! 

Once you wipe  it off you will see the original color come through 

THAT IS OKAY AND NORMAL - believe me.  

Once you do the second coat, then the third it'll look beautiful.

For the second coat, I hardly had to remove any excess, as I didn't do a heavy coat. 

For the THIRD COAT - you simply apply and leave it dry.

Once all the staining was done and dried. I took off all the tape, then re-taped the spindles ready for white. Let me say taping off takes time for this job, but it's worth it - DON'T skip this step. I'm an artist and have a steady hand and I still taped. 

NOW - THE AFTER PICTURES

SO PRETTY😍

I cannot brag enough about how much I LOVE my stairs! And if you choose to redo yours, then you will be bragging too.

YES - it will take time and effort and YES, you will get a little or a lot of smelling the stain and paint fumes LOL so make sure you VENTILATE!

But by gosh, it's so worth it! 

Now, go on, off you go and see what you can accomplish in your fabulous homes.

As for me - it's the girls and the guest bathroom vanity's that are going to get the same makeover with General Finishes Java Gel Stain! 

Oh, and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a question :) I'm more than happy to help you in your next project

😊

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Pallet Makeover 2014

I've been holding on to these FREE ugly fugly, Pallets since last fall.

With the intention to break the pallets down and make something 'cool' from them.

But, if i'm honest, I've pretty much run out of steam & places to put anything in our tiny student apartment.

So with my only spot left to makeover -- was right outside our front door.

THIS IS WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE BEFORE. 

Although the other one was much lighter.

Mixed up some white paint to make a wash. I didn't want to waste tons of paint, as when Jason's

Done with his masters, these pallets WON'T be coming with us when we move.

I also had some pine crates from a grocery store which I gave two of them a little wash too.

All I did was give each pallet a quick white wash and left to dry.

Add some newly planted flowers pop them in the top of the pallet and Viola. 

My Little Pallet Seating & Display

I knew this needed a little something -- so I go looking inside to see what I can repurpose

I used my bathroom clock wood project I did last year.

Gave it a lick of paint and screwed some hinges on to make it look like, Gardenish!

And painted on our Apartment #

EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!

I flipped the crates on their sides, gave them a lick of white wash paint.

The crates will be useful for my little girls sit on and take muddy/wet/sandy shoes off 

Before they go inside!

The opposite side has  little more sun, hence the glare in the photo.

This is where my girls like to keep their, buckets & spades for when they go and play in

The big sand pit downstairs.

I know myself, I will probably add a few more pots of flowers or something cute to the front of the pallet.

Because, the left side is begging for a little something extra!!

Again rummaging through all my stuff, I came across a chaklborad picture frame, not being used.

Draw a quick message and add some cheap hooks (taken off something ages ago)

Add a cute little family name tag. 

Makes a nice warm welcome to all.

All in all, I think my 2 hours today has transformed my drab outside area

To a much prettier and useful area, for the summer months.

HAPPY PALLETING!!!

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Quick Coffee Table Makeover

Last October, I featured my Coffee Table Makeover - well Spring is nearly upon us and after watching numerous HGTV makeover's or remodel rehab shows, I was itching to tackle my coffee table. 

BEFORE

When I did the makeover on my coffee table I didn't seal it - (I know myself, I change my mind too often lol)

But with the weather still biting cold here, I knew I couldn't go outside and do a full sanding down so this was my quick fix which only took 2 days.

First, I wiped off the paint using a simple kitchen scrubber sponge and warn water & soap

I wanted some of the paint to peek through, so I didn't take it all off.

Once I'd gotten the wood to look how I wanted it, I gave it a light sanding done with 220 grit fine.

Now it didn't take all of my wording off - but I wasn't worried as I will be covering it with a

 Picture Frame Tray

I picked up some Minwax Ebony Stain which you can get from any hardware store or even Walmart.

 This pot cost $4.99

Leave it for about 15 minutes for the stain to soak in.

Then, using an old rag - wipe off any left over stain that hasn't been absorbed.

Leave to completely dry overnight.

I used 2 coats of Original Mod Podge Glue to seal it

And here's the end result.

I love how rich it looks in contrast to the Acadia White Paint on the legs of the coffee table. 

Quick Coffee Table Makeover

You can still see peeks of the white paint showing through. Making it look quite Rustic.

To see how I made the Wood Crate, CLICK HERE

& 

To see how I made the Yellow Picture Frame Chalkboard Tray, CLICK HERE

Just add handles to the tray.

.

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