A Stairway Project Revisited

Remember this project?

I decided to remove the nasty carpet from our stairs one day on a whim and then let it sit unfinished for a good month or so because I became so busy at work.  Then, because it was driving everyone crazy, I set out to get it done, mainly for the purpose of just getting it done.  

I didn't love it, but it was done and I could cross it off the To Do list.

But it was always still there.

Staring at me.

Waiting to be transformed into something I DID love.

*sigh*

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

 As you know, we live in a 100 year old home.  

 They settle.

When there is a year long drought,

they settle even more.

(Okay, it wasn't really that long of a drought but it sure has felt like it.)

One day while walking down the stairs, I noticed a bulge that seemed to be cracking,

so, of course, I started messing with it, thinking I could fix it,

until it turned into this.

 Not good.

Or was it??

I called a friend who is knowledgeable about things like this to come check everything out

and he said there was nothing to worry about structurally.

We just need to wait to fix it until the weather changes, 

in case the plaster continues to shrink and crack.

Well, the weather changed and the crack/hole hasn't gotten any worse, so it's time to fix it.

Since the wall is having to get a face lift, I thought the stairs should have one too.

After all, I just wasn't thrilled with the way I had left them before.

And the white paint on the risers was a really bad idea because of
my 6 foot tall older boys with big feet going up and down the stairs a lot.
That turns into a lot of scuff marks.

So this little wall problem was just the push I needed to transform the stairs

into something we did love.

Although I don't think it is in the cards for our home to have a beautiful grand staircase, like I originally wanted, there's no reason why it still can't look amazing and fit in with the rest of the house and the room that the stairs are currently in.

So, for Part 1 of this project, here's what I came up with for just the stairs.

Chalkboard paint, chalk and handmade stencils I printed from the computer are all it took

for me to do this project.  All of which I already had, so, it didn't cost a thing.

I didn't really want to paint the numbers on with paint as I really like the faded chalk look.

I completely LOVE IT and better yet, hubby and kiddos thought it was so cool.

This just works out so much better.

And we are all finally happy with it!

Next up we will be working on the wall around the staircase

and I'm looking forward to blogging about that soon!

Have a great day!

Diana