How to Decorate Wooden Stairs
Your wooden stairs are usually the first thing you see when walking in the front door. With a little paint, you can make your stairs a showcase. Using two contrasting colors, you can warm the look of the staircase and give it some depth by painting a simple faux rug runner for its entire length. This does not take artistic ability; it is just a matter of painting between the lines. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2 colors of paint, one dark, one light
- Paint brush
- Painter's masking tape
- Wooden dolly
- Stencil
Instructions
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1
Start by cleaning your stairs with soap and sudsy water. Let them dry. Sand them lightly--just enough to give the paint a porous texture to adhere to. Avoid high gloss paint; the stairs will appear too shiny.
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2
Paint the entire stairway with the lighter color paint. You may need to do two coats depending on the condition of your stairs. Paint the first coat. Let it dry and then decide if it needs another coat.
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3
Decide how wide you want your runner and then cut a wooden dolly to that size. It will be used as a measuring stick for the runner's width on each stair. Put the dolly down on each step as you measure for the space you will paint the rug runner in.
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4
Start laying out the area you will paint the faux runner in once the first color has been applied and has dried completely. Use the painter's masking tape; this will not pull paint off when you are finished. Run the masking tape down each side of the steps, leaving the area in the middle exposed to where you will be painting the runner. Use the wooden dolly to make sure the tape remains at equal lengths apart on each step.
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5
Paint the area of the stair runner the darker color. Stay within the lines of the masking tape. This will only take one coat of paint because the first coat you had already painted will act as a base for this one. Let the stairs dry completely. Pull off the masking tape. Your faux solid color stair runner is finished.
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Tips & Warnings
For added décor, stencil a design on the back of your step, using darker or lighter paint than that of the rug runner. Remember that it is a staircase; you do not want to overdo the design. Pick a small stencil design that you might find on a real rug runner.
Do not use a bright color to stencil a pattern or design; it will look unrealistic and become the vocal point of the stairs. Use a color that blends softly against the color of the faux rug runner so that when you look at the stairs, you see the whole décor, not just a part of it. Stenciling a design on the stair where it will receive wear from foot traffic is not recommended.
