Monday, 29 April 2013

Painted stairs revealed...

If you are thinking of painting your stairs, I have one bit of advice. Be prepared that it will take a looong time.
My stairs were in a fairly poor condition. Aside from the glue residue there were a great many dings, staple holes and screw holes to be filled. Then all the edges with the gaps and little crack marks needed to be caulked. Once primed, all the dings I had missed the first time around showed up really well so it was back to the wood filler. And sanding the wood filler and priming. Again.

All this before you can even think about paint. And I'm not a perfectionist. Well, I might be slightly but here I was not aiming for perfection. It's an old house and the last thing I want is a modern, perfect looking staircase.





I didn't sand the painted bits. You have to be careful with lead levels in old paint. I used my trusty Zinsser 123 water based super primer. It has high opacity (hence I got away with poo coloured filler; there was method to my madness) high adhesion (no sanding required) and stain blocking properties (useful if you have knotty pine.) What's not to love?

For the actual stair paint Angela at A Typical English Home highly recommended RONSEAL DIAMOND HARD FLOOR PAINT. ( Thank you Antonia for the tip off about Angelas post!) It's extraordinarily tough and has non slip qualities that your average gloss just can't compete with. An added bonus is that it's quick drying.


You can buy this online from Homebase. Homebase, I love you for this! Anything that prevents me from actually visiting  the big shops in Stevenage is very much appreciated. (B&Q - wise up!) Also don't be put off by the ''up to 20 days delivery time.'' Mine came the very next day.

This paint also comes in beige, tile red and grey.




So, do I like it? I think it's a huge improvement on the 'before' and I love the half  landing parts with the floorboards painted. I might have to add some colour at some point. And when I say 'colour' you know I mean beige or grey right?

But for now ...I'm done. We'll live with it for a while. In our slippers obviously...




I'll remind you of the before...




Of course, it's making that wall look filthy now. All the six year olds hand prints need painting over. That's often the way when you start these things...

Linking with Coastal Charm; Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 

and From My Front Porch to Yours; Treasure Hunt Thursday





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43 comments:

  1. Used-to-Bees29 April 2013 at 12:23

    Your staircase looks great! I'm desperate to get rid of our stair carpet, but would settle for painted sides and a Roger Oates runner - sigh! - because of all the work involved in painting the whole thing. I've just sat down from sugar soaping a ceiling and walls, all because we painted the window and now the whole room looks grubby, so I know what you meant at the end!
    x

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  2. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 12:34

    Thank you! My husband says we need to wear sunglasses in the house now...x

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    1. Unknown21 November 2014 at 10:29

      Love this so much, our staircase looks like your old one, we need to sand, caulk and fill cracks, I'm thinking of painting the Riser sections a different colour, and have white on the Treads......so hope it looks as fab as yours.....thanks for mentioning the Ronseal paint ...yayyy...😀

      Delete
  3. Fiona29 April 2013 at 13:09

    Wow, it looks great, you really worked hard. That colour requires far too much cleaning for me though!

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 13:19

      I wonder if it's possible to train the cats to wipe their feet b
      before heading upstairs?

      Delete
  4. Vix29 April 2013 at 13:12

    It looks stunning, so pristine and sparkling. I never considered the lead content in the two hundred and sixty years our house has been standing, mind you with the alcohol and Jon's smoking we're probably goners anyway! xxx

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 13:20

      Yeah, as Fiona points out, it won't stay pristine for long! xxx

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  5. The Chimney Pot29 April 2013 at 17:42

    Wow - the hard work really paid off!! I'm so jealous!! I'm going to show my boyfriend this post in the hope of talking him into letting me do ours...wish me luck x

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  6. mabelandmaisy29 April 2013 at 17:49

    Amazing! I'm dead jealous! :-)

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  7. Anne29 April 2013 at 19:45

    I think it looks really gorgeous.A great job!

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  8. Kate Pirouette29 April 2013 at 20:01

    Oh my word, they look brilliant!!! When I saw the first picture I thought it was a "this is how I'd like them to look" and then I recognised your table!!! I think they are absolutely flippin stunning, your hard work has really paid off :)

    Kate
    Just Pirouette and Carry On...

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  9. Anonymous29 April 2013 at 20:28

    Wow, Emma Kate, the stairs are beautiful, worthy of a country or Shabby Chic magazine photo spread! How long did this project take you? I would have been painting into Eternity .... :)

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 21:00

      Thank you Kelly! It has taken forever. And there are still some bits to do...

      Delete
  10. gill29 April 2013 at 21:09

    wow that looks amazing! Can I ask what you've done with the landing floor, left carpet down or painted that too? And is the noise of people going up and down the stairs ok? Just being nosy while I debate whether to do this to my own stairs :)

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 21:22

      Thanks Gill. The landing floor looks dreadful. I cut half the skanky carpet up. The rest is down with a huge piece of furniture on top...ultimately we will paint it, if the floor boards aren't too buggered, or carpet it. But not yet as we still might need those floor boards up again.
      The noise isn't a problem as there are only 3 of us here. If I had a few small boys it would be a different story! And we are used to the sound as the carpet went long ago. Plus now slipper wearing has been enforced by law...

      Delete
  11. Hook, Line and Sink Her29 April 2013 at 21:24

    Congratulations! Well done you- they look absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! That diamond hard paint stuff sounds excellent too. xxx

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  12. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 21:27

    Thanks Katie! Yes I was very fortunate to find out about that...I'd probably just have used gloss and we'd all fall down the stairs! xxx

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  13. Curtise29 April 2013 at 21:52

    Your stairs look so smart and glossy - a job very well done!
    Now, what's all this about beige and grey? Steady on!
    PS. How's the Slipper Law going down with BB and FF?! xxxx

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  14. Emma Kate at Paint and Style29 April 2013 at 22:26

    In my head I'm trying out alternative looks already. I just can't leave things alone...watch this space...
    Bad Bobby and Fat Freddy are above the law....xxxx

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  15. chalkysoil29 April 2013 at 23:42

    Beautiful. I can see how hard you've worked.
    ps, prune the dead leaves off that lily !! ♥

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style30 April 2013 at 07:10

      Yes! It's looking dreadful. Told you I'm rubbish with plants! Except for those two poinsettias that refuse to die and just scream Christmas to me!

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  16. Jumble Tree30 April 2013 at 00:06

    They look fabulous! You've done such a great job, and I've made a note of that super primer and the floor paint :) Think enforced slipper wearing is the way to go, it's just about halved my housework!! :) x

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style30 April 2013 at 07:12

      Getting rid of the cats would reduce my housework by 90%. Fat Freddy pulls his own hair out for entertainment...

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  17. Scarlet30 April 2013 at 20:47

    They look fabulous - you must be so glad that you persevered!

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style30 April 2013 at 21:18

      Thanks Scarlet, I'm already thinking of changing them... but not yet!

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  18. Max1 May 2013 at 08:24

    it doesn't even look like the same staircase anymore!!! great job. i can appreciate how long it took you as i've been nagging the husband who has been plaster paint replaster repaint over and over again our cooker alcove!

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  19. jami at freckled laundry1 May 2013 at 18:20

    Your staircase is b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. Your labor of love certainly paid off as compared to the before. Thank you so much for sharing the paint you used. I'm getting ready to paint the wood floors in our soon-to-be master bedroom, so I will def. look into that paint. I hope I can get it in the USA. Also, I am so sorry to read about Mrs. Bolden in the post above. :(

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  20. Judi2 May 2013 at 20:21

    Looks GREAT Emma! Worth all your hard work, although if you're anything like me you probably didn't think so while putting in all that effort, lol.

    Judi

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  21. Anonymous2 May 2013 at 22:17

    Just catching up... wow, what can I say? Well done, fabulous job! It looks so immaculate. I'm feeling spurred on to do ours now. Hand on heart, though, how many hours do you think it took to do all in? Just so I can mentally prepare myself! But hats off to you, however long it took it was definitely worth it.

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  22. Anonymous10 December 2013 at 08:49

    Hi
    Just wondering how the stairs are holding up? I'm trying to decide what paint to use

    Thanks
    Dan

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  23. Emma Kate at Paint and Style10 December 2013 at 14:01

    Hi Dan, I'm very pleased with the paint I used. We dragged a huge wardrobe down the stairs the other week and caused some dings so I did another coat. It has stayed very white and it's tough and smooth (no brush strokes). I've also used the same paint on skirting boards and doors as I like it so much.

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  24. Unknown1 March 2014 at 01:36

    Thank you Emma. I want to do some remodeling, and painting my stairs will be great. I also want to get some anti-slip stair nosing.

    Wayne. | http://www.ceramabond.com.au

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  25. Emmy3 November 2014 at 17:38

    Hello. How many coats did you do of the ronseal? I'm using it to paint my brown stairs and i'm going to need at least 4 coats....is that normal?

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style3 November 2014 at 21:15

      Hi Emmy,
      I used a really opaque white primer first to get the stairs white then used the ronseal as a tough top coat. It's not very opaque, but it's very tough. Yeah I think I did three or four coats. Good luck!

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    2. Emmy3 November 2014 at 21:35

      Thanks emma. We don't have zinsser here in france but we're going to put a primer down on top of the 2 coats of ronseal to whiten it up then put more ronseal on it. Hope it speeds it up a bit as it was going to take days of work (and loads of ronseal)

      Delete
    3. Emma Kate at Paint and Style3 November 2014 at 22:23

      Yeah, primer is cheaper than paint so try that!

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  26. Andyb3 December 2014 at 23:39

    18 months of wear & tear - wondered how the surface was holding up, as the ronseal has very mixed reviews against dulux?

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    1. Emma Kate at Paint and Style4 December 2014 at 09:32

      The actual top coat of Ronsael is holding up really well. I damaged the stairs carrying a floor sander up them so I need to fill the gouges... but it's a really tough top coat. I'd say it performs better as a floor surface than Dulux diamond hard satinwood. (I use that on doors and trim.) The only problem is it's opacity, so get your floor primed pure white before you use this.
      We all fail at slipper wearing so it takes a beating too. I wipe it with cif to remove the dirt.

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