I had a number of questions about the stairs in our house and how I transformed them-- how hard is it, where did I get my runners, where did I find the stair rods, what kind of paint did I use-- so I want to share here all the things.
First off: it is not difficult, but maybe time consuming. It took me two to three days to do each set of 6 stairs, though to be honest, if I had done both sets at the same time, or if I was doing one big staircase, I could probably have crammed the whole set in to two to three days (probably more on the three-days-side-of-things, possibly pushing into 4 if there were any setbacks). I "finished" our lower set of stairs in two days (I say "finished" because I need to install longer stair rods when they come in, but that takes just a hot second, once they arrive).
I saved time by not taping before I painted. Instead, I used a small craft paint brush for the edges and fine lines and a couple of 2" brushes to prime and to paint.
When you prime and then when you paint, make sure to leave a little unpainted trail down the middle of the stairs to walk on (if, like us, your bathrooms are all on upper levels, this is key). The runner will cover it, anyway.
The essential steps are:
- Thoroughly clean the stairs with a light sanding, scrupulous vacuuming, and careful wiping down with a damp rag.
- Prime all surfaces to be painted with the appropriate primer (dark with dark, med with med, light with light). Cut in using a small craft paint brush and fill in with the larger 2" brushes. LEAVE THAT MIDDLE TRAIL UNPAINTED.
- Paint a first coat on all of the primed surfaces, cutting in with the fine craft brush and filling in with the larger brush. LEAVE THE MIDDLE TRAIL UNPAINTED.
- Let the paint cure overnight. Caution all to walk down the middle trail only.
- Paint the second coat as early in the day as possible, let that dry a few hours, then work on installing the rug.
- To get the general placement of the runner, roll or unfold your runner going up the stairs, kicking the rug to the riser as you walk up.
- Measure the sides of the bare stairs to center your runner. Measure a lot. Check again.
- Staple the rug, starting with the sides of the bottom riser to keep the runner centered, then fill in along the perimeters. (The video below really helps visually describe what to do.)
- Pull the rug up the stairs, keeping things tight, but not stretched, shape the rug on the stairs with your hands as you go, measuring all the time for centeredness before you staple.
- When you get to the top stair before the landing, either with the sharpest of scissors or a brand new xacto cutting knife, measure and cut the end of the rug to fit to the top of the last riser.
- Hear me out: crank up your hot glue gun. The hot glue will stabilize the ends of the vintage rug you just cut and add a level of securing to the riser. I found it easier to run a bead of hot glue along the inside corner (under the bullnose from the landing) of the riser where it meets the top before pressing the rug firmly to it.
- Install your lovely rods and holders.
- Admire your work and share it on Insta! If you feel like it, tag me so I can see!
Linking sources below (not affiliate with any of these, just liked or found useful):
Stair Runner Install Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14uLw4eSzt0
Paint I Used (F&B works best with their own corresponding primer):
https://www.farrow-ball.com/us/paint/railings/modern-eggshell
Stair Runners:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TurkeyRugsART?ref=yr_purchases
Stair Runner Rods:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1440768842/stair-rodrunner-rods12-stair-carpet?ref=yr_purchases
xo,
Ashley