The Staircase

Hello friends!

I'm back with another before and after.

Once again, I was blown away by yet another private message from a reader, telling me how much she enjoys my blog. You guys! This means so much to me when you do this! Your words make my day! I can't believe how many of you have reached out to me, and I really can't believe how many of you are interested in the improvements we've made to our old farmhouse!

I love that you want to see our renovations, because I love showing it off!!!

So, today I want to show you my staircase.

This is what it currently looks like:

But when we bought our house this space looked like this:

The walls were painted a light yellow, with mysterious patches on the ceiling. The light fixtures, as you can see here, were plastic ceiling fans, which really cheapened the space. The staircase wall was wallpapered in a small scale floral, which really dated the space.

Here's a better picture of the wallpaper:

(and Micah hanging Christmas garland for me... haha.)

We lived with it like this for the first few years. I just decorated anyway, haha. 

For example, this is a picture from before we renovated the staircase and front room:

(Here come Roman and Nola on their new Christmas bike! They look so little!)

Living in our home before and during renovations has been a good lesson in contentment for me. I learned how to make things as beautiful as possible for the moment, while planning and looking forward to the future renovation.

When it came time to tackle this space, we had our work cut out for us, but we dove in anyway.

Here are some "during" shots:

Micah removed the banister completely, and even numbered each spindle so that we knew the order in which to put them back on. Everything got sanded and re-varnished.

It's really noticeable here, the difference a fresh coat of white paint makes! I didn't realize how dingy the walls were before:

I considered several different options for the staircase wall. I thought about re-papering it in a more up-to-date wallpaper... I thought about painting it an accent color... I even considered creating a gallery wall of various pictures...

But in the end I chose the tone-on-tone trim design that it is today, and I couldn't be happier! To me it is timeless and classic, and I can't imagine ever growing tired of it!

Here I am with it right after it was completed: 

(I can't remember which kid I am pregnant with here, haha! Those years are a blur of babies and home renovations that all blend together in my memory!)

In my head, I had designed what I wanted for this wall, but was having trouble describing it to Micah. So I drew a sketch for him to go off of. I regret not saving the sketch because I think it'd be fun to show you! It was an imperfect little scribbling of lines that I drew quickly just to get my point across. But it did the trick, because from that sketch Micah created the staircase wall that I still madly love today!

I am thankful that this wall turned out far better than my faulty little hand-drawn sketch! To my eyes, it is perfection:

I chose to paint the trim and moulding in a shade lighter, and in a finish shinier than the walls, so that the trim would pop!

And it does!

(Side note: You do NOT want to be around me when the day comes for us to move! Our finger prints and heart prints are all over this house! Moving from here will be a sad day, indeed!)

But, getting back to the before and after... I love showing back-to-back before and after photos. It's rewarding to see! So here we go!

The stairs themselves...

Before:

And After:

The view from the top of the staircase looking down...

Before:

And After:

The wall underneath the banister...

Before:

And After:

The light fixtures...

Before:

And After:

I'm so in love with antique lights! These are both antiques, not reproductions, and they make my heart go pitter-pat! The one in the fore-front was found on Ebay, and the one closest to the stairs was found at an antique shop about an hour north of where I live. 

(I will drive for antique lights!!!)

Since I'm talking about antiques, I'll show you how I've decorated around the staircase.

My favorite "look" in the whole wide world is an antique picture hung on a bright, white wall. Like this:

Here's a close-up of this arrangement:

(The antlers are Micah's, the larger picture is from my mother, and the smaller one I found at an antique fair.)

The picture that hangs beneath the banister was an exciting find at a junky thrift store:

Finding a treasure at a thrift shop is such a thrill because its like finding a needle in a haystack. This picture was buried in a box of 95% junk, not visible upon first glance. If you're willing to dig through a little junk, it will sometimes pay off! I was the lucky one to un-earth this:

I paid $10.00 for it. I didn't re-frame it or re-matte it. I found it just like this!

~ Lucky ~ Lucky ~ Lucky ~

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." Proverbs 24:3-4

Thank You, for letting me show you my staircase! I know that my style isn't trendy and maybe isn't what you prefer, but you all have only ever sent me positive, encouraging feedback about the photos I have shared. I am so thankful for that, and for you!

Until next time...

xo,

~ Courtney ~