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Before & After of the Year

OUR 1st HOUSE

I know I am supposed to be blogging about my New Year’s resolution.  or a recap of my favorite 2010 events.  or doing a wrapup of my top referers, my top blog posts, or my top reads.  But I am nothing if not rebellious.  It must be the homeschooler in me 🙂

Anyhoo…before I divulge all that year-changing-goodness, I wanted to share with you one kick-asphalt before and after. 

It is brought to you in part by my boyfriend’s hardworking (andfinelookin) bootie, in part by his wallet-snatching wife, and in big part by the fine folks at True Value.  Holla!

Okay…are you ready for this?  Seriously?  Because if you aren’t sitting down, you probably should.  And you should have nothing behind your head that is shard-like…because your head might get thrown back.  And you also should have a pillow on your lap while you are sitting down…because when your jaw hits your crotch…well, it might hurt a little. 

3….2…..1

Happy New Stairway!

 

Not to toot my own horn…but DANG GINA!  That is one fiiiine lookin makeover! 

And you wanna know the best part?  It only took us three years, 11 months and a smackle of days to finish 🙂  No but really, this thing has been a work in progress since day one.  And I am happy to announce that it is finally complete.

It started off pretty rough.  Black painted treads and risers, no drywall, and no flooring was where we began.  Here are a couple of pictures from LONG ago…back from before we had drywall in the basement bedroom blocking the view of the stairs:

You can see that this was also before our big basement renovation. 

That bigger scale renovation started about a year ago…when we brought in lots of insulation, loads of drywall, a ton of enginneered hardwood flooring and buckets of paint…all to bring the basement into a functional and suitable place for guests.

It was then that we actually began on this space as well.  The first thing we did was remove each tread and riser from the stairs.  Then Jeremy (and his buddy Jade) slipped some drywall onto the studs.  (sorry about the down-the-stairs-viewpoint but there wasn’t another way to actually get down the stairs when they took them out.  the boys were able to scale just those little steps…but I was way too chicken to try it.)

Okay…back to the normal view.

 

So after they put the drywall up…and the stair supports were back in order, they had this genius idea to just flip everything over.  That way the unpainted, non-jacked up side was showing instead of the black-painted-hot-mess that was there before. 

After that, Jeremy built what I referred to the wall-n-a-half….which was as the name suggests, was a wall, then a half.

Here’s a better picture of the end result.

In the end, we did have to replace one riser and tread…because they were too damaged to use.  But that was okay…because one tread is a lot cheaper than a dozen. 

Jeremy (and his pop – Pastor Dad) used a power sander to get rid of the black paint leftovers on the edge of each step and to smooth them out.  This was when I started believing that these things would actually look good.  Yes honey…I told you that I knew that they would turn out like new before…but I was sortof lying a little….I doubted.   

The boys left it up to me to get the little rounded corners sanded down. 

Then came stain.  At first we used the Mahagony Gloss…but apparently I didn’t stir it enough during each application…and we ended up with checkerboard steps.  User error 🙂 

Let me tell you what happened.  Jeremy works in the basement…his office is down there.  And so he has to be able to access the space EVERY day.  Even weekends.  Just in case.  So pullin’ on my smarty pants, I decided that we would stain only every other step…making it possible for Jer-bear to walk down there.  I started staining.  Between each coat of poly-stain I would sand with high grit sandpaper.  Three coats later I thought it was time to switch.  So I started staining the other-every-other-steps.  That is when I discovered that the first set was this wonderful ashy brown…and the second set was a red mahagony.  Totally different colors.  Each with three coats from the same can of polystain.   

I literally cried.  I felt like the world was crumbling around me.  This was while Jeremy was making wonderful progress of my doodles on the napkin about the half-wall-railing.

Back to True Value we went.  That is where I got the Black Poly Stain.  1 coat later…we have stair treads that match the flooring prettydarnwell. 

Then we started on the risers and the trim.  Tape, primer, and paint.  and paint.  and paint.

After that we just simply painted the walls. 

Pretty sweet huh?

I like it.  Oh and we even added a little doorway to the storage space under the stairs.  It holds my ‘stuff’.  You guys always ask where I put that…it’s under the steps.  like Harry Potter before he knew he was magical.

So how bout it?  Better than my favorite books of 2010, right?  I mean…I didn’t actually read an entire book in 2010…unless you count that breastfeeding pamphlet they hand out in the hospital.  Which still is under my pillow for emergencies.  

Anyhoo…that is my favorite makeover of the year…and it wraps up our True Value stint.  Whew!  Just in time for a little renovation break…at least two weeks till we start brainstorming how we can switch things up in the new house.  Hope you had a wonderful and safe New Year’s!   

“I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.”

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Comments

  1. Its looks *AMAZING* Katie!!!! Give yourself and the bf a pat on the back for that one, or an extra slice of bacon….yup i pick the latter. 😉
    Cant wait to see what is to come in the new year. many blessings xx.

  2. I have to ask… what kind of poly stain did you use? Did you have to strip the stairs first, or did it simply go over top everything else? Thanks!

  3. BEST makeover of the last what 3 yrs. OMG, I love the blackness the BEST. BTW thanks for the BOOTY shot of your boyfriend, made my Happy New Year even happier. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year. Keep on trucking along.

  4. Wow.. that is Amazing! Can’t believe you did it yourself. Dh & I are not handy, so we just end up writing a check. Looks really nice!

  5. In the words of Stacy London, SHUT UP! How amazing is this!? You are right, this is the mother of all makeovers! Are you sure you want to move and leave it!?

  6. OMG! I Love it! The black looks so great. Way to go Katie!! You have started 2011 blog off with a bang!!

  7. Okay, everytime you post some other gorgeous part of your house, I wonder WHY ARE THEY MOVING??? But it only makes me sooo excited to see what you are going to do at the new house! Cant wait!

    And since Im sure bloggers LOVE when people REQUEST blog posts (sarcasm dripping of course) I was hoping you could do a post about your ‘musts’ and ‘must NOTS’ when it came to equipment for Will. I know another reader asked the same thing a couple days ago, but I wanted to chime in that Id also love a post regarding this….you know…in all your spare time 🙂

    Happy New Year KB!

  8. That looks fantastic! Seriously, fantastic! We used the same every other step process for staining our stairs. Works well and is a good workout if you carry a 2 or 4 year old going up.

    The second to last picture shows a dresser…what a cool piece. Is that a fish on it? I really like it.

  9. Love, love, LOVE! I had seen this look somewhere before but was unsure if we could pull it off on our townhouse stairs (which are currently carpeted). After seeing how awesome yours turned out, I am dying to go for it. And even better, the hubs even liked it so much, he has given me the go-ahead! In his words, “Hey it’s just paint. If we don’t like it, we’ll just lay the carpet back down, right?” Thank you Bowers 😉 And Happy New Year, too!

  10. The stairs look awesome!!! Jeremy did a great job on the bannister. I wish my hubby was handy like that. I guess I will have to learn to do this stuff myself. =)

    Happy New Year!

  11. Katie it looks AMAZING!!! Way to go girl 🙂 It’s a shame you’ve done all this backbreaking work and now you’re leaving… but I’m sure the new house will be just as fab, if not more!

  17. Wow looks GREAT. Even my husband agrees… I can only imagine how frustrating it is doing all of that work. Good job. Totally love the little door… maybe we’ll put a little set of french doors under our stairs to access the space (split foyer space under entry) wouldn’t that be cute! Happy New Years Bowers!

  20. Hey Sara,
    We actually have real hardwoods in the first floor…and engineered in only the basement. You can see the color difference in that ‘down-the-stairs’ shot 🙂
    xo – kb

  21. I’m sure you’ve seen it before too…I think I originally saw it on Sarah’s House…but a TON of other bloggers have done something similar 🙂
    And congrats on getting the go-ahead…in this house, I bribe the boyfriend for those!
    xo – kb

  22. LuckyJayne, that piece is actually what we used to have in the kitchen before we switched it out for the baby-friendly dresser.
    It’s actually just a bookcase with a mirror resting on it 🙂
    xo – kb

  25. You know I gotta work in a gratuitous bootie shot every once in a while….after all, I gotta keep this blog real 🙂
    xo – kb

  26. Hi Leslie,
    We started off with Minwax PolyShades in Bombay Mahogony Gloss…then we ended with a last layer of Minwax Polyshades in Black Gloss. No we did not have to strip the stairs first….just right over top. We did sand in between coats with 330 grit…up until the very last two coats….leaving a little bit of grit so that the stairs weren’t uber slippery.
    xo – kb

  27. WOW!!! That is an amazing transformation and I am doubly impressed because you guys did it yourself. I don’t have stairs in my house, but if I did and we lived closer, you guys would be hired (and if you did that sort of thing!). Will the talents of your family ever cease to amaze us?

    Happy New Year. Can’t wait to see what you guys accomplish this year. 2011 is the year I am going to try and keep up.

  29. Wow! Yall are amazing. 1. I literally cannot believe that is a basement and 2. Now have some serious basement envy (although us Texans will never be that lucky).

    I recently started reading your blog and can’t say enough about how inspirational, hilarious, and addictive it is! Hope you have a wonderful New Year.

  30. This is definitely one of my favorites of everything you have done…I loved the build-up–we were all waiting in suspense! 😉 You guys did a fantastic job. I love how you’re honest about the mistakes that happen along the way–my husband and I have to come up with “out-of-the box solutions” when a project takes a little detour too. =)

  32. Katie, the stairs look GREAT! Definitely worth the effort, in my opinion. I’m wishing we had done something similar when we finished out basement, but our wing stairs wouldn’t accommodate that.

    http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/basement-progress-during/

    Here’s what it looks like now:
    http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/things-i-love-about-our-house/

    Definitely not as great, but better than the before! Thanks for the inspiration and Happy New Year!

  33. So beautiful! I love it! I love dark stained/black stairs with the white. Wish I could do that in my house, but it wouldnt go with the rest of the woodwork in our house (we live in a 1930’s 4 square). I am planning on painting the stair rungs white and risers white though and hopefully adding some kind of sisal runner- in the future. Sooo many projects to do!

  34. That looks so amazing! Hard work pays off!

    We are putting in a huge deck on the side of our house and it’s already been 6 months since we started, but it’s almost done!

    Happy New Year

  35. Random question- does your boyfriend do all that work willingly or do you have to seriously bribe him? My husband likes all the end results of the work we’ve done with our house, but I know painting and scraping down ceilings is the last thing he wants to do after a long week at work..

  37. A-Ma-Zing! Out-of-the-ballpark!!!! Absolutely unbelievable!!!! You stun us again! Congrats. That just about takes the cake for best Before and After!!!!! Happy New Year!

  38. Well…I think that Jeremy really likes finishing the projects…he just doesn’t like the middle part…and he works really great with a deadline. So the True Value partnership is perfect for us because we have an end goal and we also get paid to share the project with you guys…it’s not much but every little bit helps. Basically it’s like True Value is bribing us 🙂
    xo – kb

  39. Hi PrairieGirl…
    That is an excellent question…and I have no idea. It’s not really up to us….since True Value selects their BlogSquad (and technically our partnership for 2010 ends in, well, 2010). I sure hope that we get to work with them again…we love tackling the projects and have found a ton of help in using True Value because of their expert staff.
    xo – kb

  40. If I had to go back and do it all over again Katie, I would not use Gloss PolyStain. I would use Satin. And I would put a clear coat over all the tape before painting…we had quite a bit of clean up that could have been avoided if we didn’t skip those steps.
    xo – kb

  42. Love, love, love the stairway! I know your next home will be beautiful, too, but I still can’t believe you’re moving!

    Where did Jeremy learn all of this stuff? My husband and I have some basic DIY skills, but we’d never attempt to build a staircase. Did his family work in construction when he was growing up? I’m starting to feel like my hubby and I are a bit lazy and sheltered! 🙂

  44. No…he didn’t do anything like this until I married him and twisted his arm into reading a book about electrical. Then it was just a matter of ‘let’s-figure-this-out-attitude’ and a little bit of googling 🙂
    xo – kb

  46. “But I am nothing if not rebellious. It must be the homeschooler in me.”

    I’ll bet you even wore jeans under your denim jumper, and refused to do your Saxon Math lessons. I only get to make comments like that because I was home schooled too. And yes *miserable blush* there was a year when I caved in to home schooling peer pressure and wore a denim jumper. Thank goodness there’s no photographic evidence.

  50. Somehow, if possible, I love you more for that Harry Potter reference. Beautiful work and Happy New Year!

  51. I am so in love with these stairs — makes me want to add some to our basement just so I can paint them black!!
    Good Job!! 🙂

  53. Dude Sarah, I would be caught dead in a denim jumper. Literally, I would have fallen over dead. Mostly because I would have shot myself.
    xo – kb

  56. These stairs are SO incredible! Yep, my jaw dropped! And still is….

    Just the push we need to get ours started. Only ours are covered in 10 years worth of worn carpet so I am dreading what’s beneath… wish us luck! Thanks for your daily inspiration!

    xoxo,
    Jen

  57. There is just something about your floors that give me a warm fuzzy. Especially the contrast between the white trim. Beautiful!

  59. Katie, I absolutely love it!!! Do you have a floor plan for your basement? I always love looking at the layout of a house…must be the designer in me. Anywho, excellent job!!! Looks amazing!

  62. What an amazing makeover!! Dang is right. I love the dark wood treads and white risers. So classic and very chic. I know it was a lot of hard work, but well worth it! Great job. 🙂

    By the way, I’m the Marian P. who won the True Value constest mentioned on your side bar.

  63. Awesome! Congrats Marian on the victory! I think that makes your win officially makes you part of the blogsquad 🙂
    xo – kb

  64. The photos look great but I was wondering how the treads are holding up? I’ve read on the Minwax can that Polyshades aren’t recommended for floors.

  65. As far as we know, they are holding up just fine. We don’t really know now since we aren’t living in that house anymore 🙂
    xo – kb

  66. Katie,
    Quick question. Did you have trouble with your white stair case in regards to scuff marks on the painted part??? I know you don’t live in the house anymore but rent it- so I’m curious if doing something similar to my own basement will resort in a lot of future repainting?
    Thanks!

  67. We haven’t had too much trouble with the white part…just regular cleaning with a magic eraser does the trick (that’s what we told the renters and so far, very little touch ups have been needed!).
    xo – kb

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