Sherry not too long ago hinted on Instagram Tales that we had been as much as our previous staple-coloring antics. And by that I imply we had been putting in one other stair runner (admittedly one of many much less common definitions of “antics”). However after putting in one in our previous home 7 years in the past it has turn into certainly one of our favourite initiatives – simply because we actually imagine anybody can do it, and no matter runner you select may give you a very completely different look (and a pleasant grip underfoot, however extra on that practical improve in a minute).
Why We Needed A Stair Runner
Earlier than we get into the “how” of including this runner, let’s speak concerning the “why.” We’re not individuals who routinely default to masking our stairs. At our seashore home, for example, we determined towards a runner as a result of the unique wooden was so charming. We finally did add some temporary stick-on runner treads to assist our chihuahua, Burger, navigate the steps extra simply (we used this removable tape to carry them down, and it got here up cleanly later after we offered the home).
And that’s the #1 cause we selected to do a runner right here at our new home. Burger is 14 years previous, and continues to be fairly spry, however these wooden stairs had been simply slick sufficient for him that he didn’t like going up or down on his personal very a lot. And “chihuahua elevator” will not be actually a job description we had been keen to maintain on our resumes for very lengthy. We knew including a runner would have him trotting up and down much more sure-footedly all by himself, and spoiler alert: the runner truly has some nice grip underfoot for us people as properly.
Why We Painted The Stair Treads
You’ll discover that along with including the runner, we additionally painted the wooden treads. This was partly simply an aesthetic alternative to raised bridge the hole between two completely different wooden tones (the steps weren’t the identical kind of wooden because the flooring downstairs, which you’ll be able to see beneath)…
There have been additionally some end points on the steps themselves. Our greatest guess is that the professionals who painted our home had taped off the steps earlier than the ground sealer had absolutely dried, so we had been left with this line of discoloration when the tape was eliminated on each side of practically each step (and a few stair fronts had been in rougher form too, which you’ll be able to sort of see above).
The steps might be absolutely resanded and resealed to hopefully repair it, however we knew just a few inches of them would present on both facet of the runner as soon as it was put in, and it will be fairly dusty to redo whereas residing right here (and so they’d by no means match the downstairs wooden flooring even when we may get a greater end on the steps themselves anyway).
We didn’t rush proper into portray them immediately, which is mostly a good suggestion everytime you’re debating portray one thing that might be considerably difficult to undo (on this case they’d need to be sanded down once more, which they wanted to be with the intention to be mounted anyway). So we mulled issues over for a few months, after which lastly determined to get on with it as a result of we felt positive about our alternative, and we needed to assist Burger rise up and down extra simply. On reflection, our solely remorse was not making the choice sooner, as a result of we love the completed outcome.
Prep & Paint
The risers had been already painted white, so our portray process was simply to do the wooden treads. Though the paint wouldn’t actually be walked on instantly, we nonetheless needed one thing sturdy (your ft don’t are inclined to fall on the skinny 3″ part alongside the wall past the runner since you’d mainly be dragging your hip alongside the wall in that state of affairs). We selected this Porch & Floor Enamel that was beneficial by the professional on the paint retailer, and we needed a colour that danced that line between grey and beige, so after some swatch debating, we landed on Requisite Grey by Sherwin-Williams.
I don’t have any pictures of the portray a part of this challenge, nevertheless it was principally simply A LOT of reducing in. We didn’t want a separate primer (the paint professional mentioned it wasn’t obligatory with this kind of paint) and it took two coats to get a totally stable end.
Selecting The Runner
We beloved our previous home’s runner from Sprint & Albert, and assumed we’d simply get one other certainly one of them for this challenge (it appeared good, felt mushy underfoot, and wore properly through the years – actually solely getting just a little worse for put on in Yr 7 at our final home because of dragging stuff up and down the steps in the course of the grasp rest room reno).
However a couple of yr in the past we noticed our friends Kim & Scott’s stairs in particular person when we visited them in Chicago and, whereas it could appear bizarre for a staircase to go away a long-lasting impression on somebody, it’s the very first thing we each considered after we determined so as to add a runner to our stairs. They’d two bigger canines on the time, in addition to a cat and a toddler, and so they mentioned it appeared pretty much as good because the day they acquired it, even with pet claws and dirt dragged in on furry ft, and so on.
It’s made from an indoor/out of doors materials and has a pleasant classic-look… even leaning in the direction of beachy (it seems to be very very similar to a sisal rug up shut). So we simply saved coming again to how a lot we preferred their sisal-looking runner. It’s comforting to have seen one thing in particular person – we knew it was a very good impartial colour, was properly made, didn’t shed, held as much as little canine claws, and so on. As for the specifics, the colour is Belize Dune, the border is Slender Cotton, and the border colour is Granola.
To reach on the proper dimension whereas making our order, we knew we needed a couple of 3″ reveal on either side of the runner (so we went with a 25″ vast runner) and for size, we fastidiously measured the size of 1 “step” utilizing a string (together with the tread and the riser) and multiplied that by the full variety of steps. Then we tacked on a couple of further ft simply to be protected because you want some extra on the high and backside – extra on that in a second.
The web site offers you the choice to routinely add a rug pad, however we ordered ours independently. Since we knew we’d solely be placing a pad on the highest of the treads (and never up the vertical risers) we realized we may order a handful of these 2 x 3″ “premium” rug pads for a similar worth because the common ones that the checkout web page would’ve included routinely – which we thought can be further good. We simply minimize them into thirds and positioned them below the runner as we went, which you’ll be able to see beneath:
Putting in The Runner
The method of really putting in the runner was just about precisely what we had achieved in our final tutorial. The one deviations had been simply determining (1) one of the best ways to disguise our staples and (2) the place to staple given the particular profile of those steps. Our steps are just a little bizarre in that they’ve a large “lip” below the bullnose of the tread, however we truly suppose it’s a pleasant polished outcome – type of a extra substantial search for every step.
You possibly can see that we began proper below the highest “lip” somewhat than the wooden bullnose. We had been utilizing the very same electric stapler that we used final time and employed our color-the-staples-ahead-of-time trick once more too. Final time we used a black sharpie to assist camouflage the staples inside our black-and-white striped runner, however this time Sherry used a gold Sharpie to assist it mix in with the golden-brown sisal colours.
The colour doesn’t need to be an ideal match as a result of half of the battles is simply dulling the shiny silver tone of the staples in order that they don’t catch the sunshine as simply and gleam vibrant silver, which appears to indicate up much more than a colour that’s nearer to the rug’s major tone).
It took some trial and error on step one to determine the place to place the stapes to attain one of the best mixture of hidden staples and a decent maintain. We finally discovered that it helped to begin with a staple simply contained in the binding, proper below the bullnose (pulling the runner tight as you go).
If our goal was proper, we may even sort of tuck the staple below the small, unfastened fringe of the binding. And if our goal wasn’t so nice, it was simple sufficient to take away any misfired staples with some needlenose pliers and check out once more. Be aware: don’t really feel unhealthy, this occurs – we in all probability eliminated 10-15 staples as we went, simply to get a extra covert outcome in the event that they ended up overlapping the border and displaying up loads in that placement
We labored our method throughout the step to the opposite binding edge, finally placing 5 stapes in complete (2 on every edge, 1 within the center, and a pair of between these). The sisal-looking rug materials itself was fairly good at camouflaging the staples so it was no huge deal to place them proper in the midst of the step like that.
We then ran one other 5 staples below the “lip” of every step towards the highest of the riser, which you will not want in case your stairs have a extra conventional profile. Lastly we did a row of 5 staples on the backside of every riser, proper above the place the quarter spherical meets the stair tread (so nowhere are we truly nailing into the tread itself).
You’ll additionally discover in these pictures that I’m utilizing my free hand to press towards the again of the stapler as I pull the set off. We discovered that helps the staples go in straight and obtain the tightest maintain. I must also level out that alongside the way in which we broke out our tape measure to verify we had been retaining the runner centered.
When it got here time to finish the runner, we had about 18″ of extra (so possibly we overshot our order, however we had been relieved to not come up quick). We simply used common previous scissors to chop off the additional, leaving sufficient that we may fold below about 1″ on the very backside for a pleasant clear hem down there, and staple it alongside the underside of the final riser to safe it.
We’re so proud of the brand new stairs that, once more, our solely remorse is that we didn’t bounce on this sooner. They give the impression of being higher. They really feel higher. They’ve allowed Burger to return to his default stair velocity which is, inexplicably, ONLY RUNNING. However so long as it’s not slipping and sliding and rolling, we’ll take it. And it’s simpler for us people to maintain our footing too.
Right here’s the view from upstairs now. We love all the unique paneling and planking all through this home, and our runner undoubtedly appears to go with it with out making issues too busy (which is why we resisted the urge to go together with a busier sample or daring stripe).
It additionally seems to be good with the gold {hardware} that we now have in every single place (together with the brackets of the stair handrail which you can’t see a lot of within the picture above, however discover fairly a bit as you make your method up the steps).
Right here’s a have a look at the general distinction from this previous earlier than picture that we shared in April:
And right here we are actually with our brighter, cozier, dog-and-human-friendlier stairway.
It’s just about the view that you simply see proper from our entrance door, so it’s a cozier welcome than the previous stairs provided. Plus we really feel just like the pure sisal-looking materials matches properly with the lighter wooden flooring downstairs and the deeper toned ones upstairs – so it bridges issues fantastically (the downstairs flooring are pine and upstairs are coronary heart pine, which is a deeper tone).
In order that’s our latest stair replace from round right here. We even have a couple of extra inside (and exterior!) issues to share with you guys, so we simply need to {photograph} them and write them up – quickly I hope. And in case you missed any earlier posts about each final room in our home, you will discover all of them right here, and get caught up fairly shortly! We’ve come a great distance in 5 months of residing right here!
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