Sunday, April 5, 2009

As promised: Stair update

The last couple of weekends my days have been filled with home projects. I swear I think one of the lady cashiers at Home Depot probably thinks my husband has a crush on her, because he has had to make multiple trips in a day and always ends up on her line.



When we first bought our home we were full of energy to get everything painted, decorated and remodeled. We finally got the house move in ready and as that happened we lost all steam we had. We were exhausted so we took a break from working on the little details. Well the break has been going on for a long time and this lady need to get her home picture perfect for my portfolio so the work has begun again.



One of this weekends projects was to work on my solution for my blah stairs.



We had discussed fixing it with paint, wallpaper or a carpet runner. I went with something else….decals!!!



Decals were the perfect solution. It was easy to do, fast, durable and if I wanted to change the look later I would just need to peel it off.



Before:


house 066

It was pretty simple to prep the stairs. Since I wasn’t painting I didn’t need to sand or anything. I just made sure I used extra TLC in cleaning the stairs and paid special attention to the risers.



Supplies:



Wall Pops:

zebra wall pops



X-acto knife:


x-acto knife



Plastic Scraper:

plastic scraper



Hubby:


California 705


Yes ladies, he cleans up nice and I’m willing to rent him out on the weekends. For handy man duties only!



To-do:



1. Un-roll and cut about 1” past the length needed for stair riser.


2. Pull off backing and line up strip so that there is a half inch overhang on each side.


3. Stick bottom edge first and then work your way up and out from the center with the help of the scraper to prevent air bubbles.


4. Once strip is in place go over once again with scraper to secure.


5. You will now still have the half inch overhang on the sides. Use scraper to guide x-acto blade and cut off excess without damaging the stair riser.


6. Repeat until you have finished your staircase.

After:


house 084

Zebra print might not be for everyone, but I rarely find anything wrong with it. It’s my go-to animal print. Plus since it’s on the risers it’s just a little
surprise you see when you are about to venture upstairs and not a loud statement. It looks great next to my living room that is a combo of brown/white/blue and little pops of orange.



In the beginning of my stair brain-storming I was actually considering hand painting zebra stripes. That would have been quite the project. I’m so happy that I found this quick and easy solution.

36 Comments:

Blogger Devon said...

Ummm, that's totally crazy cool. Love it.

April 5, 2009 at 11:07 PM  
Blogger Jenny at LGN said...

So fun! Great job!! I love it!

April 5, 2009 at 11:18 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That is too cool! It looks great!

April 6, 2009 at 12:11 AM  
Blogger My Galveston Cottage said...

wow. Love what you did! Thanks for sharing such a great, inspirational idea! -susan (and you've got a cute hubby, too!)

April 6, 2009 at 6:32 AM  
Blogger Debra said...

Fabulous! Love it.

April 6, 2009 at 8:16 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

That. Is. Fantastic!

April 6, 2009 at 9:14 AM  
Blogger Kwana said...

So cool!! The stairs and the hubby.

April 6, 2009 at 9:47 AM  
Blogger KM said...

LOOKS UH-MAZING! Not too loud, not too soft. Just right!! Way to go!
xx
Kara

April 6, 2009 at 9:51 AM  
Blogger alison giese Interiors said...

Perfecto! Needless to say, I'm inspired!

April 6, 2009 at 10:08 AM  
Blogger Pink Wallpaper said...

oh wow!! how fun!!

April 6, 2009 at 10:10 AM  
Blogger Caroline said...

wow - that is so fun and looks great!!

April 6, 2009 at 10:21 AM  
Blogger domesticinnyc said...

That looks amazing! Great creative solution.

April 6, 2009 at 10:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OMG!!! I LOVE IT! Looks fantastic!

April 6, 2009 at 10:49 AM  
Blogger Haven and Home said...

Brilliant! Great job!!!!

April 6, 2009 at 10:49 AM  
Blogger Freckles Chick said...

Tres chic!! So edgey, yet the zebra pattern is sort of classic you know? Fantastic job, C (and Hubs)!

April 6, 2009 at 11:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

omg, this looks amazing!!!!!!!

April 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM  
Blogger Kate Riley said...

Excellent choice HHFitD! I am impressed - very chic, very cool. I love it. Props to your hubby too.

April 6, 2009 at 12:05 PM  
Blogger LindsB said...

OMG, I LOVE them!!!! I wish I had stairs in my house so bad right now, I think they are amazing!! You must take more pictures of them at different angles, they are SO COOL!! Sorry for all the !! and the loves, but I do LOVE them sooo much, what a great job!

April 6, 2009 at 1:02 PM  
Blogger Blair Friedeman said...

Oh, that is amazing!! You did such an amazing job. Truly in awe. Love the pattern.

April 6, 2009 at 1:21 PM  
Blogger Brooke @ Blueprint Bliss said...

Looks so great!

April 6, 2009 at 1:27 PM  
Blogger Sarah Ring said...

So awesome!! I love I love!

April 6, 2009 at 4:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job! It's so bold and fabulous!

April 6, 2009 at 4:20 PM  
Blogger Wanderings of a Wannabe said...

WOW! looks incredible! So creative to use the decals.

April 6, 2009 at 7:06 PM  
Blogger Lauren said...

Oh so cute!!! I just had to pop on & see what you were up to!! hee hee hee shhhhhhh ;)

ps- cracking up about Jon & the cashier-- too funny!!

xoxo

April 6, 2009 at 7:48 PM  
Blogger Christina said...

what a great job, it turned out really nicely!

April 6, 2009 at 9:11 PM  
Blogger L. said...

I just came across your blog and I'm lovin' it! Great job with the stairs and the office!!!

April 6, 2009 at 11:07 PM  
Blogger KJZW said...

These are awesome. I would have never thought to put zebra on stairs but it looks so fun and vibrant.

April 7, 2009 at 8:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow... I LOVE your staircase! FAB!

April 8, 2009 at 1:32 PM  
Blogger Shima said...

your stairs are absolutely fab!

April 9, 2009 at 2:14 AM  
Blogger Lindsay said...

Wow, congrats! Your stairs look amazing! You've inspired me to use these in my own apartment!

January 28, 2010 at 7:41 PM  
Blogger Tonia Lee Smith said...

Fabulous tip, I'm done something similar with wrapping paper.

August 31, 2010 at 9:13 AM  
Blogger Jen of MadeByGirl said...

WOW....super cute! I loved the picture on the decorista! :)))

September 2, 2010 at 9:42 PM  
Blogger STYLE'N said...

what a great idea! My stairs look just like yours (before) and I have two sets of them! I love what you did with yours. Do you know if there are other patterns/prints available?

September 2, 2010 at 9:55 PM  
Blogger Where My Heart Is said...

Zebra stripe is in - black and white is so hip! What a transformation it has made, you must be thrilled. Now I wish my stairs had rises and weren't open.

September 3, 2010 at 1:11 AM  
Anonymous Jennifer said...

Love this idea! How tall are your stair risers? Mine are 7 3/4", so trying to figure how to use the 6 1/2" wide WallPops stripes? I'm assuming that's what you used?

September 13, 2010 at 12:19 PM  
Anonymous Christine said...

I think that might very well by my single most favorite thing I have ever seen on anyone's blog!!!

I love those stairs!!!!!! I will not rest until I have them!!

April 18, 2011 at 9:50 PM  

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