NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

The so-far house: Hallway and stairway

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Next up in the so-far house tour is an area in the house that often goes unnoticed. The stairway and hallway. (You may want to check out the master, bathroom, living room, outside and dining room first.)

I think this is often a forgotten area of a house. But how many times a day do you go up and down the stairs or down the hall? Lots. It’s worth a little time.

And darn it, I smile each and every time I make my way up and down these steps. Which is a lot. (The bathroom and both bedrooms are upstairs.)

These stairs were a bit of a vision for me. I had this crazy idea to have some sort of wainscoting on the walls to cover the damaged areas from the prior owners’ cheap paneling. So, Ryan dry-walled and added the board and batten treatment (which by the way, is a super tedious process). But I never even imagined it would look this good.

The stairs – they were ALL Ryan. I didn’t think they were going to clean up at all (check out the before and progress photos at the bottom). These stairs were NASTY. Once we saw the amount of nasty on them in the form of adhesive, I had resigned myself to cleaning them as well as we could and slathering paint on them with a runner cover.

But my husband had other ideas. He worked on these stairs individually and spent a great deal of time stripping and cleaning and sanding and staining them. Wow. They are fabulous. I love that they still have the character of 100-year-old stairs, with dings and markets and darker areas. But, the white risers just really make them pop.

(Disclaimer: This photo is a few months ago. But, it’s the best one of the detail on the railing.) 

Love.

Moving on to what’s at the top of the stairs. A little nook area that I originally thought I’d make into a reading nook. But, the desk fit perfectly in the space so a little office nook was born.

It’s kind of a wasted space otherwise, but I like the antique desk and chair there. I’m just trying to keep myself from making it a junk dump zone. So far, so good. And this side gets a massive amount of light and heat from that window. Probably the most in the house.

The rug was a in-law hand-me-down. (Jealous?) It’s actually about an inch too big for the room, but I didn’t let that stop me. There’s a tiny little linen closet on the right side that’s actually serving as paint storage. I’d like to get it cleaned out soon and store linens and my sewing machine there. (Maybe.) Right now, that’s all in the basement.

So, those are the two smaller areas in the house. But, I think they pack a lot of punch. The stairs get the most compliments from guests.

And, now the progress pics.

August 2011

September 2010
May 2011
Now
Much better, right? Hopefully you can see why I’m so proud of these little spaces.
What do you think?

Comments

  1. Your vision is amazing… I wish I had that! LOVE the stairs. I am so impressed. Your hubby is a keeper.

  2. How can I lure you and Ryan to come spend a week here and put you to work making my house amazing? I would KILL for your living room ceiling. And I love the desk there, I kinda feel like reading nooks never get used, because beds or couches are alwyas more comfy. Is that just me? Either way, stunning as usual. Jealous as usual too.

    Btw, I hope you guys are well. I’ve had so much going on, I hate to be away from you so long! Haha, creepy?

  3. Wow, you totally snuck into my house to take those before pictures, right? We have faux wood panelling and almost identical carpeting, plus some wallpaper, exposed studs, and more faux wood paneling. It’s so ugly right now but this gives me hope! Our house was converted to two stories so I doubt the stairs are intact underneath but I can hope! I’m pinning the heck out of this for when we finally attack our stairs!!

  4. As my friend would say, you guys made that stairwell your bitch. Translation: You guys are amazing & turned a derelict area into a showstopping piece.

    (When I say “my friend”, I really mean “me”.)

  5. This is an amazing transformation! I’m glad you showed the before pictures because if I hadn’t seen them, I wouldn’t have realized how much hard work went into rehabbing this space. Your board and batten treatment going up the stairs really adds architectural interest. Great job!

  6. I think this is my favorite space in all of your house. The detail is amazing and a huge labor of love to get all of that caulked!

  8. Those stairs are awesome! But are the walls a pain to dust? I lurv that banister! And Ryan…oh man, he deserves a major award.

  9. Wow! What an awesome transformation! I love the board and batten. I would definitely smile every time I’d up and down those stairs, too.

  13. oh WOW! That carpet was scaaary. (Is that a giant stain I spy near the bottom of them? Don’t you love stains left by the previous owners? It makes my germophobia careen out of control.) The wainscoting looks so good. You guys deserve an award for being so dedicated!!

  14. You guys are SO AWESOME! I love the paneling. I was so impressed how very happy having a pretty hall makes me. You’re right… if you’re passing through all the time, it’s the perfect way to start the day right. 🙂

  15. What an utterly amazing transformation. I just adore it. And that desk and chair combo is PERFECT (we have a similar set-up in the husband’s office).

  17. Ahh just looking at the picture of your husband on the scaffold makes me nervous. The stairs and nook look awesome! I get so much inspiration from your blog 🙂

    barefootcrafts.wordpress.com

  22. Holy Cow. Looks AMAZING. The picture of your hunny on the ladder/board invention made me gasp–so smart, but I would have been biting my nails the whole time! You guys are doing an awesome job–I just want to come by and help and absorb all this ‘how-to’ wisdom! Thanks and have a great day, Kim!

  24. Oh wow. That carpet made me want to gag! I think I could smell it from my laptop! I can’t believe you all knew it would look good… I’d have run screaming! haha kudos!

  25. Man, I can’t believe how much that staircase has changed! The best part of blogging is going back and looking at the old pictures. Sometimes I forget what my own house looked like a year ago! You guys should be so proud, it looks great!

  29. I really love the staircase. That paneling is just awesome. Also did you have a near heart attack with Ryan standing on that makeshift scaffolding on the stairs? My heart is racing just looking at it.

  31. Mind officially blown! I guess I never saw pics of what the stairs looked like before- Ryan did an AMAZING job. Amazing. My jaw is on the floor right now. Can I pretty please borrow him to come do our stairs?!? 🙂 Love the little nook at the top too- so cozy. Just gorgeous!!

  32. Seriously amazing! I have no doubt you smile every time you walk up a down the stairs because I totally was grinning instantly! I can’t imagine how long that took you guys…or Ryan!

  34. I can’t imagine how much work it was to have to angle that paneling like that. And Ryan on that scaffolding on the stairs? Too brave! Y’ll did a fantastic job. It has all the charm with a modern twist.
    Love the office nook. I think it’s a great use of the space. You still have room over the desk for storage should you need it. Great job!