Stairway to Heaven...AKA This Stairway IS Heaven!!!

Ok...I'm pretty dang proud of this transformation.

1.  The improvement is TREMENDOUS!

2.  This is the first big project I have done without dragging my mom over to my house to supervise me.

Check out the amazeballs view I got to feast my eyes upon when I walked in the front door!

This carpet was a part of Handsome Husband's house when he bought it...

at least all of this teal business had been removed before we started dating.

(It was actually removed from the first floor the day AFTER we re-met at a party...we had actually met a year before...long story.  Sorry...back to the stairs!)

Feast your eyeballs on that tealy goodness.

Gah!

Mom and I spent a day ripping it all up.

Those nails were a BEAR to pull out.

You can see the improvement already, huh?

Handsome Husband and I were more than willing to live with this for a while.

But then...the opportunity to get the treads refinished came around.

So, we had the treads refinished in what is SUPPOSEDLY dark walnut.

(I say supposedly because it's not as dark as it's supposed to be...it's much more obvious now that I have painted...they are getting a call...)

Another view...

(at night...sorry)

The view from the top.

It seriously took me 4 tries to take a picture that DIDN'T have my toes in it.

You can see the color difference between the treads and the first floor in this picture.

The treads are GORGEOUS but not as dark as they were supposed to be. 

So, I spent last Friday sanding my little heart out.

I knew from previous painting experiences around the house that I was going to need to sand down the seam where the former owner had painted after the carpet had gone down.

Plus, this was such a HUGE project that I wanted it to be done well.

I sanded all of this business BY HAND.  

My upper body is still killing me.

I should do this more often in lieu of an arm workout!

I had a pretty great setup, don't you think?

Thank goodness for school-issued iPads, huh?

(and for Hulu Plus and CSI Miami, and Law and Order SVU and extension cords...)

All sanded, wiped down, washed and ready to go!

But first, a shower.

The sanding, washing, nail-hole-filling and going back to do something I forgot took me 6 hours.

Seriously...thank heavens for technology.

Primed!

Already an improvement.

I decided to quit here for the night.

It was 8:30 and my butt was killing me.

I got crack-a-lacking on the painting Saturday afternoon (after going to the Farmer's Market, a cookout and the car dealership...I was stalling).

As you can see, technology was a life-saver yet again.

Don't the treads look fantabulous next to the white?!

This is near the end of the first coat.

I am completely in love with these stairs now.

I think that I may put one more coat on the risers to give it that extra "Oomph".

Don't mind the spindles that now need to be done.

I went to bed last night dreaming about the other things in the house I could freshen up with some paint!

I think the trim on the first floor (after some sanding that I didn't do the last time I did it...I didn't know!!) could use a touch up.

All of the trim upstairs has to be done, too.

We have renters scheduled to come in three weeks and I now feel like I am ready to have them in the house.

How was your weekend??

Laters, 

Mrs. B