Steps of Progress . . .

Best part of this redecoration job has been the stairs!  Priming the inside, painting the outside white, painting shutters black, and adding gray shingles to the roof is fairly straightforward work that doesn't involve any spark of creativity or excitable sense of 'that looks smashing'!  So I was pleased when the customer said she wanted wood floors installed on the first floor and the stairs to be a paint/stain combo!

First I stained and poly'ed the treads and handrails:

Staining didn't have to be perfect because white paint would cover any mistakes.

These are my favorite finishes for stairs!  Sometimes found in Federal, Empire, Victorian, and contemporary homes (roughly 1780-present), the paint/stain combo was originally a safety precaution: pre-electricity times made steps a hazard to see when climbing the stairs at night, holding that flickering candle whose light projection barely reached past your knees.  The contrast of the white riser and stained tread on stairs made it easier for someone climbing the stairs to see where the next step was.

Primed and painted!

All ready to be glued back into the house!

 

Now it's just a crisp, clean effect and looks elegant on staircases, even dollhouse stairs!