OUR CURRENT STAIRWELL
Today I am sharing with you the details of our upcoming stairwell project. This is a space with little to be desired. The walls are brown. There aren’t any windows in the space, so the brown makes the room look even darker.
Here is a view from the landing up to the second floor. Notice the cream paint for the trim. It is intentionally cream, but it looks dirty. It is actually very clean. The issue is the color! We will be painting all of the trim, including the railings a bright white.
This is a view from the top of the stairs, looking down at the landing. The large wall could use some moldings, lighter paint, and even some art work. The landing is too small for a bench or even a plant. Anything on the landing would become a hazard.
Here is a view from the top of the stairs, looking at the large wall. Notice the light fixture only includes a light bulb and no cover? Well…that is because we bought a light bulb that was too round; the cover wouldn’t go back on. I was frustrated so I decided to just leave it this way. A new light fixture is definitely in the plans.
INSPIRATION
I love the moldings, also known as wainscoting. I also love the window bringing in natural light, but that isn’t going to happen in this space. We live a townhouse between two other townhouses. The stairwell is in the middle of our home; a window to the outside isn’t possible.
I am also drawn to the large chandelier, white trim, and stair runner. We want to eventually add a stair runner, but it will be a phase 2 project.
The wainscoting in this image is closer to the wainscoting we have in our entryway and our dining room. We are going to have our contractor mimic the same design so it appears to have built at the time the house was built and doesn’t look like an afterthought. We are going to paint the railings white, much like in this image.
I really like the gray herringbone stair runner in this image. It is our pace and would look so lovely in our stairwell. Again, this is going to be part of a phase 2. We want to update our floors upstairs so they are lighter. That would mean going lighter on the floors in the stairwell. Our focus at this time is on the walls, trim, and lighting.
THE STAIRWELL PROJECT DESIGN PLAN
- Paint the walls the same soft gray that is in the living room and dining room of our house
- Add wainscoting and paint it white
- Add a new light fixture to the center of the stairwell. I am in love with the Drake 4-light Polished Nickel Chandelier from Crystorama.
- Move the large blue and white painting from my office. I have another idea for what should go in my office behind my desk.
- Add faux greenery. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough natural light to grow a live plant.
The contractor starts next week. The work should be done by the end of the week. We are so excited about how great this space is going to look.
