At least that’s how I feel about stairs. Some people dislike them, but after pinning countless gorgeous staircases and DIY stair upgrades on Pinterest I was hooked. After seven years of living in single-level houses, we finally bought a home with stairs. Half of me worried I’d regret the change; the other half couldn’t wait to decorate, pinning staircase ideas nonstop. I daydreamed about runners and banisters like someone obsessed with a whole new world.
Three and a half months into life with stairs, two things are clear:
- We actually love having stairs. They create a natural separation between the public areas on the first floor and the private bedrooms upstairs. While a mid-century ranch will always have a soft spot in our hearts, stairs make it easier to entertain — we can tidy just the main floor and not worry about every bedroom being company-ready.
- We’ve neglected the stairs since moving in — despite being eager to redo them. Between the faded blue baseboards and balusters and the old carpet, they’ve been crying out for attention.
Why was the old runner still in place? We planned to remove it before moving but decided to keep it temporarily to protect the wood as we carried boxes up and down. It also helped our pets, Burger and Clara, get used to the stairs without slipping. We cleaned the runner, moved in, and told ourselves we’d replace it within weeks. A few weeks turned into months, but finally I was ready to replace it after seeing black-and-white stair runner photos on Pinterest.
- I loved a simple black-and-white runner shown on Pinterest — it inspired the whole look I wanted: a dark handrail with white balusters.
- Another pin showed that high-contrast railing and baluster combo I had in mind, even if the rug pattern wasn’t perfect.
- Some pins featured boldly striped runners paired with dark rails and white balusters — the contrast appealed to me even when the stripe pattern felt intense.
- Overall, high-contrast runners with dark rails and white balusters kept drawing me back.
*Note to self: stop saying the word “balusters” out loud so many times.
After sharing the inspiration with John (he’s very visual, so pictures sealed the deal), we decided to find a durable runner that could handle heavy wear without costing a fortune. A trusted friend recommended Dash & Albert, so I checked their selection and found a runner very similar to my favorite inspiration photo — even shown installed on stairs, which reassured me it would work for our home.
John liked it, too. Before purchasing, I searched for other retailers and found a discount at RugStudio that brought the price down significantly. We needed two 2’5″ x 12′ runners, and the sale plus a clearance code reduced the total by almost a third, including free shipping. The runners are back-ordered for about a week, but we’re excited to pull up the old carpet and install the new striped runners ourselves.
While we waited for the runners to arrive, I started painting the blue baseboards and balusters on the lower half of the staircase to freshen things up and get closer to the look I wanted.
There were also two balusters up in the upstairs hallway that needed the same treatment.
I started with primer and applied two coats, since the blue trim needed strong coverage. After that I painted with a semi-gloss white to match the rest of our trim. The blue still peeked through after the first couple of coats, so I kept painting until the color was completely covered.
Here you can see the stairs after two coats of primer and one coat of white paint. Those stubborn blue lines were annoying, but multiple topcoats did the trick.
Coat three wasn’t enough either — it took four coats for full coverage. Once everything dried, the trim looked crisp and white, and the difference was dramatic.
The painting took several hours over a couple of days, using a short-handled brush that gave me control without taping. It was worth the effort.
After the paint dried, there was a satisfying moment of stepping back and admiring the clean look. The foyer suddenly felt more polished.
With the balusters now white and the idea of a dark railing and striped runner in mind, we’re much closer to the full look we envisioned.
I even had a little fun imagining the railing painted dark to see how the contrast would read.
I still can’t believe we have stairs — and I can’t wait to finish the runner and railing so the whole entryway comes together.