DIY STAIRCASE MAKEOVER _ Updating Railing + Runner Install _ON A BUDGET_.

Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel. My name's Kristen and today we're getting started on my staircase makeover. I'm gonna give this cute little staircase a budget-friendly refresh. I'm gonna be refinishing the railing and the newel post to match the floors. We got our floors refinished a year ago now and we never ended up continuing that white oak finish up the railing as well. So I really wanna pull it together. It's kind of that one wood piece in this entryway that doesn't really feel like it fits. So I think we can definitely do that. I'm gonna be leaving all of the balusters right now. I'm gonna be adding a really cute runner down the stairs because these stairs are pretty steep and pretty slippery. So I think it's gonna add a lot of functionality and a cozy touch to the staircase as well. And we're definitely replacing this vent cover. This is a metal vent cover. It kind of rattles sometimes. It always looks a bit dirty. So I wanna give it a fresh new look. And from there, we'll see how the staircase comes together. Maybe we'll put some art up the walls and finish it all off. But I'm really excited to get started on this. I actually think this staircase is really cute. I love the details up the stairs, but one day I can see us maybe doing a full stair renovation and doing new newel posts and new balusters and railings and the whole thing. But for now, I think we can make a huge difference on a budget, just doing it DIY style. So I hope this inspires you to refinish your staircase as well. It's usually right in the center of your home and it makes such a huge difference. So anyways, if you enjoy watching and find this video helpful, make sure you give it a big thumbs up and hit that like button. Let's go ahead and jump right into it. Okay, I taped up the vent and just removed all the small decorative details in the entryway because it's gonna get very dusty in here. I actually tested out all of the wood sanding upstairs just to see what it would look like. And so I could feel confident starting down here because this is the first thing you see when you walk in. So I want it to be done well. So I did the two railings and the two newel posts upstairs. It does get very dusty and you need some good sanding tools to get this done. For a lot of the larger surfaces, I'm using my orbital sander with an 80 grit sandpaper to just remove that stain and varnish. So that's working great. I've been swapping out the batteries because it takes a lot of time to get it done, but it's definitely worth it. And then I found that I needed this detail sander to get in all of these edges and crevices. This is great. This is by Milwaukee. I found it on Amazon, but look at the size difference. You definitely need a small detail sander. This one's again, cordless, easy to use, lightweight. So I highly recommend something like this if you're getting started on this project as well. So we'll start with all the larger surfaces so we can use our orbital sander to get most of the finish off. And then we'll go in with all the detail work. And then to be able to get into this side area and all of the small details, we're gonna be using the detail sander. I'm noticing that there's probably different types of wood being used on this railing system. This house was built in the late eighties and it's a builder grade home. So I don't think this is like a specialty, one of a kind wood staircase at all. I'm finding some of it to probably be pine, some of it's probably poplar. So it's a bit difficult to get really smooth and completely matching, but I'll do the best I can. The goal is really just to make it blend with the floors a bit better. And so it doesn't stand out as a darker wood, but I think it would look way smoother if it was like a solid oak staircase, but it's not. We're just trying to make it look like it is. It is very dusty in here. This is kind of the time in the project where you look at it, you're like, oh no, what did I do? Which means you just have to keep going, you know? It always looks worse before it gets better. Now we have to do some detail hand sanding to get in between all of these crevices. On Amazon, I found this little sanding kit. So these are like hard sponges in different shapes so that you can get into detailed areas. You just wrap a piece of sandpaper around the edge and get into the tight corners. So I'm using 80 grit sandpaper again to just remove that finish. That's most of the stain removal. We're still sanding. Now we're swapping out the sanding pad for a 120 grit sandpaper. This is gonna give us a smooth finish. It's also gonna keep sanding down the staircase, but right now it's very rough. So we wanna make sure that it's super smooth. Okay, we're moving on from sanding. That was way too much sanding. I've used every kind of sandpaper, every kind of sander. I'm happy with the results. Now we finally got off all that dark stain and now it's really looking like the floor finish. So I wanna keep this wood looking as it does now, but finish it with the stain. So I'm gonna be using the Verathane Sunbleached Wood Stain. This is a one coat stain. It should dry in an hour and we can get a top coat on there. But this is gonna give us just a more balanced, smooth look. I actually already tested it out on this piece here and I love the color it's showing. It's really kind of looking the same as it did after it was sanded. So that's what I'm going for. I actually did test out a natural stain, but it was making the wood look really orange. So you kind of have to try different options to see what's gonna be best. So I'm applying the wood stain with a sponge brush. You can also use a regular brush or you can even use a cloth, but I'm applying it with this and then wiping it off with a cloth. This stain is looking perfect. It's still wet, so I'm gonna let it dry overnight and then finish off that top coat in the morning. As we wait for the top coat to dry, I'm gonna be replacing this air return vent cover. Now, I've never done this before, but I've always wanted to change this out. I feel like this is such a pretty little staircase and this is a bit of an eyesore. So I just wanna modernize it a bit. I found this option on Amazon and I like that this cover is paintable. It's larger in scale with its slats, so it's less busy and it doesn't show as dark as the cover right now. So I think this is gonna be a great option. You can get these covers in different sizes. So you just measure your opening. Once you open up this area, you measure from the inside to the inside to figure out what size cover you need and it should fit right in. So it comes with the metal insert frame that you need to pop inside of here. So I actually have to take the old one out, take out this old filter that is filled with cat hair and then we need to take out this existing frame. So it's all screwed in. Hopefully this just pops out super easily. Ooh, and then the new inside metal frame should just pop right in. And then to hold it in place, it comes with two holes. So you can just use your existing screws from your old insert just to screw that in the side there. And then we can just pop this cover right in. Isn't that just an instant upgrade? I can't even believe how easy that was. We just have to paint around the edges the same color as the walls just to kind of touch that up because this cover was just a tiny bit smaller than the old one. And I do wanna go ahead and paint the cover as well so it fully blends into the wall. So this is Sherwin-Williams West Highland White, but I'm super happy with this. That is an instant upgrade. Okay, we've tackled some big to do so far with the sanding, staining, changing out the air vent cover. And now we're onto a very important part, which is the stair runner. I've always pictured these stairs with a pretty little stair runner coming right down the center because it's just such a sweet staircase. Something you see right when you come in, it adds a ton of coziness and it's going to help with sound absorption and grip. These stairs are a bit steeper than usual. So we find them to be a bit slippery. We're always warning people about going up and down the stairs and being careful. So we just wanna have them feel a little bit more safe and cozy. So we're adding a stair runner in. Custom stair runners that are 24 feet in length can be about $4,000. I ordered some samples of some carpet, got some quotes, and it was very, very expensive. So I thought we could definitely do this on a budget with some long runners and just strategically putting them together in hidden spots so that it looks seamless down the stairs. So I found a great option. This neutral striped wool runner. This is eight feet long, 2 1⁄2 feet wide. It's the perfect length to put together and create a seamless look down the stairs. I was very interested in finding a pattern that was simple like stripes. I think it's classic and timeless and you can really work other patterns into the space going that simple. Stripes also work well with all of these existing patterns that I have around. We have plaid in my office. We have this more vintage inspired ornate rug in the entryway. So stripes is a great addition to this entire pairing. And this kind of oatmeal finish can really hide a lot of imperfection. So I think this is a great option. And this is such an affordable runner. This was $114. So I ended up ordering four of these and altogether ended up being under $400 to get this entire look. I already have the stairs taped out for the placement for our carpet padding. So I'm adding carpet padding as well just to make it extra soft, comfortable for the carpet to grip really well on the stairs. And again, help with sound absorption. So I think this is gonna be great. I have to do 14 more of these to get the entire stairs done. So I'm gonna use the piece that I already cut just as a template so I can get all 14 stair treads cut. What we're gonna install is right down the center first with carpet tape just to hold the placement and then we'll staple everything in. You should always have extra carpet pad run underneath your stair tread just like this. So make sure that you extend that length about an inch or an inch and a half to be able to wrap underneath and staple into there. So this is gonna be pretty straightforward since the stairs are straight. But we do have our wall ending halfway down the stairs which means the stair tread is technically wider but we're still maintaining that center from the top. So you'll just see the stair runner come all the way down straight and at the bottom here, we're gonna have a little bit more space on the right which is totally fine. I've seen it done multiple times and it's always centered from the top down. Now we're going to adhere it completely wrapping that edge of the stair tread and then hiding a few staples underneath here. Wow, I already feel the difference on the stairs. They feel safe and secure and cushiony and soft. And now we can finally move on to the runner installation. You just have to do some simple math to calculate how much runner you need. So to do that, you have to add up your rise with your tread depth. So ours is eight inches high plus 10 and a half inches deep. That number multiplied by how many steps you have. So we have 14 steps. So we needed about just over 23 feet of runner. And then I added on another foot. That is the kind of simple math you need to get started here. So if you're trying to do this project as well and you wanna order your runner, I'll leave all the calculations below so you can get the right link. Okay, we have a lot of tape on all of the stairs right now. We have the green tape showing our guidelines. So I've marked exactly where our stair runner is gonna sit on every single tread. And then we have some more carpet tape. So I have carpet tape on the treads on either side so that the rug kind of comes off of the padding and sticks right to the flooring. Then you won't see any lifting from the side. And then I also have a piece of tape on every riser so that it really holds to that top edge. I'm gonna start at the top here so that we have this finished edge of the rug right at the top. I feel like that will make it look a lot cleaner. We'll start from the top down and then from the bottom up, and then we'll fill in whatever's in between with the third rug. That way, all of the seams are hidden in the middle and not at the beginning or the end. And then to really install the runner, we're using this narrow crown stapler. This has an even more narrow tip than a staple gun. So it really allows you to get up into all of these corners and it has smaller staples. So it's better for detail work and finish work like the stair runner. This can all be a bit messy because you're hiding it all underneath the runner. But for the actual runner, I wanted to go with a narrow crown stapler to really make it look super finished. Now we're gonna start from the bottom up and then fill in that gap space. With all this tape, you can kind of do a rough fit. And then once you have it all in place, you can staple it in. Okay, that was a lot easier than I was thinking it was gonna be putting those two rugs together. They seamlessly work together. You just cut it at the right spot so you don't have any frayed seams and just really stick it into that corner and nail it in. Okay, so we're coming to the end of this first rug here. I'm going to tuck this under the lip here and then cut at that seam so you won't be able to see it. So we're gonna just lose about that much of the rug, but this will make for a seamless transition. So do your transitions wherever you can hide them, usually down here or underneath that top lip. Okay, I definitely have a lot of stapling to do to really hold it in place perfectly, but it's all installed. Let's see what it looks like. Wow. The lines are perfect. Oh my gosh, and the color. Wow, works so well with this rug. It's so bold. I love it. It's bold and neutral and cute. Yay, and it's so cozy to step on. And this is the mess that I've left behind me. I'm definitely not the tidiest worker, but I do get the job done. So I'm gonna spend the rest of the evening just tidying up so we can finish up tomorrow. It's the next day, and I have been loving this runner more than I expected. I'm so happy with it. It feels comfortable, it feels safe, and it really makes this staircase feel homey. There's something so nostalgic about walking up a carpeted staircase, and maybe because that's what I grew up with, so it just feels familiar to me. And there's something kind of youthful about the stripes. And the mix of that with the old staircase, I'm loving that juxtaposition. It just is truly what I wanna encompass in this home, so I'm loving it. Anyways, I've been spending the morning mapping out this wall, because now the wall is looking very flat and plain. The goal eventually is to do wall molding through the entire entryway to still get that dimensional look. I think a gallery wall goes a long way. I've actually never had a gallery wall going up a staircase in any home that we lived in, and I think there's something so homey and cozy about that as well. So I can't wait to try it, because I feel like this is the perfect wall for that. I have some antique art to include, some art that's been gifted to us, which is really special. I wanna integrate some of our wedding photos, and I have some art that's printed off of Etsy. So I think it's important on a staircase to have a shape that looks like it's going in the direction of the stairs, going up and down. And I like this idea of them not being perfectly in line, and you kind of get this collected look that you can add to, take away from. And we're gonna be doing a mix of frames as well. So I think that's a great way of tying together different finishes around your home. We're gonna be doing white oak frames, dark wood, black, and gold. So I have frames like this that I wanna include. I like this white oak, so it ties together our wood tones, but I don't have any art in it yet. So I'm gonna go on Etsy and find some art that I want to get printed. I can find vintage digital downloads for like $1 to $3. And then I just go take that file over to Staples and get it printed to this size. So usually they print same day. Hopefully I can get this all done today. So I'm just leaving the tape up as a guideline, and then I can remove it after. But it just gives me an idea of where everything should be. I am strategically trying to separate similar art frames. So a black frame here, a black frame here. I wouldn't put them right beside each other because that just draws your eye in towards that area. So I'm just trying to disperse similar frames around the gallery wall so it looks really even. Okay, that truly is the easiest way to add instant charm, instant dimension, and a very interesting look to your home. So now I have to measure each frame that's empty right now to figure out what size prints I need to print out. Okay, so before printing, I just mocked up on Instagram stories what all of these prints will look like together, and then put them on a USB stick. And now I'm headed over to Staples to get them printed to size. Okay, I'm finally done the staircase, and I cannot wait to show you guys what it looks like all together now. This was a huge DIY project. So many different projects I've never done before, all in one. So anyways, let's think back to what the staircase used to look like. Now let's check out what our new and improved staircase looks like now. I'm so happy with the way this all came together. I hope you enjoyed watching, and I hope this also helped anyone out there that is looking to do these kind of DIY projects as well. If you wanna refinish your staircase railing, if you wanna install a stair runner, hang a staircase gallery wall, I hope this gave you some ideas. I'm so proud of myself for finishing up this project because it was very tedious work, but it's definitely worth it. So anyways, if you enjoyed watching and found this video helpful, make sure you give it a big thumbs up and hit that like button, and make sure you guys are subscribed to my channel so you don't miss the upcoming videos. Click that red subscribe button down below and make sure you guys have my notifications turned all the way on so you're first to see the next video. We have so many other projects to work on in the house, so make sure you guys stay tuned. Love you so much, and I'll see you in my next one. Bye.