After making the move from North Carolina to Florida and finally moving in, we were ready to tackle our next project- the front entryway stairs! Here’s a few pictures of it before we got to work.
The main issue I had with it was that our ceilings are only 8 feet high and with the treads painted black, it really cut the wall in half, which wasn’t doing the low ceilings any favors.

We had the floors refinished during our pre-move-in renovations which included this landing step at the bottom of the staircase. They asked if we wanted the jute carpet removed while they were working and I said yes. I’m not exactly sure why I had our contractors do this since I didn’t have carpet picked out already, but alas, here we are.

The first thing I did was pick out new carpet for the entryway steps as well as the steps in the back of the house that lead to the bonus room, since the kids were having to tiptoe up and down the stairs to avoid the old carpet tacks. We went to Brian Barnard’s Flooring America here in Tallahassee and I had the pleasure of working with their wonderful sales associate, Josh. We were able to locate my dream carpet from Pinterest but the quote was more than we were wanting spend. Darn you, Pinterest!

We went back to the carpet store and pulled a bunch of other samples that we were able to take home and try, but nothing excited me. I went back a third time and after quite a bit of digging, I found the one!

We went with the blue celestial one without the border!  I chose a cheaper one for the back stairs (that no one really sees) that coordinated with the front.

With the mental labor done, it was time for the physical labor. With the help of my sister and mom, we got to work removing the black paint and sanding down the post and railing. So so tedious!

Just having the black paint gone on the post and railings looks so much better! I chose to stain them the same color as the floors in the color Provincial. For the treads, I painted them the same color as the walls, SW Snowbound, to help them disappear.

I think the transformation speaks for itself! Those harsh black lines going up the wall will not be missed!

The sconces were updated with new fluted ones from West Elm for a more modern look leading up the stairs.

And the new carpet is just fabulous!

Eventually I would like to add some wainscoting to the walls to add some interest and remove the treads, but that’s a different day!