DIY Staircase Makeover Ideas
If you’re looking for staircase ideas for your own DIY staircase makeover, this post is exactly what you’re looking for. This roundup will show you tons of staircase makeover ideas that will help you get started!
There have been a lot of changes to the flooring in our home since we moved in. We knew pretty much from day one that it would all have to go, because we had ratty old carpet and ugly vinyl throughout the house, and it was definitely not going to be able to stand up to our messy family. We’ve slowly and systematically begun to replace all of the flooring (we’ve done the living/dining rooms, Jackson’s room, and our bedroom + hallway so far!) and the only carpet left in our house at this point is in our guest room and on our stairs. And that means it’s time for a DIY staircase makeover, right?!
Now that we’re eliminated the carpeting in our hallway upstairs and everywhere downstairs, it looks a little odd that our staircase is still covered in carpet. I’ve been longing to do a big DIY staircase makeover for years, but since ours doesn’t have “good” wood underneath it’ll probably be on the expensive side. Of course, in the process of ripping up the carpet, I got curious and tore up the top couple of stairs…so my staircase is officially a hot mess. Whoops!
I guess if nothing else this is a great motivator to get it done soon! I’ve been gathering ideas and inspiration for a long time (I’ve even got a Pinterest board dedicated just to staircases!) so I thought it might be fun to round up a few of my favorite ideas today.
If you want to see all of the other flooring-related posts in our home, you can check them out right here:
- Our first attempt at vinyl plank flooring.
- Adding vinyl plank to the downstairs.
- Adding vinyl plank flooring upstairs.
- Vinyl plank flooring in the kitchen.
- How we feel about our flooring 2 years later.
Psst – Want to see how we made the area around our stairs gorgeous? Here’s our staircase nook makeover and how we added beautiful moody beadboard to our entry.
Here are ten different gorgeous, inspiring, and (surprisingly) affordable ideas for a DIY staircase makeover. I love them all so much, it’s going to be impossible to figure out which route we want to go!
Easy DIY Staircase Makeover Ideas
Prudent Projects // Centsational Girl
I love the idea of using beadboard on the risers – it adds some really fun texture without making the stairs look too busy. I also loved the secret technique that both of these tutorials used for filling in gaps in the stairs! Just from the top two stairs at our house, I can tell that we’re going to have lots of gaps to fill in, and that’s the main reason I’ve been so nervous to tackle this project. These posts both have me feeling quite a bit better about that situation, and thinking that maybe I can actually do this on my own. Also, how cute are the colors on that post from Centsational Girl?
I absolutely adore the pretty blue tile from that photo on the left. We haven’t talked about doing tile on our risers before, but photos like that one make me seriously consider it as an option! They’re so durable and you can really get a lot of visual impact without a ton of extra money. The options are pretty much endless there. And, of course, I love the classic look of Sand & Sisal’s staircase with the pretty textured runner. I feel like you don’t see all-white stairs very often, and I love how they kind of just blend into the background and let the runner be the star of the show. So pretty!
Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body // Young House Love
I’ve admired Tasha’s numbered stairs for a long time – they’re so pretty and I love that she added a whimsical little detail without making the stairs look too intense. I also love the dark look of the stairs – the black riser + deep wood treads look is absolutely gorgeous. And, of course, I can’t leave out John & Sherry’s staircase, which is probably the first staircase makeover I ever saw that made me want a stair runner! I love the striped look, and every time I see those stairs I pretty much want mine to look exactly like that.
Lonny // Modern Medusa Ahead
Wallpaper! Who would’ve thought? Lonny would have, of course. I love the black and white geometrical prints they chose, and I love that there’s a ton of pattern and visual interest on the stairs but they still don’t look too busy. And you can’t talk about gorgeous staircases without mentioning the option of doing an ombre paint job! I imagine it’s a lot of work to mix up all of those different paint colors, but it sure does look amazing.
I never would have thought to paint on a stair runner like Faded Plains did, but that looks so gorgeous! I love the slight farmhouse feel it has, and the colors are so beautiful. Of course, with three dogs + a toddler, I don’t know that I could ever keep all of those pretty light colors clean, but goodness it looks gorgeous. And, if you Follow my newsletter you’ve heard me wax poetic about the stairs that Wit & Delight recently did – officially my favorite staircase makeover of all time. I love that she took a variety of vintage rugs in the same color scheme to make a cohesive looking runner, and I think if I had to choose one to replicate exactly in my house, it would be this one! Of course, I’m not sure if I have the skill/patience to track down all of those coordinating rugs!
Here are a few of my favorite runners for staircases:
Which DIY staircase makeover is your favorite? What do you think we should do with our stairs?
I am looking forward to a day when a client would ask for a “whimsical” approach to renovating a staircase. So far, all my work has been rather classic. Thank you for posting these, I will be sure to show this article to my clients to gauge their attitude to something more fun than a regular staircase.
There are so many fun things you can do with stairs!
I tore up almost all the carpeting in our house, except for one bedroom downstairs, one bedroom upstairs, the bathroom upstairs, and the kitchen. I wanted to see what the wood floors looked like underneath. My husband wasn’t thrilled. That’s why the two bedrooms didn’t get stripped. I could tell that the linoleum is in very bad shape under the carpet in the upstairs’ bathroom and the kitchen. Part of the bathroom downstairs is half of the kitchen carpet. The previous owners added the downstairs bathroom on and renovated the dining room into a bedroom with a laundry room because they were old and couldn’t use the stairs. At one time, the gentleman had to go by ambulance and the squad had a difficult time getting him down the stairs. I prefer to have tile or linoleum in the bathrooms and kitchen. I don’t know what the downstairs bathroom was before. The door has a window in it covered with a curtain. I need to keep it closed because when we eat at the table you look right into the bathroom and it doesn’t smell nice after someone uses it. The wood on the floors is in so so condition. Except one small bedroom upstairs and the stairs. I believe with some trim that both would look good. The stairs are all wood which is in very good condition. I like the natural wood look. I beleive with a good cleaning that they would be fine along with some quarter round trim under the risers, stained to match the stairs that would be all that would be needed. I have looked into making canvas coverings for the living room and entryway. Some of the boards have been removed and replaced with plywood. I thought of covering the living room with hardwood flooring in the opposite direction of the existing hardwood. In front of the “ornamental” fireplace where there is plywood lay a mosaic of tile to match the green splotched tile on the fireplace. The fireplace was painted white and I stripped the white paint down to the natural wood. I’d like to lay plywood down in the entryway which includes my husband’s small office and leads by the stairs into the kitchen. I would paint it and put on several layers of polyurethane. I doubt that he would let me. I didn’t realize that he does a poor job of maintaining a house. My husband has scrapped the hardwood where his “office” is because of his weight. We don’t have a coat closet when you enter through the front door. I have a 33″ X 31″ of a corner to the right as you enter the house. I think that I’ll put in a coat hanger with a shelf there. I wish that 10′ X 10′ space where my husband’s office is is cleared. It would make a space for a small coat closet. At one time pillars were up as you entered the living room past the small 33″ X 31″ corner to the right as you enter the house. They’re in the basement, but when they were removed they sawed them crocked. I could make a coat rack out of one of the pillars. Between the living room and the down stairs bedroom (dining room) are pocket doors!
Before I can work on my projects, I’m in the process of decluttering my useless items. My husband believes he doesn’t have to. I working on minimalizing and being frugal. I’m re-organising items. My husband does what he wants without any consideration of “rules”. I aquired a rare, progressive, degeneratve, and incurable disease called Stiff Person Syndrome with parkinsonism. Clutter causes stress and stress agravates SPS. So far, I can do most activities, just slower, but I can’t if I don’t have the support of my husband. I’ll just have to see if he will folllow the “rules” of being clutter free. I want to move into a smaller house, but he doesn’t. A smaller house would be easier for me to maintain and I could have controll of my enviroment. Sorry I have rambled on at how I would renovate this house when it started with renovating poor stairs.
Carpet in the kitchen?! Oh my, that sounds interesting! You sound like me – I love to rip carpet up without checking with my husband. 😉 Jealous of your wood stairs – I wish ours were in good condition!!