Holiday Goals, Part 3: Almost Done Will Have To Do

I'm still being faithful to my exercise routine with the Wii Fit, and I haven't purchased any new yarn; so all is well with the first two goals.  As I hit Sunday night and start preparing for re-entry to work (waaaah!) I'm can also say I'm 95% complete on my last goal to finish painting our stairs.

If you want the history on this DIY project, check here.  We painted the treads and the risers this summer while the kids were at my mother's (it would have been impossible if they were home unless they camped in the main room), but never got to the side of the staircase which required much hole filling and fiddly painting, or the bannisters which we planned to sand and then paint.

Well, after a few days of work, all the paint is applied and all that's left is the trim to beef up the treads and to hide where the Natural Linen paint meets the Bitter Chocolate (both Benjamin Moore). I've chosen an obscured photo on purpose so I can do a proper "reveal" (to get all HGTV on you).  Those pink post-its are to cover the little spots I've touched up--alkyd paint is a bitch to work with, it takes forever to dry.

 

I'm also not completely convinced I like the colour of the railing.  I hated the orange-stained wood that was there before, and thought the lighter colour would look less stripey since it's the same colour as all the trim and ceilings--maybe it's because it's so clean.  Our other choice is the dark brown, but I plan to live with this for now and decide later.  It's only paint and about 5 hours of my time. 

Right now, I'm patting myself on the back for getting all this done.  All the trim is also painted, so it's over to Craig to get it put on--I don't do the compound mitre saw well.  All those angled cuts don't make any sense to me.  With any luck I'll have those before and after photos soon.

Comments

[Beth]

Well done, great use of part of that UofT holiday break. Looks good - hard to judge from the photo, but I think the railing looks good as is. Thought I had posted in response to your lovely post about skating on the lake, but must have done something wrong - need to let you know how lovely it was to read that.

[yvette]

It looks terrific. I remember the "before" photos. Give yourself another pat on the back!

[claudia]

Good job on the exercise and the painting! Starting off the new year right.

[Leslie]

We want to do the same thing with our stairs. Do you have more pictures?

[Seanna Lea]

Very nice! The railing looks fine to me in the picture. I can completely understand the live with it for now choice. Sometimes things aren't as bad as we think they are if we give it a bit of time.

[Leslie]

The hot pink mixed with the bitter cocoa and linen makes me think a fuschia runner is in your future!

Very handsome work.