Over the rainbow: Color adds personality to dull staircase
Q. We have just ripped up a ratty old runner that covered our stairs and would like to do something interesting — but not carpet. We are a young family, and we all love color. What would you do?
A. I came across a youthful and exciting stairway treatment in Annie Sloan’s third edition of her bookazine, The Colourist. The project was submitted by Rachel Jackson (www.banyanbridges.com), and your family will have fun designing your own take on this design.
Jackson admits that she “loves using bold stripes and funky colors” in her home as an act of rebellion against the gray and neutral.
She was updating a small dark staircase and decided to take full advantage of the nonpriming feature of Annie Sloan’s chalk paint products.
Jackson wanted to leave the railings and stair treads natural, so simply sanded them to reveal the light color.
She chose seven chalk-paint colors, mixing a few of them to produce the shades that she wanted, using Napoleonic Blue to tie the whole theme together. Masking tape was used to divide the risers, creating a neat line between the two chalkpaint colors she painted on each one. To brighten the wood-paneled walls, a coat of chalk paint in Pure made a big difference. Jackson finished by sealing everything using matte chalk-paint lacquer.
Since you removed a runner, your stair treads may be marked with nail holes and gouges.
If the wood is good quality, fill any holes with wood filler and sand the spots smooth. Otherwise, you’ll want to paint the treads as well as the risers.
A tip for painting stairs: Work on every other stair so you can still use the stairs (albeit very carefully) while you are working on them.
Q. The vaulted ceiling in our great room is varnished knotty pine tongue-andgroove, and the wood has oranged over time. The room feels imposing on a dark day. We could paint it white, but we are also wondering about putting in a skylight. It is a tough area to heat.
A. There are pros and cons for putting in skylights.
They get high marks for letting in more natural light during the day, which can be a real bonus, especially during the shorter dark days of winter.
However, skylights do decrease a home’s energy efficiency in winter. Warm air from your room rises; some of this warm air escapes through the skylight, while some is cooled by the glass and falls back down into your room. A large room can be difficult to heat, and one or two skylights could add to the challenge.
If you decide to go for the benefits of more light, install a south-facing skylight if possible, as it will receive the most sunlight during the day. Check with a building supplier in your area and investigate the different types of skylight glazes, including heat-absorbing tints that improve energy efficiency.
Painting the ceiling might be your best solution — and you can always put recessed lights on the ceiling and sconces on the walls to improve the lighting, using dimmers to control the intensity.
Debbie Travis’ House to Home column is written and produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email decorating questions to house2home@debbietravis.com. Follow Travis at www.instagram.com/debbie_travis or www.facebook.com/thedebbietravis, or visit her website, www.debbietravis.com.