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One of the final things we need to do with the basement remodel is do something with the stairs. We were going to carpet them but when we pulled off the existing carpet expecting them to be just unfinished wood, we found they had been painted and a runner of sorts of some kind of textured vinyl/linoleum or whatever it is also on them. That runner give pretty good traction so we are going to paint them and see how that goes. If that makes them too slippery, we will carpet. Now, what color to paint them??? The trim down there is white, the walls are a soft butter yellow, the stairs are currently a battleship gray I guess you could describe them and the flooring is a wood look vinyl in basically a red oak finish. I kind of like gray with the yellow and white so we could go with a more complimentary gray. We could color match the trim and go white but I'm wondering if that might be too much white. The furniture is reds and blues. I'm looking for some ideas of maybe other colors that we might want to consider or thoughts on the choices above. I'm thinking that if we don't like the traction on the paint and end up carpeting, if we painted white, we could do a runner more easily, but we could easily slap some more paint down if it came to that too.
One of the final things we need to do with the basement remodel is do something with the stairs. We were going to carpet them but when we pulled off the existing carpet expecting them to be just unfinished wood, we found they had been painted and a runner of sorts of some kind of textured vinyl/linoleum or whatever it is also on them. That runner give pretty good traction so we are going to paint them and see how that goes. If that makes them too slippery, we will carpet. Now, what color to paint them??? The trim down there is white, the walls are a soft butter yellow, the stairs are currently a battleship gray I guess you could describe them and the flooring is a wood look vinyl in basically a red oak finish. I kind of like gray with the yellow and white so we could go with a more complimentary gray. We could color match the trim and go white but I'm wondering if that might be too much white. The furniture is reds and blues. I'm looking for some ideas of maybe other colors that we might want to consider or thoughts on the choices above. I'm thinking that if we don't like the traction on the paint and end up carpeting, if we painted white, we could do a runner more easily, but we could easily slap some more paint down if it came to that too.
If you want the stairs to be a focal point, then paint them out in a contrasting color or colors. If they are pretty ordinary, and you don't want them to be a focal point, and maybe they are not open, I'd paint a color that blended well with the rest of the downstairs. I probably would not choose white, as I would have to be scrubbing stains and black marks off them frequently. But I don't see why a pleasing soft yellow and gray would not work. Gray and yellow look great together.
I suppose you could paint the risers in alternating red, white and blue for a patriotic theme, if you wanted contrast. Or, you could alternate red with blue. You don't have to paint the entire stairs in a contrasting color or colors. Consider just painting the risers.
I'm thinking the soft yellow on the treads and the trim white on the risers. That would look cute.
Or reverse it.
Oh, I like this idea!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by silibran
If you want the stairs to be a focal point, then paint them out in a contrasting color or colors. If they are pretty ordinary, and you don't want them to be a focal point, and maybe they are not open, I'd paint a color that blended well with the rest of the downstairs. I probably would not choose white, as I would have to be scrubbing stains and black marks off them frequently. But I don't see why a pleasing soft yellow and gray would not work. Gray and yellow look great together.
I suppose you could paint the risers in alternating red, white and blue for a patriotic theme, if you wanted contrast. Or, you could alternate red with blue. You don't have to paint the entire stairs in a contrasting color or colors. Consider just painting the risers.
I agree about the white being too hard to keep clean and kind of blinding, but this is why I ask on here . They aren't a focal point but I do like painting some of the risers different colors too. I don't know about every other one, but maybe a couple. My color-blind husband is trying to give me suggestions, I just smile and nod .
Here's another idea, Qwerty. It does have white on it but, as you can see, it's on the sides so it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. It kind of looks like a gray carpet runner over white stairs. This pattern would look good with any color you like.
Here's another idea, Qwerty. It does have white on it but, as you can see, it's on the sides so it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. It kind of looks like a gray carpet runner over white stairs. This pattern would look good with any color you like.
I saw something similar to this on Pinterest and love how it looks, however, I don't know that we are talented enough to pull that off . I'm not sure how you would get the tape down so the lines are straight enough but if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!
We have the stairs primed in white and even just that is a huge improvement. The traction on the linoleum seems to be ok so far. We will just have to see how the paint holds up to wear. I'm thinking I'd like to leave the edges white, but again, not sure how to accomplish that and have it look good. I'll have to eyeball the linoleum and see if it looks straight enough to just tape the edges and have it look like a runner.
I saw something similar to this on Pinterest and love how it looks, however, I don't know that we are talented enough to pull that off . I'm not sure how you would get the tape down so the lines are straight enough but if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!
We have the stairs primed in white and even just that is a huge improvement. The traction on the linoleum seems to be ok so far. We will just have to see how the paint holds up to wear. I'm thinking I'd like to leave the edges white, but again, not sure how to accomplish that and have it look good. I'll have to eyeball the linoleum and see if it looks straight enough to just tape the edges and have it look like a runner.
Aw, don't sell yourself short. You could do it. It's actually pretty easy. I don't remember reading if you said there are walls on either side of the stairs but it doesn't matter. Paint everything white but remember to paint only the right half (or left) going up and down so you can still move up and down on the left half. After it dries, paint the other side so you can get up and down on the right. Then, decide how wide you want the "runner" to be. Measure, from the wall with a ruler and make a mark with a pencil. This will guide you as you apply the tape. It helps to start with a full roll of tape so you can do one long continuance over each riser. If you want an additional stripe, you'll do the same thing again but this time it's easier because you already have one line of tape running along the entire staircase.
Once you've gotten both strips of tape down, paint over the sides of the tape with the white again. But make sure you can still see the middle of the tape. The reason you do that is so that when you paint over the outside piece of tape (the one closest to the wall) and just over the edge of the tape closest to the middle of the step, you create a perfect line. The white paint underneath creates a barrier so the alternate color doesn't bleed through under the tape.
Here's another idea, Qwerty. It does have white on it but, as you can see, it's on the sides so it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. It kind of looks like a gray carpet runner over white stairs. This pattern would look good with any color you like.
Here's another idea, Qwerty. It does have white on it but, as you can see, it's on the sides so it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. It kind of looks like a gray carpet runner over white stairs. This pattern would look good with any color you like.
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. They aren't a focal point but I do like painting some of the risers different colors too. I don't know about every other one, but maybe a couple. My color-blind husband is trying to give me suggestions, I just smile and nod 
Here, I found this tutorial with pictures so you'll get an idea of what I am so clumsily trying to say. 
