Modern Painted Staircase Remodel

Modern Painted Staircase Remodel

I have such an awesome transformation to share with all of you today! I’m slowly tackling every single space in our home to make it cohesive and updated after our renovation. While we’re done with the “heavy lifting,” there’s still many improvements I can make with just paint and time. Our DIY modern stairway is one of them! I hope this modern painted staircase remodel gives you the confidence to paint stairs or refinish stairs in your home.

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This is where we began. In all fairness, the red didn’t last more than a week. Before we even moved our stuff in, my family came and helped paint numerous rooms of the house. The red was covered with primer and two coats of a beautiful paint: Mindful Gray by Sherwin Williams.

Plans for Painting Stairway

When the red was gone, it looked like this:

And we lived with it like this for a year as we worked on adding a bathroom, renovating the whole main level, our exterior makeover, and everything else! The stairs still needed lots of TLC, but there were other things that needed it more.

In February, I finally got started on my modern painted staircase remodel. I did consider refinishing the wood, but there were several reasons I went with paint instead.

• The risers had TONS of holes in them from previously being carpeted
• The current stain was bubbling terribly from age in many places making a gel stain out of the question
• Sanding down these stairs to the original wood grain would’ve been beyond tedious.
• Stain is stinkier and more difficult to apply than paint
• All the rest of my trimwork in the entire house is painted white

So, let’s get to painting stairs!

Prep for Painting Staircase

Before painting, I spent a lot of time prepping the stairs. I had to sand down the bubbling stain with my orbital sander in multiple places. I also sanded each riser because they had old carpet underlayment stuck to it in places. Then I filled in holes EVERYWHERE with this latex wood putty. Next I taped down the edges of the carpet with my favorite green frog tape. Finally I could start priming!

When priming was done, I also used two full tubes of caulking on these stairs to make them look flawless before painting!

DIY Stair Makeover

It would’ve been easy to just paint everything white, but I was thinking that white risers would get dirty real quick with three little kiddos in the house! So I planned to paint accents of the stairwell black. With the help from my Instagram audience voting on my design, I ended up with black risers, a black railing, and everything else white.

Now the stairway goes perfectly with the rest of my house’s black and white design!

How to Paint Staircase

The tools I used will guide you towards the easiest way to paint a stairwell.

• 4″ mini roller set – this allows you to move fast and spread paint evenly without brush strokes
• Bullseye Primer – my go-to primer for covering varnished and stained surfaces because it adheres awesome with no bleed-through
• Behr Paint – I purchased a paint with self-leveling properties, strong adhesion and durability, and one that can be scrubbed clean.
• Wooster paint brush – at this point, I refuse to paint with anything else. The precise control you get from a wooster is unparalleled.
• Satin polycrylic – protect all your hard work with a couple poly layers!

Watch the video for the complete how-to tutorial.

Before and After Stairway Remodel

I hope these before and afters impress you!! We did replace doors and install new trim throughout the upper level that add to the drastic transformation between these photos!

It’s AMAZING what paint can do! Our stairway now looks clean and modern instead of outdated and worn. If you are inspired to paint stairs, please thank me by pinning these images to Pinterest!

If you liked this interior upgrade DIY and want to see more, my post on how to lay self leveling concrete is a great place to start!