A Step Up: Going from Blah to Beautiful

For years, I've been wanting to do one particular project around my house. It was big and daunting and there was no coming back so we kept putting it off. But this spring we finally took the plunge and I can honestly say, I think the results are pretty spectacular. I have had several clients over the years who I've thought might want to do this same project, but I couldn't recommend it in good faith until I'd tried it myself.

When we moved in nearly 12 years ago, we decided to forgo the traditional carpet runner on the front steps to have a clean, classic look. This staircase would hardly ever get used so I didn't feel that we needed a carpet to protect the steps or provide traction for shoeless kids. But mostly I just thought I'd tire of whatever we chose. (We have another set of steps that leads to the kitchen and knew that those would be used almost exclusively.)

But over time, as with most home decor -- our taste changed. I no longer loved the heavy oak look. I've been slowly adding black to nearly every room in the house and thought black stair treads paired with the existing white risers would be perfect for us.

My husband is super handy and has done many difficult projects around the house including installing a coffered ceiling and a mack daddy treehouse, but this time we needed to bring in the professionals. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Let me know what you think.



Before:

Pretty traditional curved oak staircase.We added the chair rail 10 years ago, but thought that looked really plain too.

Another before view

My contractors came and couldn't have been more diligent or responsible. This is a pretty messy job because all the steps and handrails need to be sanded down to raw wood. They hung plastic sheeting all around the house to block off any blowing dust. The tools are noisy, but I'm hardly home during the day so that wasn't too disruptive. I loved that they vacuumed and packed up all the tools at the end of each day and the job was done in less than a week.

Choosing what finish to put on the steps proved to be one of the bigger decisions. My contractor brought in the regional rep from a nearby paint store and we talked at length about stain versus paint and which product to use. I felt strongly that I wanted the finish to be black and be durable. I wanted some sheen, but didn't really need it to be super shiny. We chose a product called Interlok by McCormick Paints. It's a premium acrylic urethane DTM coating that dries to a super-hard finish. Plus it cleans up with soap and water. We had it tinted black. The contractor tried out samples for us -- we only needed to decide semi-gloss or high-gloss. 

We chose the black high gloss which is on the lower step. It's perfect.

And here's what the finished product looks like as modeled by Scout, the Wonderdog.

I think the final result is super chic and clean. We added the window box moldings and are so happy with the result. Coordinating dog at no extra charge.

I love how the teal accents pop off the black and white contrast.

It's really fun to see a long-term vision finally come to life. 

Greyish Green With Envy: Color Trends 2015

It’s that time of year friends! Time to raise a glass and toast the Benjamin Moore color trends for 2015. 

As we say farewell to the current title holder, Breath of Fresh Air, we warmly welcome the NKOTB (sans Marky Mark's brother and the rest of the gang) Guilford Green. 

And the Benjamin Moore 2015 color of the year is....
Was there an acceptance speech?

At first I thought, oh great — just when I got my clients to look beyond the sage of 10 years ago, here we go again. But upon further investigation I see this color is not the same ol’, same ol’. It’s a silvery green that's a natural neutral. Just the right color to go with pretty much everything. 

Check out the whole 2015 palette -- broken down by color family, below. Feeling adventurous? Let’s find a spot to use Old Claret or Jack Pine. Looking for something a little more mellow? How about Antique Jade or Silver Fox? 

And just because these are the color trends for 2015, by no means do I plan to stick to or suggest these 23 colors exclusively. It’s true I do have an ongoing love affair with Ben Moore, but that’s because they have the most colors and best paint. 

If you’re ready to update your colors, I’m your girl.

And please, for your own safety and sanity, never choose a color from a computer screen, smart phone or standing in the paint store. You really, really need to see the swatch in your own home with your own lighting. Consider yourself warned. 

Let's say adios to our current title holder Breath of Fresh Air. It's been a great year and I think we'll be seeing each other again real soon.