One of my retirement DIY projects for our 1996-built home was to update the foyer. The house has a two-story foyer which is such a great architectural feature. The stairway itself was dated with orange-colored oak railings and builder-grade, unfinished pine stairs that were carpeted. The dream was to replace the stair treads with a finished wood and replace the hand rail and newel posts with a beautiful wood matching the treads and white styles and stair risers. But alas..that costs crazy money. So paint on the railings and new carpet on the stairs it would be. I actually ended up loving both so much! I was super happy we didn’t spend all that money; because I don’t think it would have been worth it and could have actually been a mistake with our hardwood floors.

I painted the existing railings myself. Everything you read about how time consuming this job will not prepare you for how time consuming this job is.

I started out washing everything including brushing the crevices with Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) mixed per instructions on the box.

I wanted the styles to match the white paint on the wainscoting–Behr Ultra Pure White–the whitest white you can get and it has absolutely no undertones whatsoever. I love it; but it’s not the easiest paint to work with. I’m so sorry, Behr, because you’re still the one I go home with. It is totally worth the effort to get that gorgeous white that holds up well over time. I chose satin and it took a primer and 3 coats! I think I clocked in at something like 45 minutes per style per coat (36 styles x 4 coats x 45 minutes = 108 hours = 13-14 long days). But who’s counting?!? Just so you know…I’m slow at everything I do so hopefully your mileage will vary. Also slowing me down was I couldn’t paint all the way around each style from one side. I spent a lot of time high up on a ladder and then switching to the other side.

This is where my husband would say “better done in our 50s than 60s or 70s” That became our mantra for any DIY Project.

I used artist brushes to cut in and get in the crevices of the styles without depositing too much paint. I always try to avoid layering too much paint on anything but especially wood moldings with features you don’t want to lose. I apply multiple thin layers. The artist brushes gave a nice smooth finish too.

For the railing and newell posts, I tried Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron (the same color used on the the front door). On the door, it looks like a soft black; but, for reasons that still elude me, Wrought Iron looked straight-up grey on the stair railing. Go figure. I switched to Benjamin Moore Onyx for the stair railings and newel posts and it looked like the soft black I was looking for and matched the Wrought Iron on the front door. It was much easier painting with the Benjamin Moore Aura paints. They go on very smoothly and left a nice finish.

Matching the front door was the main driver for painting the stair railing, newel posts, and whatever the oak base is called, rather than staining them. Although I think stained wood is really beautiful, adding another wood tone, with the type of hardwood floors we had, was going to be difficult. I preferred the cohesion with the door to adding yet another wood tone to the mix.

There was a great debate about painting the interior side of the front door. The door had been white for 28 years. I felt that since the door was now flanked by white wainscoting and walls, a contrasting color might help the wainscoting pop. I tried at least 3 different colors. I settled on black knowing I could also match the stair railing and keep things cohesive.

Black also pairs nicely with our 90s hanging glass and brass light fixture (which I still love). While it might be a bit dated, it is very pretty in the sun and when it is lit at night. I also love how understated it is.

All in all, I loved how the railing paired with the door and the wainscoting and am very glad we went this way rather than overhauling the stairs with wood.

There will be a separate blog post on the carpet.