Basement Stair Makeover with Paint and New Runner Rug

When the carpet (circa 1992) was pulled from my basement to make way for the beautiful LVP flooring from Flooret, it dawned on me that I would also have a full stairway covered in the same carpet that just HAD TO GO. When the new flooring went in, I saw the dinge, the pulls in the carpet, and the way that it very obviously clashed against the beauty of the floors above and below the stairs.

The tricky part came once I actually pulled the carpet and realized our builders (bless their hearts) put the absolute WORST wood in for our stairs. 3+ inch gaps between the riser and the treads, wood that had cracked the whole way across, different types of wood for most of the steps. The list could literally go on and on. Apparently the mentality was that if we were going to cover it with carpet, it will hide it all. But I can say with certainty that I heard every one of those issues when my stairs creaked and cracked every time we walked down them. I knew it would be bad, but it was shocking just how bad it really was.

So not only did I now have to replace the carpeting, I now had to replace every stair tread and riser, as well. Today I’m going to share the process with you in the event that you are an unlikely sole that also has a patched up staircase that you have bigger, more beautiful dreams for.

Replacing Stair Treads

To start, it’s important to know the parts of the stairs and their proper names so you know exactly what I’m talking about. I loved this graphic from Stair-Parts.com.

I had to take my stairs all the way down to the stringer boards because nothing was able to be reused. The demo is not difficult with a crow bar and a rubber mallet, but it is tedius. Depending on how many nails your builder used, you just have to take your time pulling each one up. I found it easiest to get your crow bar under the front lip of you stairs right at the stringer board and slowly pull up, switching back and forth to each side.

For ease, you can purchase new stair treads of the wood of your choosing from any big box home improvement store. For my upstairs stairs (click on link for my full tutorial for installing a stair runner!), we purchased these 48″ unfinished pine treads from Lowe’s. They work great and can save you a lot of time!

I really wanted to channel this inspiration picture from Studio McGee and have flat front stairs instead of the bullnose that you can find in your typical stair treads, so I chose to use 2×12″ red oak boards instead.

No matter what you use, please be sure to measure EVERY step before cutting the stair treads to size because walls are not ever a straight line. Every single stair tread I had was a different size. HA! I cut each board with my miter saw and then gently tapped them into place using my rubber mallet.

To secure, I ran a bead of construction adhesive along the stringer board and added weights to the top of the stair until it was cured. Then I added 2.25″ screws straight down from the top of the stair tread into the stringer board. Not having the riser boards up yet allow you to easily see where you need to screw in.

Cutting and Attaching Riser Boards

The last part of your stair set is your riser boards. Depending on how tall your stringer boards are, you could possibly get away with getting a pre-cut board from your home improvement store and simply cut it to fit your stair width. However, some stair risers are odd heights that you will have to cut with a table saw or a circular saw (or have your home improvement store cut for you). I used a 3/4″ thick piece of plywood ripped down to size for my risers.

To attach, I followed the same process of running a bead of construction adhesive along the stringer board and pushing my riser up against it. I held it in place with weights until it cured then used 1.25″ screws to secure it fully.

Finishes

As accurate as your cuts may be, you will still see some gapping where your tread meets the wall, where your tread meets your riser, and where your riser meets the wall. This is where it’s extremely important to run a bead of caulk at all the connection points to eliminate that gap. I like to use paintable caulk that dries within 30 minutes on my wood working projects.

This is also the time to use wood filler to fill those screw holes and sand smooth once it’s dry.

Taking your time to do the finishes properly make all the difference between a beginner DIY project and one that looks professional. It’s vital that you don’t skimp on these steps!

To Paint or To Stain

I was dealing with an issue of having a medium stained hardwood flooring where my stairs meet my upstairs floor and a very light toned wood where my stairs meet my basement floors. So what do you stain the stairs in between? It would clash heavily with the opposite color no matter what I would choose.

So paint became the easy choice for me! I found this beautiful creamy, mushroom color called Sherwin Williams Shiitake that made such a beautiful contrast against the deep, bold color of my walls (Sherwin Williams Anonymous).

After all wood filler and caulk was dried, sanded and the stairs were ready to go, I did one coat of primer because I was working with bare wood. I like to use Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer on all my projects (especially IKEA ones!)

Once the primer was dry, I painted all stairs parts SW Shiitake, not worrying about the paint on the corresponding walls because I was planning on really jazzing up those walls anyway (see below)! It took a total of two coats of paint to cover the stairs and get the full color of the paint on all parts.

New Runner Rug

Having bare wood stairs in my home with three little kids, an energetic puppy, and well…me…is not an option. I slipped straight down the stairs the last time I was working on a DIY runner install upstairs. One day without a runner was too much for me apparently. 🙂 So needless to say, I had been searching for a runner rug that gave warmth, matched the colors of the space, and had a beautiful pattern that would hide any stains well.

Truly, I don’t think there was a better rug out there than the Humphrey rug from the Chris Loves Julia and Loloi Rugs collaboration. The deep greens that matched my walls, blacks and browns and beiges that matched all my accents and wood tones, and a stunning pattern that matched my style and vibe in the basement perfectly. What I didn’t know and never saw coming was how shockingly soft that runner is! I do not have a single rug in my home that feels as soft and as cushioned as this runner. Before installing, I unrolled it to see it all first and from that point on, I had it randomly placed in my kitchen because we couldn’t stop walking on it! I have never felt anything like it before!

Instead of a rug pad underneath my carpet, I decided to go with a much more cost-efficient strategy. Most stores carry anti-slip rug grippers that you can place directly on your wooden stairs to give you a simple way to keep traction on your stairs without adding a rug. I got a set of 15 anti-slip pads for my stairs for $30 that work as a great cushion underneath my rug!

To install my runner rug, I rented an electric stapler from Home Depot for 4 hours. In my area, it cost $13 for that amount of time. The staples needed for my specific one cost $6 for an ample amount. This electric stapler gives enough force to really push the staples through the carpet and into stair treads. For as thick as this carpet is, the staples push HARD into the wood and there is no give to my rug whatsoever. It was certainly worth it to rent one!

Wallpaper and Ceiling

The walls of this staircase were painted SW Anonymous just as the walls in the basement are painted. It was….fine. But it didn’t have much interest. To add a little character, a little interest, and a little bit of brightness, I added this pretty and neutral peel and stick wallpaper from Amazon. Six total rolls added instant character to this once plain jane area!

With lighter stairs and the bright white and sand colored wallpaper, it was a little too much contrast with the basement colors, so I decided to paint the ceiling Sherwin William Anonymous. Now when you look down the stairs, your eyes are drawn up to the ceiling and it flows so flawlessly with the walls down below. I love how cohesive it is now!

Lighting

As much bright color I added to this once dingy staircase, it still didn’t have great lighting. With one flush mount at the very bottom of the stairs, I was still disappointed with the lack of illumination there was. I took to Amazon and I found some motion sensor under cabinet lights that were thin enough to actually adhere UNDER THE RAIL and be hidden!

These are so simple to install, too. There are two metal tabs that have a strong adhesive to them. Simply take the paper protector off and stick the lights where you’d like them to be along your rail and your actual lights are magnetized to just magnet right onto your tabs. The lights are charged with a USB cord and last about 20 hours of nonstop light or almost a week of using the motion sensor, depending on how much you are on the stairs.

When it’s time to charge, nab the light off, charge on the USB cord for about 2 hours and magnet right back in place. They offer warm or cool lights, always on, motion sensor, or off settings. Having 3 of these gives ample light to feel much more safe walking up and down the stairs now!

I am so proud of these stairs and I love what a massive transformation they made in my home! Here’s to taking out the old and dingy and really doing something about it! You’ve got this!!

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