Hi, how are the steps going? :)

Wood is great ...and you cat photos awesome ! Good luck !

I am planning to start my stairs refinishing project next month. I was wondering what did you do to the landing area. As I am stumped on what to do.

YES It will be worth it. You may want to use a light matte stain so you won't have anything soaking into bare wood.

The steps are completed! The landing was painted the grayish blue and I've been searching for a rug. I ended up doing a darker stain on the treads. As much as I loved the lighter stain, it just stood out a bit too much. I've been over in California and Japan for work and had rushed to get everything done so I didn't take photos. I'll be back before the husband and will update everyone with a Before and After sometime in the first week of Feb.

AWESOME WELL DONE ITRY!
We could help out with the rug..
Make sure you take a photo of the hubby's face when he see's it/

Hardwood stairs are gorgeous, but hard on the knees if you have arthritis. Stair-runners are expensive but may be cheaper than knee surgery.

hardwood is the way to go! No one likes a dirty carpet. Awesome job on this. Isn't taking on projects like this so gratifying?

I would love to see the finished pictures. Contemplating re finishing our wood floors but was scared DIY.

Hi! Hope the stairs are going well. :) Listen, just wanted to let you know, houzz has your stairs on houzz facebook. I'm not on facebook, but you can still view the page. Just figured I'd let you know in case you wanted to take a peek. :) Pretty cool. :)

https://www.facebook.com/houzz

Look. :)

WOW...!
LOL...!
The finished outcomes, pictures and hubbys face pictures are being waited apon EVERYWHERE.! :)

Guess who had a picture after all? It's right before I cleaned up all the edges to be super crisp but it gives a better idea of the darker stain and risers to the existing floor. Yes I did decide not to use the dark blue. It stood out a bit too much.

Wow, looks great. What a difference. :) Happy? :)

Truly amazing. You did such a great job, and cannot believe you were able to work this in to everything else going on in your life. You are my hero!

I am very happy with the results and can't wait for the husband to see it and to be back home myself. Even more happy news, I accepted a new opportunity for my career today.

Honestly I'm not sure I would have completed this task if it wasn't for the support of the Houzz community, so cheers to you guys. Also, expect to help with that rug when I get back.

Congrats on the new career opportunity. That's great news. :) I will definitely keep a look out for the rug posting. :)

Well, congrats on that new opportunity. They were smart to snatch you up for it!

Congrats on all fronts. Your stairs look fantastic.

I'm excited. Going from a weapons maintenance technician to a logistics and purchasing assistant for the government. Less travel but more time for projects and antiquing. I'm bound and determined to find a vintage dr. pepper cooler and an orange crush thermometer.

Love it! Did not realize you had such a job! WOW!

And you were worried about tackling stairs? Lol :) No problem. ;)

It's been a fun but hard road here. I transitioned from the military a few years ago to full time unloading trucks at Target and Home Depot and worked my way into that contractor job by taking on the general labor that was sweaty, dirty, greasy and almost all male. Took a toll on my body hauling cables that weigh almost as much as me but it's finally paying off. So I must admit, the work side of DIY doesn't scare me, it's the design side with the constant second guessing of myself.

Be proud, that's some accomplishment. And as far as second guessing....my friend.....you are definitely not alone there. Plus, you did quite well as far as I'm concerned. So, sit back and enjoy it. I bet hubby will be surprised when he sees it. It's quite a difference. :)

Wowa....that is amazing.
Looks wonderful! :)
Well done!

Thank you to both. When I get back this Saturday I'll be able to take the final photos and use the dark blue after all. It will become an accent wall in the billiards room. I'm either a glutton for punishment or overly ambitious, probably both.

Lovely! I was expecting (and maybe hoping) for a bit more color but this is perfect! Quirky restraint. Wonderful job!

Whynot, the unexpected dash of color and style will hopefully be in the rug and eventually updated light fixture. Plus that little stairway wall gets redone quite often. Its been argyle, striped, geometric hexagons, nautical Americana [think old school military tattoos], solid gray and currently is textured to look like old leather. Usually the week before we host a large party, it gets redone.

Whenz hubby due in?

Due back on Monday. I'm nervous, excited and a bit scared to be perfectly honest.

I have no idea why you would be scared. You've done a beautiful job and I can't imagine he would have any objections. If he does, send him back to wherever he's been....lol.

Itry....
well i think you have done a wonderful job and if he doesn't like it...yes....send him back. or back to his mothers....LOL
REMEMBER: we want a pic of the hubbys face when he sees it.! :)

I'm not sure why I'm scared either, part of me just always worries about things like that. We might end up getting a blurry picture, the man is almost a ninja when it comes to pictures but I'm bound and determined to get one.

well he might be to shocked to be a ninja on monday..

Wow you are superb, love your career choice talk about longevity. Its funny that you mention that you redo certain aspects of your house before parties; I am the same way, actually a lot of our projects started because we were having a major get together.

He home yet?

He will be home in about 12 hours. I meant to create the before and after ideabook but yesterday was a beautiful 70° so I was at the oceanfront enjoying the day of warmth before it drops back to 35°. It was like the warm weather followed me home and then realized it was in Virginia....
Late Friday and early Saturday were my first two days back home and I went even darker on the steps and ran the darker stain across the railings. I love the darker color with the painted risers even more. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble had I just went really dark to begin with instead of the pecan, cherry, a mix of both, then to the dark. Lesson learned. Go with your gut.

OH I love it....11 hours more.....
counting down....can't wait to see his face and hear his reaction.
Cool!! :)

Great contrast. :) Makes the colors pop. :) Btw, lucky you 70....though it wasn't bad here either about 60. Now, it's 30. :(

Oooooh - the dark steps are perfect!

He's home! Sorry for the delay, food and just relaxing were the first priorities. Quoted, "I really like how they turned out but I think they make my feet look bigger." We will be heading up to Ikea next week to look at runners and a possible rug for the landing. After all the hard work, seeing his smile has made everything worthwhile.

Awww, you guys are sooo cute. :) That's great! :)

CUTE...
So he was very pleased! :")

CONGRATS ON HIS RETURN AND MUTUAL LOVE OF STAIRS. Be careful about the landing rug, don't trip on it, the runner sounds great.

Happy Valentine's Day to you both.

I love a happy ending and you two are just too darn cute!!!

Haha thank you. It's a bittersweet return home though. Yesterday I found out the deployment date so we have less than a month until he's back out. Between my jobs and his we've only had maybe 2 years together out of 5.

Such little time together. Be sure to make a list of everything you want to get put and do together, so you don't miss anything and of course the personal time together takes priortiy. chuckle

Oh, less than a month? Enjoy these next days together a whole bunch!!!

Great idea now chop chop lol

I love your steps. I am doing the same thing to my entrance staircase. However I am having a challenge with the stain completely drying, I have used general finish gel stain before. I followed all the appropriate procedures( mineral spirit, sanding, brushing on gel stain and wiping it off with rag.) I have done the same process to new unfinished wood posts and railings and it has been several days 5-6 and it is still tacky. Should i just topcoat and if so because they will stair trends I was told to us a topcoat that really protects wood and finish on floors so can I use Miniwax topcoat for floors with the General finish gel stain? Thanks for any advice Im desparate!!!!!!