In a Budget Friendly Way

Yet another home project. Man do I love flipping! When we first purchased this house I knew this would have to be done. It’s the entry of the house. Who want’s an outdated entryway? So, what option did I have other than to flip it! Not only did I remodel this stairway, but in a budget friendly way. Read on to find out how.

First things first

Removing the old

To begin we first have to get rid of the old. This process can take some time, but as I always say you have to trust the process when flipping anything. Before I could do anything I first had to begin removing the old stain. This finish was old! It was the finish that has the black specks in it and it was all over this house. So therefore, I had to start sanding. Due to all of the curves and lines I simply used a piece of a sanding sheet I had cut into fourths. This made this flipping process much easier.

After sanding the entire banister on top and the pillars in between here is what it looked like.

Next, Let’s Paint

First Primer

Now, that everything is sanded down it is time to start priming. Although the paint I was using already had primer in it I like to still use a primer first. This helps make sure everything is evenly covered and allows for the finish to look even better. Before priming all of the dust had to be cleaned up and the entire banister needed to be wiped down. Again with flipping you can always count on some sort of mess that needs to be cleaned.

After priming each pillar on the banister here is what it looks like. When priming it does not have to be perfectly painted or covered. Think of this step as just your base. Your true coverage and finish will come from the painting that comes next.

Now Let’s Remove Some Paint

Paint Thinner For The Win

With this staircase the base had multiple coats of paint. The top coat being this cringe worthy brown and underneath we saw some red and yet another color beneath that. For this part sanding would take forever, so it was time to pull out the paint thinner. This process needed to be done a few times before finally getting to the natural wood. Again, what do I alway say? In flipping, you have to trust the process! This part is most definitely a tedious process.

Once the natural wood was visible it was time to go back to sanding.

The Finishing Touches

Painting and sealing

Lastly, I had to paint a few coats on the pillars. I added a light natural stain that goes with all of our wood detail throughout the home. The entire house had that ugly 1980’s fishing with the black specks. So, my husband and I slowly moved throughout the house removing the old finish and created a natural sleek wood finish that we love. As with any flip the beauty is in the details. After finishing the banister and pillars everything was sealed. I always do a few coats of sealing just to have added protection on the project. Once that was all complete we had an old staircase that had been flipped!