'F' for Fabric Painting Stairway

Painting the Stairway

Brandon started priming the knotty pine in the stairway last night.

Painting the Stairway

My dad was horrified when we said we planned to paint it. “That’s nice wood!” Sorry dad.

We actually found out from our neighbor that the previous owners had only recently put it up when they decided to sell! The addition was done sometime in the 50s (we think), so what was there before? Bare studs?

I’m not sure what color to go with now though.

You can see the stairway when you’re sitting in the living room and it opens up to the library, so obviously I want a color that will look good with both of the other rooms. You can also see into Brandon’s office when you’re in the living room (it’s on the same elevation), so there’s another color to consider. Oh, and the carpet is beige.

Surrounding Stairway Colors

The living room has mustard/gold curtains and an orange chair, so I’m looking at those as possible choices. I also like pink (!), but I think the house has a lot of pink already and Brandon’s probably ready for a different color by now.

I’m going to change the curtains in the library, but I don’t know what I want yet. I have a bunch of Laceworks from Amy Butler that I bought for the room:

Amy Butler Lacework Fabric

I’m not so sure about it now, but the fabric would work with the green ceiling in the library (“Flowering Herbs” by Benjamin Moore). I could repaint that if I need to, but I don’t want to. I’ve had enough of painting ceilings! If I go with that fabric, I could use the pink that’s in there… ;)

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  • Anonymous
    August 16, 2007 at 9:50 am

    You should paint it that soft green! It goes so well with the colors in the other rooms…. and that fabric ties it all together!

  • Jane
    August 16, 2007 at 9:56 am

    mmmm…yummy! looks like a chocolate box tied with a spring green ribbon! Orange and mustard seem so strong… Smokey-lavender like your old living room? Lemonade instead of mustard? Spring green—a stronger version of your bathroom color? I’ll be fascinated to see what you come up with!

  • Only a Paper Moon
    August 16, 2007 at 10:36 am

    You are on a house renovating kick!! I wish I had enough inspiration and motivation to do all that. I think that any color you choose whether it be in the orange/yellow range or even a green range will look fantastic!! Cant wait to see the finished project!

  • erin
    August 16, 2007 at 10:53 am

    boring as it may sound, i would opt for a neutral color.

  • goosefairy
    August 16, 2007 at 1:24 pm

    Let me give you a warning on painting knotty pine. Get the right primer because if you’re not careful the knots will start to show through. I HATE knotty pine. We did the ceiling part of my daughter’s window seat with some knotty pine and painted that sucker with primer and paint – I can’t even tell you how many coats of each – and the knots STILL keep bleeding through. Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.

  • katiedid
    August 16, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    I love your fabric choice! And it would lookd great with your pink or green. Can’t wait to see what you choose!

  • Jany
    August 17, 2007 at 1:15 am

    I would opt for a light / pale green color ( as in the fabric ) for the staircase, which would still be quite neutral, and with the fabric in the library, you’ll pull it together (as “anonymous” already suggested. Don’t go with strong colors ( orange, or so ), it’ll attract the focus on the staircase.

  • Kate
    August 17, 2007 at 7:36 am

    I suggest using the “Flowering Herbs” green. It’s a beautiful color and will tie in with everything nicely.

  • becoming-home
    August 17, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    well, you know I like your library curtains already so I’m not going to comment about that!

    But for the stairs, I was thinking one of those mauvy brown pinks that’s between brandon’s office and living room color, something like (all BM)
    Sea froth 2107 or even hint of violet (2114).

    But who am I kidding, you could pick a better color in your sleep than I could by really trying ;)

  • monica yvette
    August 17, 2007 at 4:56 pm

    You have a very nice color scheme so far, and that Amy Butler fabric is awesome.

  • Jordan Cappella
    August 19, 2007 at 11:41 pm

    I think you should go with a green also.

  • ~jayne
    August 20, 2007 at 11:06 am

    What about one of those mauvey-type pinks like BM’s Sonoma Clay which are on the lighter shades from the same paint sample stick/card from BM Cup O Java (which is divine BTW! LOL) we just used in our back entryway? Any of those shades would make a seamless transition to the other surrounding colors…..

  • Ellen
    August 21, 2007 at 6:42 am

    I second the thought of using the Flowering Herbs. The Amy Butler fabric is great, by the way.

    I have very similar wood paneling in the top room of my story and a half. I want to paint over it, but keep thinking “But as far as wood paneling goes, it’s really nice!” Then I realize that “really nice” is all relative when it’s 1950’s tongue and groove wood paneling you’re talking about.

  • Making it Lovely | Transforming the so-so. » Blog Archive » Our Entry & Stairway
    January 12, 2010 at 11:31 am

    […] were clad in knotty pine when we moved in. We weren’t fans, to say the least. I wrote about priming the wood back in August of 2007, but I realized recently that I neglected to follow up with the finished […]