About this before and after
Home type: historic house
Project type: stairs
style: organic modern, traditional
Skill level: DIY
Rental friendly: no
Perhaps there is no more spectacular before and after makeover than redoing a staircase. A statement staircase can set the tone for the entire home. Stairs were a pleasant surprise at Sasha Faiz and Andrew Ghose's home.
“The stairs had a wall instead of a proper handrail,” Sasha says of the previous entryway. “We wanted to open up the space and get rid of the wall, so we poked into it to see what was behind it. We found the original railing still intact behind the wall. , we were pleasantly surprised.”
If the newspapers hidden within the walls are any indication, the walls were sealed off around 2005 and what lay beneath was a 1920s beauty.
By tearing down the walls, the whole house became more open.
“The stairwell was dark and felt closed in, so we decided to knock down the wall,” Sasha says, adding that opening up the stairs made the whole living room feel more spacious.
Sasha says that before she started demoing with Andrew, she checked with an architect and engineer to make sure the house was structurally sound without the walls. “Once we got the green light, we pulled that duck down!” she says.
The handrails are painted black and stand out.
After the walls were gone, a coat of paint made the stairs pop. She and Andrew chose Benjamin Her Moore satin-finish paint for the floors and patio, and Blackjack color for the railings and moldings. Dark colors create a bold contrast against white (Benjamin Moore's White Dove).
Sasha says this DIY project has made the biggest difference to her entire home. And she embarked on other efforts to open up the space and make it feel larger, like exposing ceiling beams and adding French doors to her home office.
Sasha's best home improvement advice suggests this project and many others for her home. “Ask yourself what's the first thing you see when you walk into a room,” she says. “Make the first line of sight, the first impression of your space, incredibly beautiful.'' If you want your front door to make a better first impression, check out these front door makeovers.
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