A Sneak Peek at Updating My Staircase

100 year old homes are gorgeous! That being said, sometimes they need a little lipstick. Some BLING! Something that says I'm not tired and dated. The staircase was beautiful, but there was too much wood for a dark and smallish foyer. I tried adding stenciling to the walls to bring some life into the room. It helped a little, but still there was no WOW factor. The wrought iron railing was screaming I can't compete with all this dark wood. I knew I had to do something. I must say that I lived with it for a long time before I finally told my husband what I wanted to do. He was not on board with me painting the staircase or the risers. He thought they looked fine. (Do tell me what man likes painted wood. Most of the time he thinks wood should look like wood.) He did agree that the staircase looked tired. He then did a Google search and found beautiful painted staircases. We both agreed that they should be painted. 

There was a lot involved before I could start to paint the oak stair riser. I had to caulk and apply many coats of joint compound. I will do another post on how I painted my staircase in detail.

Here you can see I've been plastering the walls. When I'm done, I will give everything a fresh coat of linen white paint. (In real life the walls have a creamy antique white look. Not the bright white you see on your screen.)

(Under the staircase)

Low and behold, it appeared there was once a pantry door under our staircase. It was nailed and wood puttied shut. When we removed it, I discovered it was in real bad shape.

 My husband said he could repair the pantry door. "That is if I really wanted it." I was jumping up and down saying YES!!! My husband will be adding new wood to the damaged areas of the door. Can you tell how excited I am. I have been wanting to update my foyer for a long time. The pantry will hold all my extra items needed for my kitchen and dining room. 

Here is the new bling I will be using for the pantry door.

 I think the glass knob will be the perfect addition for the pantry door. It will give some added interest and sparkle to my 100 year old English Tudor foyer. I spray painted the metal hinges an almond color to work with my decor. And finally the magnet latch will hold the door shut. Now all I have to do it get the door finished. 
Glass knob for pantry door...

I love BIG changes in small spaces. Don't you?