Those Terrible Steps

When I bought this house the steps looked like this. Sure it doesn't look awful but what you are missing, is the kitty pee pee smell. Apparently the former owner had a cat that expressed his anger by peeing on these wooden steps with a runner down the middle. And you know, I don't recall smelling a thing until the day I moved in. They must have really sprayed that carpet with some very powerful deodorizer. But pee or no pee I was planning on ripping off the carpet and stripping the steps to their natural wood finish. So my brother helped me by pulling up the carpet and what was underneath was just a mess. There was layers and layers of stain and paint, glue and tacks - LOTS of tacks and nails. From this picture you can see the work I've done on the bottom 6 steps - stripping, sanding, tack and nail removal. And after all this work, I have to say these steps were ugly - there wasn't going to be any beautiful wood coming through. There were too many tack holes and the wood not pretty. So the task was set aside. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted but Plan A was definitely out. So the stairs have been left in this in between state. Yes I'm sure kitty is sitting there thinking, "What's up lady, these are nasty."

I had a couple of ideas buzzing in my head - but wasn't sure. Then like a gift from above I was looking at the MadeByGirl blog and I saw my entrance stairs and I had my answer. Voila.

photo is from the stylist Lucyina Moodie

It's still a fairly big project and right now I'm prepping the steps for paint. I'm not sure I'll try doing the runner myself or hire someone. I'm really like the sisal runner but need to check prices. I realize it may not go so well with the formal look of the black and white marble tile, but then, that' s another project one day. I just can't wait to get it done! Thank you Jennifer!!!!