Never one to be frightened to try my hand at a project, I sought to take on our boring stairwell. We have company coming at the end of the month and I was thinking it needed some brightening up. The entryway/foyer is an important part of your home. It sets the tone for your style as it is the first thing people see when walking through your front door.
Here are the stairs before. 
I had painted the risers white when we moved in. They were starting to chip in places so I first touched that up.
I then took my measuring tape and decided exactly where I wanted my stencils to be in distance from each end of the riser. I chose 7 inches from either side. I could have made a template and used that for each riser, but I just used the tape measure each time. I laid it down on the tread and took my stencil and placed it above the 7 inch mark to paint. Tips: I placed my stencil so the top of it was flush with the tread above. This saved my having to measure for the top to bottom distance and kept it straight. Also, start from your top step down for obvious reasons!
I stenciled in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, color Versailles. 
This ties in with my paint color on my walls and stood out just enough from the white. The stencil ties in with my sunburst mirror I have hanging in the foyer. After the stencils dried, I took sandpaper and lightly sanded over them to give them a more distressed look. God forbid anything looks new in this house LOL! After sanding, I wiped them down.
This is where the fun part came in. I made a very watery wash using Annie Sloan’s Old White. 
It was more water than paint. I took my brush and applied it over the risers and stencils, to give them a more faded appearance. I then applied the wash to the treads (starting from the top – Sophie was in her bedroom and stuck for a half hour before she could come downstairs!). I sanded each tread, wiped them down, and applied one more coat of wash. 
Voila! They are done! 
And Sophie made it down the stairs in time for lunch!
Linking to:
The stairs are very pretty, fresh clean. I really liked them until I saw you had painted the treads themselves, almost passed out!LOL to each his own. I have had painted risers for years, before it became the thing to do, but I never had the nerve to paint the risers, I just love to see the 90 year old wood, just me. Keep decorating.
Pretty. I would like to know where you purchased the star-burst mirror. It is AWESOME!
Really beautiful and very inspiring. The little stencil is just right.
Love your mirror too–it reminds me of a quilt block design called mariner’s compass, one of my favorites.
You didn’t mention waxing after the paint. Did you wax or not?
That looks fantastic! I was also wondering if you sealed the treads. I have pine treads that are the same color as our oak hardwoods and they blend together-in a boring way. I may try your idea. Thanks!
Simply stunning!
What a great idea! It makes a lovely entry! If I had stairs, I would be doing this right now…..I love it….
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
where can I purchase this exact stencil
Hi, I purchased the stencil from AC Moore – a craft store in our area. I wish I knew the brand but I tossed the wrapper and it doesn’t say on the actual stencil. Thanks!
Hi Suzanne, I’m trying to figure out what color my stair steps should be and hope you can make suggestions. My living room is sage green and right next to it is my kitchen and it’s a nice yellow, not too bright. I will be completing the living room in beige – still looking for the right beige to go with the sage green. I will be pulling up the carpet on the stairs that are in the living room and painting the risers white, but I’m not sure what color I should paint the steps The walls on both sides of the stairs will be the same beige in the living room. Any ideas? Peace
Hi Dana, I would be inclined to go with a softer white than bright white. Annie Sloan’s Old Ochre is likely perfect. It is creamier, with more yellow to it than standard white. You may want to do the risers in Old Ochre and the treads in a wash of it. Give it a try on one and see what you think. It is super easy to paint over if you decide on a brighter white. If you want to paint the treads and not give them a wash, then General Finishes Basil is a good option. It will tie in with the sage green and yellow and beige and look good against the white. If you go on my site there is a series called paint colors. Under General Finishes is Basil – you can get a good idea of it then. Cheers!