Never before have I agonized over a decision like the one I’m about to share with you today. Because, well, it was a big decision. And it involved spending money…a chunk of money.
And I couldn’t decide how to spend it.
We’d been planning and saving for awhile and the money just sat there in the bank account….mocking me.
It was an involved decision because one choice affected another choice and so on and so forth.
And the fact that I thought I should try and DIY it wasn’t helping matters.
What decision am I referring to? Well I tell ya!
See that green carpet? Yup. It was there when we moved in and even though I wasn’t crazy about it at the time I wasn’t overly concerned because I knew we would do something about it right away.
Well, fast forward 5 years and there it was. And it wasn’t getting any less green. And I could tell you a whole long story about how this green carpet went up the stairs and down the hallway towards the bedrooms but the bedrooms have neutral carpet that didn’t need replacing and that the green carpet was also in the office, living room and dining room but we have hardwood floors in the kitchen, slate in the entry/hallway/downstairs bathroom/laundry room and fairly new carpet in the family room meaning our home essentially had flooring schizophrenia and I just couldn’t figure out how to make the most of our budget and still get the look I wanted.
But I won’t bore you with all of those details.
Instead, I will hang my DIY head in shame and tell you that I did not put hardwood on the stairs because it was crazy expensive. They would have had to disassemble our entire curved staircase.
And even though DIY’ers worldwide are painting/staining their stairs I had to take into consideration the green carpet on the landing and hallway too. And then I’d have to put a runner on it anyway because we’ve had enough slips down our stairs even WITH carpet. And then I still had to decide what to put in the office, living room and dining room.
Agonizing I tell ya!
But I finally put my big girl panties on and made a decision.
The upstairs landing and hallway got hardwood floors…
And the living room, dining room AND stairs all got the same carpet. Yes, that’s right.
I put carpet on my stairs and I’m proud of it!
Previously, the green carpet had wrapped around the edges of the stairs and when they were ripping off the green (and I was doing the happy dance off in the corner!) I noticed how much more open it being able to see the side of the risers and treads. So, in one of those “hope-this-works-out-and-if-it-doesn’t-it-will-be-an-expensive-mistake-and-what-will-I-tell-my-husband-spur-of-the-moment” decisions, I asked the installers to NOT wrap the new carpet around the edges.
And can I just tell you how relieved I was when it was finished and I LOVED it…and so did my husband!
We did end up having to fill holes, sand and paint it all but that means I can consider this a semi-DIY job, right? 😉
There was just something about the new carpet that had me almost craving going lighter and brighter throughout the house. Like I had come out of a dark cave and into the light of day!
So, I freshened up the entry too with the only purchase being those plates around the mirror.
Everything else got pulled from other parts of the house.
Even the niche got freshened up a bit with the addition of a large, single-pane window, a basket of flowers and a….whatchamacallit…a ceramic jug…or is that an urn…what would you call that thing?
In the end, I feel good about my decisions. No, GREAT!
Because, they were the right decisions for us.
For our home.
For our family.
For our budget.
Because that’s what really matters, isn’t it?
And now, I will walk up my newly carpeted stairs with my semi-DIY head held high, step onto the hardwood floors in my hallway and close the book on the green carpet stage of my life.
I think it had a happy ending, don’t you?
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72 Comments on "Staircase and Entry Makeover Reveal!"
Stunning! I love your beautiful accessories. You have such a good eye for placement! Shared cause this rocks!
The new carpet looks great. I would have never thought that you didn’t have to wrap the edges, but I love it. It’s tough to make flooring decisions when one room leads into another. Looks beautiful – enjoy!
It looks fabulous. I love it. I am in the same situation, trying to justify hardwood, when replacing carpet would save a few dollars and work great, plus like you, I do like the look and feel of carpet. Your home is stunning. That staircase is gorgeous. Hugs, Marty
You have nothing to be ashamed of! Just because you are a DIYer doesn’t mean you have to do everything! With our recent bathroom gut my husband did most of it but the plumbing needed to be done right so we paid a plumber for a lot of it! You do whatcha gotta do! Your redo looks fabulous!
What a gorgeous and very big beautiful foyer! Great choices!
Looks amazing, Vanessa! And so glad y’all are happy with it — that’s the most important thing. 🙂
xo Heidi
Wow I love it. So fresh and inviting. What a great first impression when you come in your foyer.
Well done- and I’ll tell ya why: in my very humble opinion those who have wooden stairs cannot even believe how LOUD they are. Clunk clunk clunk up clunk clunk clunk down over and over – nice if you are an empty nester – but with children?
You did the right thing, trust me.
Looks great and is nice and QUIET!
I built a brand new house and put carpet on my stairs too! Don’t mean to sound like a need but safety of my family is so important! Could you post a pic of how you ended the carpet at the top if the stairs where the hardwoods start? That was a question I struggled with at the time so we continued our carpet in the upstairs hall.
I love it. Hardwood floors on stairs look beautiful, but I’m with you, slips and falls aren’t worth the risk.
It’s all absolutely beautiful. Love the desk, mirror and plates, too! I agree, stairs can be so dangerous, just having the risers open on the side and the new light color makes a world of difference. great choice!!
I love the carpet choice. I too have a stairway that I am debating and saving up for… And I tell you we have walked a lot of stairs that don’t have carpet and where they are pretty- they are so slippery and dangerous for little feet!! So I applaud your carpet!! It’s pretty too!! Those plates and the mirror though- are my favorite!!! So soft and beautiful!!
WOOOOOOOW!!!!!! (that’s a long, loud wow) delicious! love the yummy color scheme and freshness, openess. i don’t have stairs in our ranch but if i did i’d do this. past experience was the wood is ALWAYS dusty and floating around. there will be enough little bunnies floating down from the wood landing and hall, trust me 😉 safer and quiter will live longer than trending and diy.
Ummmmm. GORGEOUS. Perfect! And you’re right. Ultimately, you have to do what works for your family and your budget.
Vanessa, that is an amazing makeover!! I love how light and open the entry looks now!
We were planning to recarpet our stairs – the only place in our home that I planned to put carpet back. The only reason we didn’t is because the old stair treads were old oak and my hubby pulled them all out and refinished them and put them back. Otherwise, I would have carpet on them – the same looking carpet you have!!
Oh Vanessa, what a great transformation!! Love the new carpet, and no one will slip and fall like on wood. The whole entry is just gorgeous…so grand! Now my budget is telling me I have to live with the ugliest laminate countertops ever unless I come up with something creative and free…and that has my brain working!
Vanessa it looks beautiful! Brightens the entire foyer up. Good choice! The carpet on our stairs is still mocking me 4 years later though ours is not green and we can easily go with wood stairs since we do not have to take our stair case apart to do it so a DIY project that we may or may not do by the end of the year. I pull up a tiny corner from time to time but have not yet made the jump. Anyways, Loving yours girl!
Vanessa it looks fantastic!!! What an amazing improvement! We had hardwood on our stairs at our old house and we would have had to add a runner if we hadn’t moved. So slippery! Great job – definitely be proud!!
xoxo
It all looks great, Vanessa! I love how light and bright it is! You gotta do what’s right for you. I like your carpet. While we had put wood floors in our condo last Summer {replacing carpet throughout}, I still like the warmth that carpet adds to a home. I wound up putting area rugs down in a couple of the rooms, so I still get that warmth I love, and my husband gets to see the wood floors he worked so hard to install!
What you’ve done with the stairs, etc. is even prettier in person. Congratulations on good choices!
Mom
The plates look so pretty around the mirror!
Great choices! It’s so light and bright!!! Well done!~~Angela
I love it. So light and bright! Great decision not wrapping around the edges 😉
I loved the plates and mirror idea!
Lawn Irrigation Installation
You SHOULD be holding your head high, Vanessa! The “new” stairs look fantastic, and not wrapping the carpet around the edge was the perfect choice. It gives the stairs a much more up-to-date and aesthetically pleasing face. Nicely done! 🙂
Vanessa the new carpet looks fabulous and I love the table, mirror and plates… so pretty!!
Love your slate floor too:)
Wow! What a difference! Good for you, you did fantastic! (Did I use up my exclamation allowance yet?) And I am SO copying the blue & white bowl with the green ball whatchamacallit! I have all the ingredients! Whoops, those exclamation points just kinda slipped in there. My bad.
It looks wonderful! much lighter and open.
Definitely a happy ending! IF you remain in this house, you may want to do hardwoods on the stairs some day. . . but then again, you might just find that carpet is great as long as it’s pretty carpet! The whole area looks so nice now. I wish I could come enter your house through that lovely foyer! 🙂 (Okay, does that sound creepy? Didn’t mean to sound creepy. You can come to my house first!)
Love, love, love the new foyer! Totally! What a great idea to open everything up….it looks so much fresher!
Happy day to you sweet friend!
karianne
It looks great!! It’s all about what YOU like! People think I’m crazy because I like having carpet in our bedrooms. Sorry, but I just like putting my feet on something soft when I get out of bed!!
Yes, that IS all that matters, V! I LOVE the new carpet … it opens and brightens up your beautiful foyer. And, the new plates are perfect … love that you hung them around your pretty mirror … all makes for such a gorgeous vignette! A+++++++++
I love it. I also love the just putting a flat table and changing the mirror etc makes the whole area look so much more open
It looks great, Vanessa. I think you made just the right decision! We’re facing the same dilemma at our house and I don’t look forward to the expense.
WOW, so very pretty! GREAT decision, love how you chose not to cover the edge of the stairs, so light and bright!
I so understand about “this leading to that” we’re planning a kitchen remodel and I’m going crazy with floor plans, etc…
Hope you’ll add Amaze Me Monday to your party list, would sure love to see ya’ll there!
Blessings,
Cindy
Oh this is so LOVELY!!! And I Love how you emphasized doing what works for you and your family. It really looks so much more Airy and Light. BEAUTIFUL!!!!
xoxo
Holy smokes it looks amazing! What a grand stunning entrance. Nicely done 🙂
Beautiful, Vanessa! The carpet looks wonderful and I love the plates and mirror.
Hugs,
Sherry
So beautiful Vanessa…I love the new fresh and inviting look that you created in the foyer and staircase…It definitely says welcome!!
What a warm and very pretty impression your entryway makes. LOVE the new light carpet and the airy look of the mirror and plates!!! YOu home is beautiful!!!!
Gorgeous ~ gorgeous Vanessa! Your entry is Bea-u-ti-ful 🙂 thanks for linking it up at FNF!! xo
Wow,wow, and WOW!!! Beautiful!
WOOW! Looks amazing!
Vanessa, I think the carpet looks great. I love the changes you made in the entry, too. The foyer feels so light and fresh…very welcoming.
And I love that you made the decision based on your family and y’alls needs. That IS what it’s all about. I’m glad you feel GREAT about it.
Proud of you!
This looks SO gorgeous! I love the addition of the plates.
So beautiful! Light and airy… just perfect! Can’t wait to see you at Haven!
Take care,
Trish
“It wasn’t getting any less greener….” LOL!!!!!!!! You crack me up! It is beautiful! We all want gorgeous hardwood (I do too) but it is expensive and to be honest… the carpet is actually safer and quieter. I think you made the best choice for your family. Hey, is that wall color SW Ivoire? It looks exactly like what I have in my home!