Painting stairs - Staircase Challenge (week 10)

I have just spent 5 hours painting the stairs. Last week I started with the right-hand bannister and when I was finished I just thought it looked amazing.

Well, this afternoon I painted the left-hand bannister and snapped a quick shot while it was still daylight... looking good....

Then I spent the next 2 hours painting the risers, the internal stringers and every second tread, by which point the sun had gone down and I was left painting by lamplight. (We have no electrics in this bit of the Megaroom yet, we use extension cords to move around a few lamps)

Oh... they look really dark now.... and I am slightly freaking out. They look good in these photos though, so maybe it isn't all bad (only because I have messed with the exposure settings in iPhoto)

Of course they will look different when the paint has dried, they will look different when the stairwell walls are painted white and (probably most importantly) they will look different in full light. But that will have to wait till the morning to check.

My top tips for painting stairs.

1. Work from top to bottom.
2. Start with the handrail, then work round each baluster individually.
3. When painting the actual stairs work backwards, from top to bottom
4. On your first round, paint all the risers and stringer sides but only every second tread.
5. Label the treads that are safe to walk on (you can check out my doodled post-it notes here)

I'm going to try to stop freaking out now by drinking my own body weight in tea and attempt to get over the paint-fumes.

"How are the other ladies getting on with their staircases?" I hear you cry out.
Well why don't you mosey on over to check them at at their blogs.

Sarah @ The Ugly Duckling House

Micha @ Little Old House
Christine @ Little House on the Corner - Christine finished already, but you could still check out her blog if you like ;-)

Kit @ DIY Diva
Sandra @ The House of Bing