Banister Makeover

Everyone likes a little color change every once in a while. Since I had some leftover gel stain from the front door job, I figured it would be a good idea to put it toward the staircase banisters. They were low on the priority list, but as you can see, the previous owners replaced the floors and stairs with dark wood, but left the banisters in the classic 90's honey oak finish. Not a big deal, but once it was pointed out to me, it made the list!

Much like the front door, there was lots of cleaning, sanding, taping, staining (3-4 coats with 24-hr dry time), wiping, and top-coating (3-4 coats with 3-hr dry time). At least I didn't have to paint the spindles! But, I did have to try to avoid getting stain on them. It was an involved process, to say the least. No turning back now!

Here's the full before and after of the front; I think it's a good change. Someday we'll get the paint color updated, change the light fixture, and maybe smooth out the hexagonal doorway... There's always something to do!

The back stairs weren't as noticeable because they are carpeted and have different tile near them instead of the dark wood floor. I forgot to get a before picture, so this one is halfway through the first coat, but you get some of the idea. I managed to wipe off less and get by with just two stain coats, which shaved off a couple of days from the nearly two-week project. On to the next!