Do Painted Stairs Actually Hold Up?
/The Pros and Cons of Painted Stairs
Painting your stairs can be an inexpensive way to give them a completely new look, but do they actually hold up?
No one wants to take the time to do a home improvement project that doesn't last. Lucky for you, in this post, I'm sharing the pros and cons of how my painted stairs are standing the test of time after 1 year so you can decide if this type of project is right for you!
We moved into our house a little over a year ago (at the end of October 2019). I immediately knew there was no way I wanted to be met with this image when I walked in my front door:
So the first project I tackled was ripping up the gross, dingy carpet and painting the stairs. In fact, that was one of the first projects I posted about here on the blog, too!
In the original post, I wrote all about how to rip up carpet on your stairs, prep, and paint them. But today I'm giving you the skinny on the question you might be wondering about…
Do Painted Stairs Actually Hold Up?
And my answer is a resounding YES! Better than I imagined, in fact!
Now, our stairs (and the surrounding walls) aren’t looking quite as pristine as they were when I first painted them. That’s to be expected. But ours have been particularly beaten up because a few months after I painted them, we decided to start our master suite renovation (that was a pretty significant lack of planning on our part).
However, considering they've had to endure the abuse of Lucius as he has not-so-gently carried loads of construction materials up and down them, they've held up amazingly well! I really do think our stairs have held up so well because of the time I took to prep them, and because I used a good quality porch, floor, and patio paint.
So, would I do it again? Absofreakinglutely! But painted stairs aren't without their faults. Here's a breakdown of the pros and cons of painted stairs to help you decide if painted stairs are for you.
Pros of Painted Stairs
DIY
Although it can be time-consuming, painting your stairs is totally a doable DIY project. Compared to the amount of time it would have taken me to sand, stain, and protect the stairs to return them to hardwood, painting my stairs was a much quicker (and cleaner) option.
Surprisingly not slippery
I mentioned in my original post that I was concerned the glossy paint used on the stairs would be slippery. Boy, was I wrong. I've lived in houses with carpeted stairs and I can honestly say I've slipped on the carpet way more often than I've slipped on my painted stairs - and that's coming from a self-proclaimed klutz!
Cleanliness
Sweeping the stairs with a broom is so.much.easier than hauling a vacuum up and down.
Cons of Painted Stairs
Cleanliness
I know, I know, I listed this as a "pro" too, but while you don't have to vacuum painted stairs, you do have to sweep and mop them every once in a while. Not the worst job in the world, but certainly not something I look forward to.
Upkeep
While prepping your stairs and using a high-quality floor and porch paint will help keep your stairs looking nice, nicks and general wear and tear are more noticeable than on hardwood and you'll have to touch them up occasionally.
Mystery
If your stairs are carpeted and you don’t know what kind of shape they’re in underneath, you might run into some unpleasant surprises, like we did with our landing. In fact, just a few days ago I ripped up the rest of the hideous carpet that was at the top of the stairs and unearthed more things we’ll need to fix (cue the big ol’ gap between the tread and riser). Bwomp Bwomp.
The Elephant in the Room
Since I mentioned the landing… what the heck is going on with it? (Or, in other words, “why does it still look like crap?”)
As you can see, our landing hasn’t been replaced yet. I mentioned in the original post that we installed a temporary landing made out of some thick MDF-type material until we could figure out how to replace it.
We've discovered during this process that finding stair landings is oddly difficult. I don't know if we're just not looking in the right places, but we've only found one company near us that sells solid stair landings and they're about 3 hours away. Our current plan is to wait until the master suite reno is complete and we're not running the risk of ruining the new landing, then take a little road trip to pick it up.
Is the current landing ugly? Heck yes! But it works and it's not the final version so I think we can live with it a little while longer. Plus, in case you didn’t notice, we'll have to do some other repairs once the reno is done anyway.
What About the Railing?
So while the stairs are holding up nicely, and we’ve addressed the landing situation, the handrails, balusters, and newel posts (all of which will now be referred to as “the railing” because that’s way too much stuff to list out over and over) have seen better days, and I think I know the issue. This is one of those mistakes that I’m kicking myself for because I should have known better and now I’m going to have to fix it.
When we moved in, the railings were newly repainted and already peeling a little bit. I should have bit the bullet then and stripped the paint off then, but this was at the end of prepping and painting the stairs and I was tired. Now I’m paying for it.
When I painted the railings AGAIN, the paint never seemed to fully adhere and remained a bit tacky. Because of this, anytime the railing gets nicked or looked at the wrong way, it peels some more. You can easily take a fingernail and start to peel the paint off. Ugh.
BUT, I suppose that goes to show that even those of us that do this stuff all the time still make mistakes. And on the bright side, we had to remove the railing at the top of the stairs and replace the whole thing anyway because of the new layout, so I have a little less to fix than I originally painted.
Final Thoughts
So… painted stairs - yay or nay?
Honestly, I hate vacuuming stairs so much that the surprises we uncovered under the carpet are worth it. I think it’s also worth noting that I love natural wood. If our stairs were in better condition and our house was a different style, sanding a repainting them would have been a viable option. But for our house, painting the stairs just made sense and I’m happy with the result - even if it’s not 100% finished (still).
