Hi, hi y'all!
Today is a BIG day here at Nutmeg Place!
It's the big stair reveal!
Can I get a "WOO TO THE HOO!!"???
First,
We had our awesome electrician come over this morning and install an outlet for a lamp, along with a couple other bits.
So yeah, as he was wiring inside the walls, this happened:
Yup.
That came out the wall, took out a chunk of chair rail and went straight through the floor.
*sigh*
He felt so bad. Bad enough that he wouldn't let us pay him. Not even $1.
We'll get that all fixed up. For now, I just turned the rug the other direction and covered that hole up.
ANYWAY...
This project has been an ordeal. From beginning to end.
If you're new to NMP {Welcome!!} here is what I started with:
Horrible, matted, ripped up and stained carpet.
Everything I had read told me that this would be a super easy project. Would only take a few days...
Lies. All lies.
Got over the shock of exactly what I had done by ripping up that carpet by moving on and laying the paper... it was looking good! I was jazzed!!
Then, I screwed it up, big time:
Lordy. Looking at that still makes me cry.
I started over.
The 2nd time, it turned out AMAZEBALLS.
Wanna see??
Ok.
Paper bag floor/stairs: NAILED IT!!!
Be still my heart.
I kinda wanna do this throughout the entire main level.
Just kidding. Actually, I kinda do.
Would you look at the color and texture?!?!
The pictures just DO NOT do this justice.
It's a dark stairwell, so I really had a hard time trying to show you the texture and depth of color.
I've put out a couple little baskets on each stair level. To throw all that junk in that always seems to need to go upstairs. I tend to put things on the stairs and it just sits there. I thought a basket would make it easier to get all those little things back up where they belong.
So, yeah...
The cord is driving me crazy. Even with the pretty Pottery Barn cord cover on it. I think I'm going to need to attach those command hooks along the back of the table and get that cord out of view.
The runner is from... are you sitting down? Wal Mart.
Yep.
It's a Better Homes & Gardens item, and I love this pattern. I have several matching rugs in the house. The color combo is my absolute favorite.
The table was a local yard sale find. I painted it up with my trusty milk paint and let it chip-a-rip.
Funny thing...
The day after I put the table on the landing, Drew says "You know... that chipped paint look isn't my favorite." Hah, what the WHAT?!?
Ah well... you never know when we will get a crazy urge to repaint something... right?!?!
Yeah. No.
The adorable basket and chubby little birdie {Drew has named her Kitty} I found at Hob Lob for 50% off. Oh, the faux Chinese lanterns were from HL as well. The blue jug I found at Homegoods.
Welcome, Kitty, to your new home.
From the landing, looking up toward the loft.
IN a few very small places, I let the dark stain show through. For some randomness.
View from the loft.
Like a BOSS.
**I've been asked many times how to do this. I followed this tutorial by Lovely Crafty Home***
Let me leave you with some thoughts:
- This wasn't easy.
- This was scary, for me.
- Since I messed this up, it wasn't necessarily a cheap project.
- My neighbor Mandy, rocks.
- I'm BEYOND proud of this project.
- I still want to add that board & batten.
- I still need to fix the broken rail.
- I'm going to sit on my butt now, for days on end and watch "The Walking Dead".
- It. Is. Done.
Before I go,
I want to thank you all. Especially all my friends on Facebook. I would still be staring at carpeted, nasty, plywood stairs if it wasn't for all your support and encouragement. You turned my tears into tears of laughter at my failure. All of you sending me words like "You CAN do this!!", thank you.
Excuse my language, but:
HOLY SHIT, I DID THIS!!!
It looks fantastic!! I'm super impressed with how quickly you finished such a big project (even if it didn't feel quick!). :) The accessories look really nice too! Oh, and my hubby totally doesn't get the chippy/distressed paint look, but since I love it and I'm in charge of decorating, he has to deal with it! ;)
ReplyHello, Kitty. Sorry couldn't resist. Every time I see this project I'm more and more impress, Meg. You rock the DIY world!!! Link this project up EVERYWHERE - the world needs to see this!! Well done, my friend.
ReplyWOW Meg you rock!! You did it!!!!And it looks amazing! Now pleazzze don't even tell me you are actually thinking of doing this again! Oh no you didn't!!!
ReplyTake a break and think about it for awhile :-)
Hmmmm it does look pretty awesome though!
xx
Anne
Alright I don't even know what to say..EXCEPT Holy MegBALLS!!!!!! You deserve to sit on that rump! yes you do because you worked these stairs! And ROCKED them! WOW WOW ohhhh hell WOW! I love Kitty, the table, the rug your baskets and your flipping stairs! Great great JOB!!
ReplyYou rocked it Meg!!! Looks fantastic! You must be very proud of how it turned out!!
ReplyI think you did a fantastic job, I love it ! You go Girl !! WOOHOO !
ReplyHave a great day !
Meg well worth the wait for the reveal. Great Job Well done you.
ReplyJust showed DH he cant believe it is Brown Paper he said It looks like Cork.
Love the Basket in the corner I bet once one of your kids finds it they might make it into a Bed.
You did nail it, sistah! Seriously, I absolutely love it. My stairs look EXACTLY like your before....I am not sure I have it in me to do what you did, but man I am jealous!
ReplyKim @ Too Much Time
I did my entire house (well I still have 1 room to finish) with the help of a friend, and it looks and holds up awesome! We used cookbok pages in the kitchen, which I love, and pages from a book of victorian trading cards for the bathroom, which I don't like as much. I am going to use maps for my living room, and may use them to redo the bathroom I don't like. We put several coats of waterbased polyurethane over the top. I think we probably used more than we needed to. It's been over a year, and it's holding up really well. I use a shark steamer to clean it. If you do get a problem, you just stick down more paper over the top. I may use modpodge next time. You can buy ib by the gallon cheaper than polyurethane, and I have used it on a couple of test areas, and it looks and holds up better.
The paper I used is found at home depot, in the paint dept., as painter's paper. You get a huge roll for 10 bucks. I used 2 rolls on the floors I did.
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Francine, I would love to see what the cookbook pages look like on the floor. Are there pictures anywhere? Is modpodge waterproof?
can you share a little about what kind of brown paper you used? was is grocery bags, or brown roll paper, what steps did you use? and did you modge podge it then polyurthene the steps? curious. im starting my stairs and was doing old road maps but like the look of this better....
ReplyHeya Beth!
Here is the tute I used: http://lovelycraftyhome.com/2011/03/22/brown-paper-walnut-stain-mocha-love/
Only the stain is what caused my epic fail, so I skipped it the first time.
I think maps would look awesome!
LOL! love the time to crash comment at the end. LOVE the stairs, they look so very pretty. LOVE the table, LOVE that runner and the rug at the foot of the stairs, LOVE your styling - fabulous!!!
ReplyIt all looks magnificent and you should be so proud of yourself for it. Too bad about the floor, but at least you didn't have to pay the electrician!
Check out my apothecary cabinet when you have a minute - I'm so thrilled with it, but I think I'm going to paint it turquoise... and the headboard to match. :) Painting is my life.
xox
It looks amazing! I've been impatiently waiting for the big reveal and it did not disappoint!
ReplyMeg this looks fantastic. I have seen the same treatment done on walls but never the floor. It makes me want to tear up carpet. Love the rugs and all the little items on the stairs. I agree with the others, you deserve to sit and watch tv. Congrats on a project well done.
ReplyTraci
Wonderful job! Did you just cover up the failed layer? This looks great. Years ago I was looking at a house to rent that had done this on their kitchen wall. It was really beautiful. I can imagine how pretty this is. I hate it when you have a project that is just awesome and you can't catch the beauty in a picture! Pat yourself on the back while you are sitting on your arse.
ReplyYes, Ma'am you sure did do this. Do you just sit and look at it? I KNOW I would!! It is SO gorgeous!! All of the accents work perfectly!! I love love love it!!
ReplyYou are one talented woman!!
Loves!!
you are the queen, i bow to you and your absof'inglutely gorgeous stairs!
Replymeg, words escape me and everyone's used some pretty great adjectives to describe this...girl you SO nailed it. the colors are fabulous and that console table is to die for; great contrast with the dark floor and the white!
fyi - large binder clips work great for controlling cordageddon.
xo
Awesome job! So happy for you. I expect this to be linked up and shown off all over blogland next week. I heard there is a REALLY GOOD party on Tues. night that would LOVE to show off your stairs ;)
ReplyCongrats, girlfriend!
Shasta
Well done! AMAZING! Hugs, applause and HUGE pat on the back! Take a bow (and a well deserved break)! You did...you rocked it...BIG TIME! xo, Kimberly
ReplyAbsolutely AMAZING!!! I'm in love! I know you had a hard time and it looked great the first round, but I love how it turned out the second time around. You nailed it!!!!
ReplyWell done you!! Simply amazing. Ya rocked it!
ReplyCheers, Gee
Wow! That is just stunning!! I'm so glad you persevered! Awesomeness!
ReplyWow! This looks amazing. Your hard work paid off. You should make those pics larger so we can see all of that awesome texture!
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ReplyYou did a great job!! I have done almost my entire house in brown paper. I had a friend help me, whithout whom I would never have gotten it doene. We used cookbook pages in the kitchen, which I love, and pages from a book about victorian trade cards in one of the bathrooms. I don't like that so much. I will probably re-do the bathroom in maps, and I still have to finish my living room, which will be part paper bags and a "rug" in the middle of the room of maps. I used polyurethane, but will be trying mod podge next time. You can buy it by the gallon on Amazon cheaper than the waterbased polyurethane. I have tested in one area and it looks good, holds up well and doesn't smell. We used stain on a couple of rooms, but I like it better without it. I may try and "save" the bathroom by putting a coat of stain over it. The problem with the bathroom is the back side of the pages bled through to the front. The cookbook pages did not do that. Oh well, it all looks TONS better than the old carpets and floors!!
ReplyI hate that you had to go through all of this but the end result is fabulous! Mine are like that and I love them, so much easier to clean and much cleaner sleek look. I am impressed and you can feel pride in what you have accomplished! Good Job!
ReplyDolly
It looks SUPERFANTABULOUS!!!!! That is one Epic makeover. I have tweeted and pinned this sucker. GOOD JOB :)))
ReplyHoly shit is right!!! You did it and it looks amazing! I have that same annoyance w/ a cord in my foyer...I rolled it up like a rope and put a rubber band around it and it sits right behind the table part but still plugged in. It worked wonders :) Great job Meg-you should be very proud! Sharing your post on my FB page today :) ~ Julie
ReplyLove! Love! Love! Yes - you SHOULD be very proud!! This is a great makeover!!! I love the stairs and all the accents you added! Well done Meg! :)
ReplyCongratulations!!
ReplyHard work worthwhile ;-)
Holy crud, Meg!!!! How did I miss this! They are ridiculous fabulous! I cannot believe how well they turned out, you had me scared there for a bit. Wow...just wow!
ReplyWOW! Even after a couple of mis-haps it turned out fantastic! What an interesting take on doing stairs, I love it! Sharing on my FB later today.
ReplyIt looks great! I did a similar project, being inspired by Lovely Craft Home but I used Rit Dye instead of stain. It turned out great. Check it out here
Replyhttp://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2012/02/paper-grocery-bags-elmers-glue-rit-dye.html
Enjoy your beautiful stairs!
Meg, when you took off the carpet, was it just plywood underneath? Did you add a board to the top or just cover the plywood? When I saw this tutorial last year, I wanted to do it to mine but was not sure when I just have plywood.
ReplyHey Cherryl,
Yep! Painters paper directly over the plywood subfloor. I filled the seams and holes with wood filler beforehand, cleaned it up well and put the paper down. That was the only prep. :-)
i had been
Replyfollowing the saga
on FB and am so happy
to see the beautiful
finished project
you really knocked it
outa the park!
thanks for sharing
at Fridays Unfolded!
{alison}
Looks great! Nice job. Would love it if you linked up on my blog hop www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!
ReplyThose look amazing!! I'm your newest follower-I love your blog and your style! I invite you to visit me and say hi :)
ReplySusan
Wow! That floor is amazing! I've never heard of this idea. Very cool.
ReplyARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! PAPER??? No. Really?? PAPER??? I just don't get it, but it looks absolutely A. MAZ. ING. You are the girl. No. You are the WOMAN!! You ROCK! Wow. Can I just say it again? WOW. If I needed new floors I would definitely look into this. But Wow. Wow. Yay you!
ReplyDebbie
This is the post I was looking for! I remembered seeing this when you first posted and thinking WOW she did paper bag stairs ~ she's so brave!!! They look wonderful. I ripped up my carpet too. I just couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to paint the stairs but there was fiber board underneath. Not the best canvas :(. I'm pondering trying this technique if I get up the nerve...
ReplyThanks to Pinterest I am getting to visit your blog and see your great stairs. Gives me hope for a weird piece of flooring that is going to wait at least (another) 13 years for repair and might benefit from this treatment. But I have a question too...how did you cut those little pieces of molding for where the stair treads and risers meet the walls? We redid our stairs to the basement a few years ago and have never figured out how to do a good cover up job. Miter cuts are scary but looking at the cracks another couple of years might be scarier. Thanks for sharing!
Reply