Mum Turns Plain Staircase Into Stylish Monochrome Space With £20 Paint
- Alison, 39, wanted to improve her hallway and stairs
- She got £19.95 tins of Frenchic paint to create a monochrome effect
- By painting the area herself, she saved on professional costs
It’s easy to get used to our plain carpeted stairs, but it’s easier than you think to completely transform the area. One savvy DIYer has turned her plain staircase into a striking monochrome space.
Alison Worsfold, 39 from Selsey, Chichester who is a Client Solutions Executive with 2 children aged 10 and 8, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘We had to re-carpet the whole of upstairs, so I began coming up with ideas to make my hallway and stairs look more exciting.
The DIYer, who shares her updates on Instagram as life_in_selsey, continued: 'I had been browsing Instagram posts and liked the idea of painting my stairs then adding a stair runner, as I had seen other people doing it. I saw someone else’s stairs in a dark colour just before I was going to buy paint in a different colour, and that inspired me to switch to my current colour scheme.
‘After seeing plenty of people having success with Frenchic paint I decided to browse their range. In the end I decided to go for the shade Smudge on the bannister and Dazzle Me on the stairs to create a striking monochrome effect. These two paint shades came from the Al Fresco range and cost £19.95 per tin.
‘To prepare the stairs, I removed the carpeting first. A lot of nails and staples had to come out before I could begin painting. I then dusted and cleaned them, before lightly sanding them with my mouse electric sander. You can get this tool for just £15 from Argos, B&Q or Amazon. I also prepared the bannister by sanding the area with sandpaper. That being said, the space was by no means smooth before I painted it - the house is a million years old!
‘After that, I dusted and cleaned again, before getting started on the painting. This step of the process took time - the Smudge shade on the bannister needed two coats, so I targeted that area first. I tried to use the glove-in-sock method, which I had seen on social media, but it wasn’t applying the paint thickly enough. In the end, I got the best coverage using the old fashioned method of a paintbrush!
‘After the bannister I went to the stairs, and applied three coats of Dazzle Me. I could have done a fourth coat if I’d had the energy, but the coverage was good when I stopped. I left a gap in the middle for the stair runner to avoid wasting paint.
‘The next step was applying the carpet runner. This had been made at the carpet shop where I live, and they applied edging. I received a quote for the overall carpet job, including the upstairs rooms, but I would estimate it didn’t cost more than £150 to make and apply the stair runner. I also saved money by painting the stairs myself instead of getting a professional to do it.
‘The main challenges with this project were sanding the bannister, and trying to paint inside very small gaps. If I was to do this again, I would do a better job of sanding the stairs to make them smoother. That being said, painting does hide all manner of sins if you buy matte paint!
‘Overall we are very happy with the results and the hallway looks much better now.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Frenchic is a popular paint brand amongst deal hunters. Many people tend to think they’ve made a huge mistake when they first apply Frenchic, as it doesn’t look great after the first coat and you start wondering how on earth you’re going to cover it up. However, my advice is to just keep going as once you’ve done two or three coats you see the great results everyone is talking about!
‘I have seen more people talking about the ‘glove in sock’ painting hack lately. For those who don’t know what it is, you put on a plastic glove, then put an old sock over the top. Your hand then becomes your paintbrush. Dip your hand into a paint tin, then rub the paint-covered sock along the area you’re painting. Does it work? There’s no clear answer - and only one way to find out for yourself!’
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