Stairway to Ombre Heaven
As promised, today I will be walking you through my ombre stair tutorial. This project very well may only be for a select few brave and crazy souls like yours truly but this idea could extend to other areas of the home as well. I mean, how awesome would this look on a basement staircase or even a bookcase wall?!? That bookcase idea just came to me as I was typing and now I’m dying to try it. Hmmm… This is where I would normally get really sidetracked, close my laptop, go to the paint store and start on project #4,567,987. Okay Brittany, FOCUS…
When we first purchased our home, I was set on an uper colorful stair runner rug. However, once our stairs were stained, they were so delicious I couldn’t fathom covering them up. Insert ombre stair idea.
So maybe this particular project is a little too over the top for you. I totally understand. But for me, as a designer, my personal home is my canvas. I love a good statement piece and I thought this would be the perfect “Welcome to My Home” wowzer.
Let’s imagine for a second that you are sold on the idea and have the perfect place in mind. Now how do you choose a color? My key to a beautifully done, colorful home, is to choose a main accent color. Maybe it will be the main color in one room, a splash in another room, but for the most part it will extend through the main living areas in some form or fashion. More on that later…
My home’s key color is Really Teal by Sherwin Williams.
Now that my main color was decided, all I needed was the Really Teal paint card and I was all set! I ran through some scenarios in my head but decided to do each set of two stairs the same color. Since there were 12 stairs and 7 colors on the card, it would be two stairs for each color except two colors would just be one stair each. I later decided that hiding the single stairs toward the middle would be the best option. I went to my local Sherwin Williams store and purchased one sample pint of each color (except Really Teal which we already had in a gallon size). The sample pints are only about $5/ea compared to $10-12 for a quart!
Let’s get started!
BEFORE
I am no professional painter. I am not even a good DIY painter but every now and then I feel confident and motivated enough to take on a good paint project and this one was it! I did one color (i.e. two stairs) each night.
NIGHT ONE
I taped off each stair as I went and did three coats per color. If I had taped off the entire staircase at once, I am afraid it would have taken off some of the recently finished hardwood stain on the stairs I got to last.
NIGHT SIX
Paint Color Chart
SHOP OUR FOYER:
And Here’s The Finished Product!
SHOP OUR FOYER!
XOXO, Brittany Hayes
Love it
Thanks!
What an awesome idea! The stairs are gorgeous!
Thanks so much!
Gorgeous! You did an amazing job! Where is that turquoise chandelier from?
The chandelier link is posted under “TOUR”. Thanks!
Hi. I also have 4 more steps as you do at the top that u don’t see. How do I handle/paint those? Start back w/Really Teal for those 4 or do 2 steps each for each color as you did on the main ones, except for a few? Thanks,Tricia
Hello! I didn’t actually paint my top four steps. They are still white. You can barely see them though. I would definitely go lighter on those stairs. I wouldn’t start the paint deck over. I think the dark colors need to be at the bottom to look more “weighted”. Hope that helps!
This looks amazing! I am totally inspired! Quick question, did you have to prep your stairs first by sanding and with primer? Thanks!
Did you use a varnish or “protection” coat over your paint? Wondering how kicking the risers will wear the paint…. ? How is it wearing? Many thanks, Joy