The Staircase Makeover Part 1...Jumping In With Both Feet

I guess you could say that I am relatively knew to all of this DIY stuff...I mean I've always liked the idea of DIY, but when I was working full time I rarely had time to tackle big projects myself.  So...in my old life I either paid to have something done...or....more likely....just didn't do it....thinking that some day I would get around to it.

Fast forward to present day....and now that I am a Stay at Home Mom...well....I still don't have a lot of time, but I do have more than I used too....AND.....I have been inspired!!  There are so many incredible DIYers out there!

And being the person that I am....I decided to just jump into this DIY world with both feet!!  How can you not get excited when you see such amazing transformations!  I especially love the DIY staircase makeovers.  If you haven't seen these already, then be sure to check these out:  Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick (love her....she doesn't know me....but still....she rocks!), Kate at Centsational Girl, Rhoda Southern Hospitality, Stephanie at Crea8tive Designs, Tracy at Cleverly Inspired, and Diane at In My Own Style.  Their transformations are amazing!!

I am totally in awe of how great their stairs looked after their transformation and for such a cheap price!  I mean who doesn't want gorgeous stairs??  So here we go....jumping right on into a major DIY project right off the bat....yeah....that sounds about like me....very ambitious....maybe a little crazy....definitely delusional.....and hopelessly optimist....

And so we begin.....

This is what our staircase looked like before we started the project:

The stairs are the first thing that you see when you walk into our entryway....and well....let's just be honest....they aren't anything to write home about....the carpet....well...I'll keep it PG and just say it was GROSS!!  And the banisters...yeah....can you say......SO 1980....and our house wasn't even built in the 80's!!  Okay, okay.....so maybe the stairs aren't that bad, but they certainly aren't great....and when this is the first thing you see when you walk into our house....I wanted it to be great!  Something that would give us that "Wow factor"!!

So....I sweet talked convinced the hubs that this was a project that we could totally do ourselves and on the cheap!  I mean....that's a win-win right (thought I'd throw in a little corporate jargon for ya...gag....)!  Well....I won't keep you in too much suspense.....I'll go ahead and tell you that we did in fact makeover our staircase....ourselves....and it is SO GORGEOUS now (or at least I think so).....BUT we did hit a lot of snags along the way....and when I say a lot....I mean A LOT!!!  So.....I'm going to break down the details for you over a couple of different post....because WE LEARNED A LOT.....and I want to share it all with you guys....so if you ever decided to jump in with both feet and tackle a project like this....well....hopefully it will be easier for you!! 

Until next time.....

XOXO,
Kristal