Week three brought a significant change to the Fancy Foyer. The stair treads and landings are finished, and I feel relieved that we had the resources to fix the mistake I made four years ago.
Since I’ll miss a week of the One Room Challenge in May, I hired out the job to Queen City Hardwood Restoration. The owner, Brenden, was a guest on True Tales From Old Houses, and he and his crew do excellent work. The floors in BHH are almost 140 years old, and I trust them completely.
The photo below is just a quick snap, but I am thrilled with the end result.
The staircase is well on its way to becoming the gorgeous focal point it deserves to be.
This week, I planned to reveal the rug runner I bought, but I had a change of heart. Once I saw the perfect treads, I knew I could not bring myself to shoot a bunch of staples into them to install a runner. So, I returned to my very unpopular plan of stair tread covers. I say unpopular because when I polled Instagram about them, I received some very passionate and clear reactions to the idea. The most common one was, “Ugh, no!” However, here’s the deal: I am only looking at this from a functional and practical point of view. I prefer plain treads, but I need something to keep my dog from tumbling down the stairs. At twelve years old, she’s basically an 84-year-old woman, and her furry body can only handle so much. So, we’re going to have to compromise. I’ll get the stair tread covers I need, and you’ll never have to see them. Deal?
In other not-as-interesting news, I’m mostly working on repairs behind the scenes. I have been pulling off the shoe molding to replace it with new. Replacing is different from my typical M.O., but the wood was a flaky mess, and the base layer of paint contained lead. Since the shoe molding profile is readily available in wood vs. MDF or PVC, I’m choosing to replace it instead of stripping and re-painting. My hands are already full with paint stripping, and the less labor, the better. Stripping paint is also one of my least favorite jobs.
I am trying and mostly succeeding at viewing the Fancy Foyer as a series of small tasks rather than the overwhelming mega-project that it is. In that spirit, I plan to finish paint prep within two weeks. Painting is fast, but prep is a drag.
While I am in Utah this weekend, I will work on the mood board and finalize the plan for rugs for the landings and by the front door. For the day-to-day updates, please follow me on Instagram. Also, if you are participating in the One Room Challenge, please link your project in the comments. I would love to see what you are up to.
Thanks for reading!
