Getting White-Painted Stairs for Your Home
White-painted stairs have been a beloved decorative feature of many homes for years, and more people are opting to get rid of carpets on their stairs to take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, you can always call in a decorator to do this on your property, but perhaps you’d like to learn how to paint your wooden staircase yourself.
We’ve created a guide on finishing a white-painted staircase for your home below, as well as a few ideas of what you can do to make it stand out and impress visitors once you’re done.
How to Paint Wooden Stairs White
If you are going to paint your timber stairs white yourself, you will need to know how to do this. We’ve provided a step-by-step process below that should work for any kind of wooden staircase, whether it’s made from oak, pine or some other type of wood.
Tips Before You Begin
Before you get started, there are a few things for you to consider. These can make the process easier:
- You should either start painting a staircase early in the day, when everyone in the house is downstairs or out, so that no one needs access to upstairs for a while, or late at night when children and other members of the household have gone to bed. This might mean painting over the course of a few days.
- The longer you leave the paint to dry, the more hard-wearing it will be; try to factor in the time needed to ensure the paint is fully dry before anybody walks on it.
- Paint in order; this means starting at the top and working your way down the steps if you want to be on the ground floor when you finish, or starting at the bottom and working your way up if you want to be upstairs when you finish.
- Some experts recommend painting every other step, then marking the remaining steps and coming back once the painted steps are dry in order to finish the job.
What You Will Need
The following is a list of the things you will need in order to paint stairs:
- A good-quality floor paint (in the shade of white that you want)
- A wood primer or undercoat (for the best possible finish)
- A sander or sandpaper
- A dust mask
- Dust sheets
- A paint scraping tool
- Wood filler
- A filler knife
- A mild cleaning solution (like washing up liquid) and clean cloth
- Masking tape
- A small paint roller and tray
- A 2-inch paintbrush
- A broom or vacuum cleaner
You will then be ready to complete the steps we’ve listed below:
- Prepare the Area
Before you begin painting, you will need to make sure you’re protecting the area around the staircase. This means laying down the dust sheets and covering anything you don’t want painted – with both the sheets and the masking tape. If you are painting wooden stairs that were previously covered by carpet, you’ll also need to check for nails or staples and remove them.
- Clean the Steps
Remove any loose paint chips already on the stairs with your scraper and sweep the staircase.
- Sand the Staircase
You’ll need to sand the staircase before you can paint it to achieve the best results. Typically, the sides (which people also call the “stringers”) will already be painted. If this is the case, you can sand these with medium-to-fine sandpaper, depending on their condition. A 120 grit sandpaper should be about right for this.
If the steps (also known as the “treads and risers”) are not painted then they will need to be sanded with a coarse sandpaper. This is about 80 grit. You can also make the job quicker and easier by using a hand sander.
Sweep the staircase again or use a vacuum cleaner to get the dust off.
- Fill in Holes and Gaps
You will next need to check your stairs for holes or areas that need filling. If you find any, they should be filled with a high-quality wood filler. If your staircase is older, there’s a chance that there may be small gaps between the treads and risers. These should also be filled, and all of the filler should be left to dry.
When the filler is dry, rub down all parts of the stairs with fine grit sandpaper (180 to 220 should do) to make the stairs smooth. Run your fingers along the sanded areas to check if it’s smooth enough. If an area isn’t level, sand it again until it is.
- Clean Off the Steps Once More
Sweep off or vacuum the stairs again. Then, using warm water, the cleaning solution, and the clean, damp cloth, get rid of any leftover debris or dust that may still be on the stairs.
After washing the staircase, you’ll need to let it dry completely. This means leaving it for at least 24 hours.
- Add Your Primer
Once the stairs are dry and ready for work to start, you will need to add your primer. Start at the top of the stairs and work your way down using the 2-inch paintbrush. Make sure the brush isn’t overloaded with the primer and use it to dab the most difficult areas (like under the tread) and brush to even it out. You should then brush the primer down the front of the tread and the edges of the riser, before moving on to the next tread down.
Using even brushstrokes, you should go from one side to the other (left to right if you are right handed, and the opposite if you are left handed). This should then be repeated on the rest of the stairs.
When the primer is dry (see the primer’s instructions for how long this should take), lightly rub it down with a fine grade sandpaper. 320 grit is recommended for this. Clean the stairs again so it’s ready for the next coat.
- Paint the Undercoat
Once your base coat is in place, it will be time to add an undercoat. This makes the stairs completely smooth and even, so they’re ready for the top coat to be applied. Start at the top of the stairs and work your way down, painting the sides first using a thin layer of undercoating.
Do two or three steps at a time and then go back and paint the treads and risers as mentioned earlier. Repeat the process until it’s finished. Let the layer dry and then wipe it down and clean it. You can then decide whether or not it needs another undercoat layer.
- Paint Your Steps White
The final coat that will go on is your floor paint. You can apply this in the same way you applied the undercoat, but you can also use a roller on the treads and risers for a smoother finish. Either way, make sure there are no drips and do not try to use thick coats of paint; the coverage will last longer if you use several thin ones. If you’re going to apply more than one coat, you should wait until each is fully dry before you apply the next one.
In an ideal scenario, the paint would be left to dry, undisturbed, for 24 hours. If this isn’t possible, leave it for as long as you can or for at least the minimum time recommended by the manufacturer.
- Clean Up One Last Time
When the paint is dry, remove the dust sheets and the masking tape. Give your stairs a final brush or vacuum, and you will be finished.
A Note to Remember
A staircase is an area of high traffic in a home. This means the stairs will most likely need a fresh coat of paint every few years, depending on how well they are looked after. This prevents wear and tear and helps the stairs to stay looking their best.
How to Make White-Painted Stairs Stand Out
White-painted stairs can be an elegant feature of a home on their own, but they can also act as a blank canvas for you to add your ideas. If you want to enhance the appeal of an all-white staircase, there are a few different things that we can suggest:
Stripes and Patterns
A white staircase is the perfect spot for stripes or other painted patterns. By making clever use of masking tape or stencils, you can even incorporate these into the painting instructions we’ve listed above! All you will have to do is put the tape down in the lines you want to create before you add the final paint coats. Similarly, stencils should be taped in place while you work on them.
Two-Tone Options
If you decide that you’d rather not have an all-white staircase, you can also decide to make your steps two-tone. This might mean making the risers of the stairs white and painting the treads another colour – light grey is particularly popular, but other colours you might consider include teal, red, and dark brown.
Stair Runners
If you’d like to have white-painted stairs but still want to incorporate patterns and colour, stair runners could be exactly what you need. They’ll also help to protect your staircase from dirt, scrapes, scratches, and scuff marks left by shoes!
Not only do stair runners come in all shapes and sizes, they also come in a variety of modern, traditional, plain, or even animal pattern designs and styles to suit any set of stairs in any home. They also help to add grip, making a slippery wooden staircase much safer.
Adding Stair Runners with Stair Rods
If you decide to set down some stair runners over the top of your white-painted wood staircase, it’s possible to complete the look by adding a series of matching stair rods. These come in a range of modern and classic styles to suit any aesthetic you want for your stairs, and they’re available in a range of finishes to suit the stairs and stair runner designs that you have chosen.
A couple of examples of this might be you choosing white-painted stairs and our Stripy Blue stair runners, paired with our Jubilee stair rods in antique brass, pewter, or satin nickel for a modern finish. Meanwhile, you might also opt for a Red Heritage stair runner with Royale stair rods in polished brass or satin brass for a more traditional look.
Find Ideal Accessories for Your Stairs
If you are looking for ways to make your new white-painted stairs look more decorative and ornate, then Stair-Rods Direct is here to help. Our beautiful range of stair runners and stair rods are just right for adding a bright touch to a white staircase. You can even choose to create an extra colour scheme if you want to add patterns to the parts of your stairs that will be on display.
Shop by colour or finish here on our website to find the pieces that will best match your idea for a perfect new staircase in your home. If there is anything that you have in mind that you can’t find, you can also get in touch with our team. We’ll do everything we can to help you get what you need, in the colour or design that you desire.