The Stairs Are Done!

This was easier than I thought in terms of actual painting.  However, every time I thought I'd chipped away as much paint as I could, there were more pieces.  Also, I kept finding nails that hadn't been removed.  And missing many, many nail holes that needed to be filled with wood putty.

The color is Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray.  I had seen this color in two blogs, In the Little Yellow House and Frugal Farmhouse Design, and loved it.  It's a warm gray.  It looked beige when I opened the paint can.  In fact, I had to check it against my swatch because I thought they'd given me the wrong color!  While painting it, it looked beige, then green, then gray.  I'm really pleased with it, though I could stand for it to be a tad shinier.  It's floor and patio paint; it's thin and goes on easily.  I painted the trim Sherwin Williams Extra White in semi-gloss acrylic latex.

Now I want to swap out Neighborly Peach with Revere Pewter, but that'll have to wait--a season of outside painting awaits!  I'm also dying to paint the upstairs floors as well.   Back in the day (1875ish) a "workingman's cottage" had cheap, random-width pine floors, not the pretty heartwood pine that looks good refinished.  These floors were meant to be painted, or just the perimeter painted if the family had carpets.

I ripped up the rug on these stairs in January 2007 but couldn't decide whether to re-carpet, stain or paint.  I read that pine doesn't stain evenly or look that great.  Also carpeting isn't practical when you have three cats and allergies.  So I decided to give it the historically accurate treatment.  Hopefully the paint will last a long time.