Many of my staircase remodeling projects stem from a first floor remodel or refresh that includes new floors, new paint and perhaps new architectural detailing. When these changes are made, the staircase, which in Carmel, IN, is typically the first thing you see when one enters the home, needs updating too. Such was the case for the staircase remodeling project shown above. My clients’ home was built in the 90s and had recently completed a redesign, including new wood flooring. The staircase no longer worked with the flooring so needed its own design attention.

The original newel post and handrail were stained a rich walnut, a look the homeowners wanted to apply to the rest of the staircase. To accomplished this goal, we added new treads, as the original ones were a different color and well worn. The design of the staircase made the project much more straightforward than it could have been. Many times, to replace treads I have to pull the handrail and balusters. For this project, these elements did not touch the treads, rather were planted in a bottom plate to the side of the stairs. And, the homeowner did not want to replace the existing metal balusters or the square newel post. All I had to do was pull up a tread and replace it with a new stained one along with a riser. By the way, I do just a few at a time so my clients always have a functioning staircase!

During the design phase, there was a lot of discussion about the landing midway up the two sets of stairs. My clients wanted a carpet runner on the steps for their dogs – easy. However, there are many ways to design the mixture of wood and carpet on a landing. There is no standard; examples include stopping the runner on at the top of the stairs and putting a throw rug on the wood landing or continuing the runner over the landing up to the next set of stairs. In this case, my clients wanted to carpet the whole landing square, with a rich wood landing tread at the top of course.

While this staircase remodeling project was fairly straight forward (thanks to that well-placed handrail and balusters) most refreshes are more complex. Regardless, there are a lot of decisions to be made to help ensure the main architectural element in your foyer complements the rest of your home décor. If you are considering changing out your flooring or other major whole house redesigns, send me an email or give me a call at (317) 679-5890. I have the technical expertise and staircase remodeling experience to ensure your home remodel is complete.