You guys, there is only one more week left in the One Room Challenge! It always seems to fly by. We’ve done a lot the last two weeks though, and I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Today, let’s chat about how to Modernize Stair Railings by Getting Rid of the Scrolls!
First though, play catch up on the One Room Challenge if you need to:
Week 1 – Entryway | Week 2 – Design Plan | Week 3 – Saying Goodbye to the Scrolls | How To Determine Gallery Wall Sizes
And, be sure to stop by Calling It Home to see all the other participants’ rooms!
So, if you remember, we had stair railings that looked like this:
Quite a few people thought they were pretty, and to be honest, if there was just one set of railings, then I might have liked them too.
But in reality, there are these two, and then immediately to the left, there is another large one in our Eat-In Kitchen.
It was just too much for the eye to handle. Plus, as we’ve updated other parts in our house, this area just seemed to be the oddball.
Luke was on board to try to modernize the railings so we went for it. We decided to try this method (spoiler: it worked!) on the kitchen railing first because that’s the one set of railing that would be inexpensive to replace if we messed up. Our circle stairs would cost a fortune (I priced them last year: 5-7K) to replace the railing. So, that’s what we did. We started with the back set and it went well so we ended up doing all of them.
Ready for the tutorial?
How To Modernize Stair Railings By Getting Rid Of The Scrolls
Step 1 : Gather Your Supplies
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Primer – Enamel
Step 1 : Determine Which Side To Grind
This is important and something we learned the hard way. Our scrolls (and maybe yours too?) were thinner on one side. You definitely want to grind the thinner side – it will save you lots of work!
Step 2 : Grind
Grab your grinder, safety glasses, gloves and a respirator mask. Start grinding on the thinner side between the bar and the scroll. Go slow! You will grind on both sides of the bar at the top and at the bottom. If you cut into the vertical bar, you can’t fix that so you want to take your time and do it right.
*I only showed two arrows, but you are cutting four times (both sides of the vertical bar at the top and the bottom).
Once Luke got the hang of it, each scroll took about fifteen minutes to get off.
Step 3 : Sand
Sand the entire piece. If you didn’t have paint on yours then you might not need to do this step. If you look closely below, you will see dark spots in the photograph on the bars where we grinded the scrolls off.
Those areas were sharp so they needed a really good sanding.
Because our railing had been painted, we gave the whole railing a good sanding with the orbital.
Step 4 : Clean
We used an attachment for our drill to clean the bars. You could use a microfiber cloth if you wanted.
Step 5 : Prep For Paint
We have a lot of railings so we had to clear out most of the garage and lay paper down. We also rigged up a ladder and extra wood support (it looks totally wonky in the next picture, but it wasn’t) to get the railing set up so that we were able to paint both sides.
Step 6 : Paint
We used Rustoleoum Epoxy Primer and Paint in the cans. It took about twenty-two cans. To be honest, I’m not in love with the finish. It’s not completely smooth but it’s not necessarily rough either. We used matte black and I got some remarks on Instagram saying that matte black is usually a bit gritty.
All in all, I don’t hate the finish but it’s not as smooth as I would have hoped for.
That being said, we’ve had them up for over a week now and I haven’t noticed the finish being scratchy to the touch at all. So, I’m sure they are fine and I’m over-thinking it.
Next week is the big reveal! I can’t wait.
PIN FOR LATER
*Edited 08/30/2017:
Make sure to pop over to the entryway reveal to see how this stair railing totally changed the space.
Here’s a sneak peek!
Brit | House Updated says
May 3, 2017 at 10:40 amWhat an improvement! It really looks so much better now. Can’t wait to see your reveal next week!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:09 amThanks Britt! I’m so happy that this worked out.
Steph @ One Mile Home Style says
May 3, 2017 at 11:06 amThese look so good Ashley! Removing the scrolls made such a big difference, and the new color looks great too!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:09 amYay! Glad you think so! Thanks Steph!
Robin from Frugal Family Times says
May 3, 2017 at 11:10 amOh wow, Ashley! What a difference – getting rid of those scrolls made your railings look decades newer. Good job. 🙂
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:10 amThanks Robin!
Cassie Bustamante says
May 3, 2017 at 11:35 amwhat a great difference! i am sure the paint is one of those things that other people won’t notice as much as you. in general i always have a hard time with spray paint and getting even finishes.
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:10 amI think you are right! I’ve mentioned it to a few people as they have come over and no one has noticed it first for sure.
AlisonG says
May 3, 2017 at 12:30 pmMajor difference. Great before and after! Great job.
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:10 amThank you so much!
Jessica | house homemade says
May 3, 2017 at 2:43 pmThat makes such a huge difference! I love it. Great job.
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:10 amIt really does, thanks Jessica!
Lizzie Ravn says
May 3, 2017 at 2:48 pmThey look so much more modern now, and I love the black. So cool that it actually worked!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:11 amI know! I’m still pinching myself that it actually worked!
Carrie says
May 3, 2017 at 5:42 pmWhat a difference! They look great and definitely flow better with the rest of your house now,!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:11 amThanks Carrie! I think so too!
Susie says
May 3, 2017 at 6:05 pmOk. You get the prize this week for most original and clever idea. I can’t believe the difference in the railings. Total genius. Can’t wait to see the room reveal! Susie from The Chelsea Project
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:11 amYou have me blushing!! High praise for sure!
Bre says
May 3, 2017 at 7:13 pmIt seriously made such a huge difference!!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:11 amI know!! So exciting!
Tee @ Beauteeful Living says
May 3, 2017 at 7:28 pmWow – I thought you got new stairs! This came out so amazing! Major difference. I can’t wait to get rid of my metal railings one day soon. Good luck with finalizing the last details before the reveal next week. Look forward to seeing it!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:11 amI know, right?!
Leslie says
May 3, 2017 at 11:53 pmI’m so excited it all worked out! It looks amazing and fresh and I just love it. I have small scrolls on some mine (from the 90’s) I don’t think there’s anything I can do with those except replace them.
Looks so great already!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:12 amThanks Leslie!
Dagmar says
May 4, 2017 at 7:27 amI love your frugality. Improving what you already have. And reading your posts makes me get up and work on mine. Thanks!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:12 amSometimes, it’s hard to think outside of the box but I’m glad this one worked out!
Emy says
May 4, 2017 at 7:46 amThe stairs look absolutely amazing!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:12 amThank you so much!
Charlotte says
May 4, 2017 at 8:33 amThey look awesome. Love the black!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:12 amWoohoo! Thanks Charlotte!
Carol @ CAD INTERIORS says
May 4, 2017 at 9:56 amRemoving the scrolls did wonders for the railings! They look great. Looking forward to your reveal!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:12 amI know, right?! Thanks Carol!
Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living says
May 4, 2017 at 10:57 amLove it Ashley!!! Definitely an improvement!! Love the new color as well!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:13 amMe too! Thanks Stephanie!
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
May 5, 2017 at 9:21 amI like it so so so much better now.
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:13 amMe too!
Nicki Parrish says
May 5, 2017 at 10:02 amIt looks so much more modern now, and I would have never thought this was possible! I love the way it turned out, and by keeping them, but still updating them, it probably fits in really well with the era of the house. I am guessing they were original to the home. Great job!!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:13 amIt really does! Thanks Nicki!
Casey says
May 6, 2017 at 11:09 amI love them! What a great job
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:13 amSo much better than before for sure!
Ariel says
May 8, 2017 at 1:05 pmThose are looking great! The black makes them look so different already, and then without the scroll it’s night and day!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:14 amI know, right?! Thanks Ariel!
Jessica | Petal + Ply says
May 8, 2017 at 2:29 pmWow! The railing looks great!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:14 amSo glad you like it!
Carolann says
May 15, 2017 at 3:20 pmWow, what a huge difference! Lots of work for sure but so very worth it!
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:14 amFor sure! Thanks so much!
Lynn Spencer says
May 15, 2017 at 7:03 pmAshley, I am so glad you did this and spilled the beans on how to do it. I don’t have railings right now, but I can see knowing how to do this will come in handy in the near future.
And it looks SO GREAT! I know you love the new look…in fact your whole foyer looks fantabulous!
Hugs, Lynn
Ashley Mayes says
May 19, 2017 at 11:14 amThanks Lynn! It really helped the space!