One of the many selling features you’ll find in our often 100+ year-old Bloor West Village homes is the beautiful wood trim, paneling and stairwells. These details look quite beautiful and really do give the homes a lot of character and warmth.

HOWEVER what about when all that wood trim isn’t looking its best? Unless you’re polishing it a few of times a year (and let’s be honest, there’s very few of us that actually do that), it’s going to show it’s age. At some point it’s time to let go of the old and bring on the new. So if you’re feeling the same way I was but are a little scared to commit, check out how our stairwell turned out and see if it works for you.

A little back story, if you’ve read through my blogs, you may have noticed I have a thing for renovation. Shocking I know! Our stairwell was one of those items on our list of to-do’s. I’ve been wanting to get a stair runner for some time now, but until all the wood got a little face lift, that plan was on hold. 

When we purchased our home the wood trim had already seen better days. Add 2 rambunctious kids into the mix and it was time for an update. To brighten up the space and get some extra light, we decided to lighten up the colours in the space. We choose to paint the stringers, spindles, knewl posts and just leave the treads and the banister. Here are a couple before pictures.

For our colour choice we decided to go with Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore. One thing to note: be cautious of your colour selection! Even with whites, there’s always another hue in the paint. I wanted to stay away from any yellow hues so I went with something that had just a bit grey. Seeing as I have a thing with grey and white and this is a big colour scheme in our house, this was a great fit.

By leaving the handrail and treads as is, they’ll be show-cased in the stairwell and still add a little bit of warmth without keeping the space dark.

Full disclosure this project takes a ton of time and patience. You’ll be spending your days priming, filling in gaps and sanding between the coats of paint. So if you’re not particularly detail oriented or up for a timely project, I strongly suggest you hire someone to do this for you.

Now if you speak with people, they’re either going to love or hate the idea of painting the wood. But I strongly suggest you do what works for you! In the end, I’m super thrilled with the results. It completely lightens up the space and gives an entirely different feel to the entranceway.

Next step…finding the right stair runner. Stay tuned.