Styles to Renovate Your Home Stairs With

Replacing a staircase is a costly business. If you feel that your stairs are looking a little drab though, there's no need to spend a small fortune on having them rebuilt from scratch. As long as your staircase is structurally sound, you can get great results by stripping it back and renovating it yourself. Renovating your staircase can add to the value of your home as well as improve your living environment.

1. • 1
     Remove any old carpet or other flooring that's on your staircase. If your staircase is covered with carpet that's secured by tacks, put on a pair of gloves and use pliers to pull the tacks out of the floor before pulling the carpet back. If your flooring is secured with adhesive, you may need to apply an adhesive removal agent before removing it from your stairs.
   • 2
     Inspect your staircase to make sure it's free of nails and tacks. Remove any tacks or nails with your pliers. If you can't pull any out, hammer them below the surface of your stairs. Any tacks or nails that are left protruding from your stairs will damage your sander.
   • 3
     Remove any paint, varnish or stain from your staircase with an orbital sander. You'll need medium-grade sandpaper to remove any finish from the angled sections of your stairs.
   • 4
     Purchase the appropriate paint or varnish your staircase. Either way, you'll need to buy a product that's been designed specially for floors. Standard paint or varnish will not be strong enough to withstand the footfall your stairs must endure. You'll also need a primer to apply to your staircase before adding your finish.
   • 5
     Protect the area around your staircase with masking tape and then apply a coat of primer. Once this has dried, apply a second coat.
   • 6
     Apply a first coat of varnish or paint, allow to dry, and then apply a second coat.
   • 7
     Sand down your staircase's balusters and newel posts with a medium-grade sandpaper. If your balusters and newel posts don't feature ornate detailing, you may be able to sand them using an orbital sander. Finish with fine-grade sandpaper.
   • 8
     Protect your staircase, and any wall area close to your balusters and newel posts with masking tape.
   • 9
     Apply a coat of primer to your balusters and newel posts as directed by the manufacturer of the treatment you're using. You can use a standard varnish, paint or stain, as your balusters and newel posts don't need to be as hard-wearing as your stairs.

     Things You'll Need

     • Gloves
     • Pliers
     • Adhesive remover
     • Hammer
     • Orbital sander and abrasives
     • Sandpaper
     • Masking tape
     • Brush
     • Treatment for balusters and newel posts

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Posted in: Home Decoration

4 Renovating Styles for Your Old Kitchen

Renovating a kitchen in an older home is an essential part of keeping the place looking good and functioning properly. A floor-to-ceiling remodel is significantly more costly and time-consuming, but it modernizes the overall look and layout, making food preparation more efficient. For spaces that are structurally sound, one or two major changes and a few cosmetic alterations will recoup the investment throughout much of the country.

1. Flooring

   • Flooring is one of the first parts of the kitchen to show wear and tear. As such, it is often one of the first replacements during a remodel. Vinyl and ceramic tile are fairly low-cost materials, and both offer a range of color options. Engineered hardwood is preferable to natural wood in the kitchen because exposure to moisture tends to cause cracking and warping. Concrete floors are a very durable modern option that can be stenciled, stained or painted to fit any decorating style. Each of these withstands water damage, warping and other problems associated with use in the kitchen.

   Cabinets

   • Cabinets will decide the overall layout of the space and are one of the most costly aspects of a kitchen remodel. They can be purchased premanufactured from just about any home improvement store and from online outlets. This option is the most cost-effective but provides a somewhat limited style and size selection. Custom-designed cabinets are more costly, but they offer less wasted space because fillers aren’t used to fill gaps. If existing cabinets are structurally sound, refacing is a process of replacing the doors and drawer fronts while leaving the body intact. This provides a modern look for a fraction of the cost.

   Countertops

   • Like cabinets, countertops tend to consume a large chunk of the remodeling budget. Natural stone, particularly granite, is the most widely used countertop material in modern homes. Look to spend from $75 to $250 per square foot, as of 2009, a number that varies depending on the type of granite, location and difficulty of production. Solid surfaces are man-made products created using a combination of acrylic material, polyester and crushed stone. They closely resemble stone in some cases and are highly resistant to scratching and staining, with a price tag that is significantly less than natural stone. Concrete carries a cost similar to granite and an excellent durability against wear and tear. It is important that cabinets are constructed with additional supports because of the extra weight of the counters. Plastic laminate and ceramic tile are both widely used and fairly low-cost.

   Paint

   • A new coat of paint is perhaps the most inexpensive way to add a cleaner, more modern look to an old kitchen. Light hues, particularly white, cream and beige, are ideal for small rooms and those that lack natural light exposure. These colors give the appearance of more light and more open space. Dark wall colors should be used sparingly because they make a space feel darker and smaller. The kitchen is a good spot for bold reds, oranges, yellows and similar tones that might feel overwhelming in other places, because the majority of wall space is covered by cabinets and appliances. These bring an energetic feel to the room.

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Posted in: Home Decoration

Modern Design Interior Paints

1. • Modern design is both playful, and serious but decorators tend to use neutral, no-nonsense colors when selecting paint. Painted surfaces are often a backdrop for an art collection or a spectacular view, so they must complement the furnishings, pull together the room and not interfere with the main attractions. But that doesn't mean paint must remain invisible. Contemporary design uses grays, browns and reds for rich interiors and whites to invite the outside in.

   Malibu Beach House White

   • Interior and exterior merge in a beach house that uses glass to capture the views. Nothing in the colors of the interior interferes with the changing light and the blue of sea and sky. Every painted surface is cloud-white, illuminated by the light pouring in through the windows and reflecting off the water. Floors and furniture are light, polished wood. A few bobbing Calder sculptures break up the vertical expanses of space, and each rail, stair, column, wall and ceiling presents a whited-out backdrop to the surrounding vistas. The use of white and glass as the main "colors" of a beach house allows all the hues and shades of the shifting landscape to intrude without disturbing the relaxed and expansive atmosphere of a contemporary design.

   Deep Rich Colors

   • Treasure a library by painting it in rich jewel tones or chocolate to set off the colorful spines of a collection. Deep red lacquer is warm in winter and vibrant in summer, and the red tone of reflected light is flattering to bibliophiles as well. No flat or eggshell paint for this color; use a lacquer that dries as hard as diamonds and give the walls at least two coats. Leave a parquet floor bare or cover it in a handloomed contemporary carpet of reds and blues. Match the library ladder to dark walnut or mahogany shelves. Use uplights, spotlights and undershelf lights to illuminate the books and their red backdrop. Navy blue is another ideal color for a lacquered wall treatment. The color is serious enough to balance the dark wood and walls of books. Navy is not a warm shade like red, so experiment with the lighting for this color choice to avoid a cold or gloomy room. Warmer and still rich, but not as flamboyant as red, is paint that looks like melted chocolate. If you use brown, let the carpet lighten things up with creams, pale greens and sharp black accents to balance the dark browns. A linen ceiling and brass spotlights mounted on the tops of bookshelves provide visual contrast and light.

   Sophisticated Grays

   • Contemporary design favors neutrals, but there's nothing beige about color selection. Gray comes in almost limitless shades and is extremely versatile. It creates a flattering background for art, keeps stark modern design from looking sterile, plays well in the changing light of day into night and is sophisticated enough for an urban loft overlooking the skyline. A warm taupe blends natural leather chair seats, gray suede and linen upholstery, metal chair legs and etageres into a harmonious whole. A creamier dove gray frames spectacular city views out windows edged in loosely woven dove gray drapes. An oyster gray in a bedroom is picked up in silk and satin bed linens and in the pale gray marble of the bath. A few touches of pale and deeper blue velvet in a loveseat and dining chairs are a foil for the various grays.

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Posted in: Home Decoration,Home Interiors

Renew Your Home Hardware

Beauty lies in the details, especially when it comes to your home's hardware. Take a weekend to update items like the front door knocker, knob and address numbers. Try finding hardware that complements your home's architecture and colors. Choose timeless items that will maintain their patina, or at least weather in an elegant way that you like.

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Posted in: Home Decoration

Upgrade Your Exterior Lighting

Good lighting warms the night and makes your home sparkle. Try lining a walkway with solar landscape lights, uplighting a tree or spotlighting an architectural feature. Or, swap out a recessed spot or small pendant with an impressive chandelier. Any of these projects can be accomplished safely as long as you turn off the power and test to confirm the power is off before handling circuit wires.

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Posted in: Exterior,Home and Garden,Home Decoration