House Stairs

Stairs With Wall Decals

I have never liked my house stairs. There is nothing wrong with them. They have just never been exciting - a large brown blob rising up to my ceiling.

 I considered painting the risers but realized it won't work since my moldings are stained, as is my railing. So painted risers would look out of place, unless I painted my beautiful chestnut molding - that might cause my husband a coronary.

So, after much thought, I decided wall decals were the way to go - easy to apply, removable, and FUN

My inspiration came from a wall decal at the top of our stairs that gives our entire family great pleasure. It is Webster's definition of FAMILY. It measures approximately 4.5' x 2.5'. I purchased it years ago from Wonderful Graffiti.  With it in mind, I asked each family member to think of three words that describe our family. I then had Affordable Vinyl Graphics print the words. Of  course, I chose words in black and white to match the definition.

It was a fun gift for our entire family (under $100).  Now we can all smile when we come in the door, our house stairs finally have a little personality.

For directions on how I did it...

First, I went to Affordable Vinyl Graphics and clicked the "create my own" tab.  From there I typed in the word I wanted in the "enter custom text" box. Then, I picked the font (this font is Americana) and color, and   finally the height (my words are 3" high). You will need to go through this process for each word.

When the words arrived they were in large sheets which I cut apart using the graph lines on the back to insure straight lines and uniform size. Then I used a ruler (1.5" high) laid on it's side as a template. This was an easy way to get the words all the same height.

Using painters tape, I taped the words along the top edge.

Next, I peeled the graph paper backing off  the first word. Then using the little plastic tool,  included with the decals, adhered the letters to the riser. 

Once secure, I peeled the paper backing away from the word. Peel slowly to insure that each letter is fully adhered.