Transform Your Staircase: How To Spruce Up Your Wood Stairs with Paint and Wall Stickers

Learn how to spruce up your wood stairs with paint and wall stickers. Transform your staircase into a stunning focal point with these creative staircase decorating ideas.

Your staircase is more than just a functional element in your home; it can also be a stunning focal point that adds personality and style to your space. If you’re looking to give your wood stairs a fresh and exciting makeover, I have a creative way that will help you achieve just that. In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can spruce up your wood stairs with paint and wall stickers, turning them into a work of art that will impress your guests and make you fall in love with your staircase all over again.

Transform Your Staircase: How To Spruce Up Your Wood Stairs with Paint and Wall Stickers | Gathered In The Kitchen

Have you ever bought something that you just had to have … but had no idea what ou were going to do with it? That’s the story of these wall stickers I bought!

One day while shopping at my local Dollar Tree, I came across these beautiful blue and white wall stickers with a gorgeous and feminine design. I fell in love immediately and purchased six sheets of them (no idea why I picked 6, but that turned out to be exactly what I needed!). I had no idea what I wanted to do with them, but I knew I had to have them!

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Then, like a lot of projects around our house, the stickers sat and collected dust in my ~~junk~~ craft pile while I occasionally thought about what I could use them for.

Finally, one cold winter day in January, as I was hauling my Christmas decor back into the attic, it dawned on me! I should paint my stairs with chalk paint and use the stickers on the stair risers! … all with supplies I already had! That’s the best kind of DIY project!

Old Wooden Walk Up Attic Staircase in 1886 Victorian Home | Gathered In The Kitchen

Following our lightning strike/house fire, our old wooden walk up stairs to the attic were in rough condition. Not only were some of the treads broken, they were absolutely disgusting from the rebuild process. They were caked in plaster, grime and debris. They were in definite need of a makeover!

Painted Attic Stairs with Stickers on Risers | Gathered In The Kitchen

Supplies Used

How To Paint Wooden Attic Stairs

STEP 1: Wash!!!

Cleaning our wooden stairs was the first and foremost thing I needed to do. I scrubbed the wood as clean as I could get it using my most favorite wood cleaner, White Lightning. I’ve written about this in great detail before, so you can check out this post How To Clean Wood Before Painting to learn more about how to properly clean wood.

How To Clean Wood Stairs Before Painting with Dixie Belle White Lightning | Gathered In The Kitchen

STEP 2: Remove all gunk and grime with a scrapper

I used a metal paint scrapper to remove all of the bits of plaster, dirt in corners, etc. When you’re painting, you want to ensure you have a smooth, clean surface to paint on.

STEP 3: Paint!

The most fun part! Once the wood stairs have dried from cleaning them, it’s time to paint! I tested out a couple of colors I had that matched the stickers the best and finally decided on a dark color to hide as much of the imperfections and damages as possible. I went with Dixie Belle Silk Paint in the color ‘Deep Sea’. (be sure to see below for my FAQ section)

Painting Dixie Belle Silk Paint on Wooden Stairs | Gathered In The Kitchen

STEP 4: Apply Stickers!

Once the paint was dry, I played around with the placement of the stickers and finally decided upon three stickers per stair riser.

Dollar Tree wall stickers on stair treads! | Gathered In The Kitchen

I love the way the stairs look now! I did not replace the broken treads because that is a major project for another day – when the snow has melted and I can use the saw outside! – also, I’m the only one who goes up to the attic, and I can walk up and down these stairs backwards with my eyes closed and not fall because I know all of their imperfections. They are very old (the house was built in 1886) and they are narrow and steep.

I also painted the brand new walls with primer and then white paint using Benjamin Moore ‘Simply White’ – my most favorite white ever!

Stephanie painting attic walls | Gathered In The Kitchen

FAQs

What paint did you use?

I used Dixie Belle Silk paint in the color ‘Deep Sea’. Per the Dixie Belle website “Its application thrives on diverse mediums such as laminate, vinyl, fabric, brick, plastic, glass, ceramic, stone, tiles, and an endless realm of possibilities. Within Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint, a water-based primer has been seamlessly integrated, along with a built-in topcoat”

I chose to go with the Silk paint because as mentioned above, it’s and all-in-one! The paint already has a primer and a topcoat mixed in! That is my kind of paint!!

Did you seal your steps?

Nope! I did not seal them with any kind of sealer or topcoat. The Silk paint as a topcoat mixed in and it is perfect!

How have your stairs held up?

I painted the stairs in January 2022, it is now July 2023 and the paint is still in fabulous shape! It has not chipped or peeled off at all. Granted, these are attic stairs and 1. we don’t use them a lot 2. we don’t wear shoes in our home.

The only “damage” I have done to them was sliding down a SUPER HEAVY Rubbermaid bin down the stairs and it made scuff marks – it didn’t chip or peel the paint, it just scuffed it. I can live with that!

How have the stickers held up?

I have to admit, I was skeptical about the stickers because I purchased them from Dollar Tree. However, I’m so pleasantly happy with them! They are still on the stairs and not peeling off. There is only one sticker at the very top that is peeling and that is because I had actually used that particular sticker on another project before doing the stairs and when I needed one more sticker, I had to peel it off of that project to put on my stairs. But otherwise, they are all still there looking great!

Where can I get more creative ideas for painting?

Check out my DIY & Craft Inspiration and Support Facebook Community Group!

How can I learn all about painting with chalk and Silk paint?

I have written an in-depth 49 page eBook guide that covers everything you need to know from beginning to end. You can purchase your own copy by clicking on the image below or clicking this link: Paint Furniture Like A Pro.