"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

Today I am focusing on all of the forward movement with things in my life and around my home.

I am blessed to have many improvement projects around the house, which are consuming my free time. In between sanding and stripping the steps, I am getting all of my domestic chores done like laundry and dishes, and just keeping the house in line as we prepare to host a house party for Halloween. The stairwell I am working on is going down to our basement, which we newly renovated to contain a movie theater. That will be discussed in a future post, but as I was walking down to enjoy our first football game down there I was reminded of all the work still to be done in the stairwell.

This is my first home, and it is a mid-century modern ranch. It was built in the 50's and boy, did this wallpaper put the "mid-century" in mid-century modern! It was the last area of wallpaper in the whole house, and it taunted me each time I went downstairs. Upon making the decision to remove it, I scored it with a utility knife, sprayed with a solution of fabric softener, water, and vinegar, and began to peel away the layers. After removing the wallpaper I had to resaturate it soooo many times and scrape away remaining glue and paper bits. I scrubbed the wall and finally got it to the point where I could fill in imperfections with joint compound. Once that was set, I sanded with sanding blocks, and it was ready to prime! 

Wall by wall, my dreams of an updated stairwell began to take form. It was just so silly to have a newly renovated movie theater juxtaposed with this hallway that brought you back to the olden days. 

Not only was the wallpaper awful, but there was a berber carpet that was equally as detestable. I again got out my nifty utility knife, sliced away, and gripped the edge of the carpet with the back of the hammer. A few more yanks later and I was well on my way to demolishing this fugly excuse for a carpet.

The pad underneath had definitely seen better days and was glued and stapled into the step. I removed it with a metal scraper and a flat head screwdriver that I popped the staples out with. With staples and dust flying everywhere, and cutting section by section, I was able to completely remove that mess and reveal black painted steps underneath.

I was nearly sure that there would be pine underneath the black paint if I stripped it. I was off to Lowes to purchase not 1 or 2 but THREE different paint strippers, which I tested at various times on different stairs. I wanted to avoid harsh fumes so I opted for a safer citrus stripper which I let soak overnight under plastic wrap. Upon lifting, I used a rubber scraper to scrape away the carpet glue and paint residue. It still needed a lot more work- the wood grain was just starting to show through. My heart fluttered. I knew this would be a beautiful result - if I was just able to put in some elbow grease. 

Then comes sanding. That's where I am currently at on this project. It was my first time using a radial sander and the vibration of it as I sanded the steps definitely took some getting used to. I took breaks so I didn't get overstimulated, or overwhelmed, because I used all of the 60 grit sheets I had on the first 2 steps.

Disheartened, I decided I would order some grittier sheets from Amazon, and 100+ sheets, so I could have enough for the rest of the steps. I calmed down my full-steam-ahead attitude and realized I needed to switch gears and start wet dusting so we could have our handyman prep the walls later with primer.

I used a microfiber cloth to wipe down the dusty walls and steps where he would need to tape off. (I get migraines where I literally partially lose my vision if I inhale the primer so it's not favorable for me to do that part). So tonight, the walls are getting taped off and primed. I already have all of the paint for the walls, ceiling, trim, and back of the stairs, which I am super excited to apply. Hallway likely wont be done in time for the halloween party, but the transformation will surely be worth it!

As I am reminded to be patient with everything coming together, I know that I can focus on just how lucky I am to have a house to call home, and to make it a sanctuary one (literal) step at a time. 

If you live in Pittsburgh and are looking for a resource to help you at any point in the homeownership process, I highly suggest you meet with the folks at Neighborworks!

 Here is a link to the podcast episode where I interviewed Jarid Shipley, it is chalk full of great information:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0tVcXWXMjOTfcvQurk7qLM?si=80f26df0f41245b8