Staircase Makeover: How to Paint Stair Railings and Banisters
The time had come for the staircase in our home to get a little makeover. I decided to go from the orange tinged natural oak color to a beautiful black. It now pops instead of blending into the similar colored floors. It makes a statement! Let me take you through the steps we took in painting the banisters and railings black in this staircase makeover.
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How do I paint my staircase including the railings and banisters?
Step One: Sanding and Cleaning
In researching for this project, others had said you don’t have to sand it down too far and that you just need to rough it up so that the paint sticks. Well, we still felt better sanding it a little extra to be on the safe side. We used an electric sander where we could, then also by hand, all with 80 grit. I followed that up with a good vacuuming and washing with soapy water (using dish soap).
This is the sander we used and would recommend:
Step Two: Prepping
Because of just daily use over the years and two boys who loved to build things over the landing and on the stairs with blocks and legos haha, there were lots of dents and nicks to fill in with wood filler. It wiped smooth, then just needed another quick wipe down with a wet rag before it was ready to paint.
I recommend taking the time to carefully tape everything where necessary. There are a lot of details and small corners around stairs which makes this job tedious. It’s worth it in the end though!
Step Three: Priming
After sanding and prepping, I applied the primer. With the primer and the paint, I used mostly a sponge roller and brush.
I experimented with these sponge brushes, too. Sometimes they were just the right thing for touch ups or for getting into weird corners. I’d recommend giving them a try to see what works best for you and your situation.
Step Four: Painting
At first I was planning on using SW iron ore for this project. I used it on the fireplace makeover and love it in there! (You can read all about it here) It’s such a great color. However, once I started painting with it here on the railings, it didn’t look how I had thought it would. In the pictures here, you can see the SW iron ore on the left and what I ended up with on the right. It was reading too light in here. I was picturing a deeper truer black. So I went with SW tricorn black. It’s amazing how different a paint color can look from one room to the next and in different lighting!
The picture below shows the type of paint I used. We have used the enamel throughout the house on cabinets, trims, furniture, etc. It’s just a great paint. I went with semi-gloss which to me gives just the right amount of shine.
Here’s a tip: when painting, start at the bottom so you can grab onto the railings until you’re ready to paint them last.
This project took 3 coats (2 coats was almost good enough, but not quite in some spots..).
Before and After
The picture above is actually before the before…the original staircase when we first moved in. It’s fun to see all the stages it’s been through!
You can see how the black really pops and makes a statement. It also goes with the rest of the decor. We’re so happy with the change!
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33 Comments
Aminah
This was so informative Liz! I had no idea all the prep that went into a project like this! Love the new look!
Liz
Thanks, Aminah! I’m so glad you think so!
Elizabeth
This was so informative and it turned out so beautiful!
Julie
Really love the black banister and railings!
Liz
Thanks so much!
Debora
Beautiful staircase renovation.
I’m planning my stair painting project, too. Thanks for the reminder to purchase wood filler!
Liz
Thank you! Glad this helped, you’re going to love your freshly painted staircase!
Tallia
I painted the staircase in our last house similar to the colors you chose. I just love the black and white! Great job!
Liz
Makes such a difference! Thank you!
Megan
Stunning! I am especially loving the wallpaper at the bottom of the staircase. Just stunning.
Liz
Thanks, that means a lot!
Emily
Hi there. I love your entryway photo with an accent wall in this post and would like to include it in a piece I’m putting together for realhomes.com. If you’re happy to be included, please email me back with a hi-res version of your image. Thanks!
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Liz
I will send you an email, thank you!
Christine
I have the same exact orange 90’s railings and hate them!!! Been thinking of seeing if I can redo them myself and I stumbled across your very easy (or so it seems) instructions! I’m gonna go for it!! What color white did u use for the white spindals?
Liz
Oh awesome! You will LOVE the difference! I actually don’t know the white, it’s still the original. I’m going to be going over them though soon in SW alabaster to match the trim. They look to be similar to it.
Mariia
Hello)
Was the primer necessary before paint?
And did you use any kind of laque or enamel on top if the paint?
Thank you!!
Liz
Hi! Yes, I believe primer is necessary, otherwise you risk the paint possibly peeling later. The paint I used was an enamel paint (Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Enamel), and that was the final coat. Nothing else was applied on top after the paint!
Lisa Meyer
What is the wall color?
Liz
SW mindful gray
Simone
This looks great! Thank you for the inspiration. Do you have a post on how you changed to traditional style bannister and spindles to the square modem one you have in this post?
Liz
Thank you! Unfortunately, no. We had it done years ago and before the blog!
Cassandra
Hi there…the black looks stunning and totally pops….what I want to know is, how is the railing withstanding wear and tear of family traffic?
Liz
Thank you! I’m still so happy with it. It has had just a few small knicks on some edges, hardly noticeable and easy to touch up! I’ll have to add a follow up to this post soon to show how it’s held up.
Carrie
Looks great! I’d love to know how the hand rail is holding up after almost a year. I know you said you didn’t do a top coat, so just curious before I tackle mine. Thanks!
Liz
Thank you! It’s held up really well! There are some slight knicks in the paint on the pointy corners of the banister that can be touched up easily. I’m in no rush though, because they’re hardly noticeable.
jennette l munnelly
Beautiful! Question? How did you do the hand railing closest to the wall? Did you take it off the wall or manage to paint behind it?
Liz
Thank you! We actually did remove the railing that is against the wall on the second level of stairs to paint it.
Laurie Geitner
Looks SO nice!. Thank you for the step by step instructions, very helpful. You have a beautiful home.
Liz
I really appreciate that, thank you!
Charity Kennedy Cox
Thanks so much for this blog post. It was super helpful for me. We have a similar staircase that has the top and bottom railings with the spindles just between the railings not going directly into the stair treads. I haven’t seen very many pictures of similar railings in makeover post. Furthermore, your side-by-side comparison of iron ore with the tricorn black was extremely helpful. We were considering iron ore on our staircase as well versus a black. This was fantastic for helping us to determine our favorite. Thank you!!
Liz
I’m so glad you found it helpful! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Priscilla Payan
Hi, this looks lovely! I am looking to do the same but I previously had issues with using a roller and then a brush for the edges. The texture looks different (brush leaves stroke marks). Did you use a roller and the sponges on the edges or did you also use a regular brush?
Liz
Thank you! It’s tricky, but I did use both and tried to “feather out” the brush strokes with the brush and use the roller when possible. It’s also good to be careful not to go over already painted spots more than once as much as possible.