Changing your Banisters & Spindles on a budget

We moved into our home about a year and a half ago and it is about 22 years old. Therefore we knew there were going to be a lot of projects we needed to do to make our home look more updated. One of those projects was updating the staircase that leads to our bedrooms upstairs. I researched many different styles on Pinterest and Instagram and at first I decided to do the natural wood look with the white spindles as shown in the image below.

In the beginning, it didn't really bother me as I have different wood tones mixed in with the black, whites, and other neutral colors throughout our home. But the more I added décor into the surrounding rooms and with the new floors we are going to be getting soon (so excited!! coming in April!) I finally took it upon myself to add in the black banisters.

Now how did I do this, you ask? Please find the following steps on painting your banisters and spindles!

1. Figure out the colors you are going to do for your staircase. Go to your local hardware store and purchase the Advance Waterborne Interior Paint. I only purchased a white quart and a black quart of this paint in a Satin finish and it was more than enough. Advance Paint has many different finishes that you can choose from so depending on the look you want you can decide between Matte, Satin, Semi Gloss, and High Gloss. The differences between these finishes you can find here on the Benjamin Moore website. I also purchased Stix white primer to use before putting the paint on.

2. A few other things to purchase from the store are these Artists Paint Brushes for the small tedious sections. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing something like this so you can get in and under the spindles especially. Also tend to always purchase a Wooster Paint brush for all and any painting I do in my home. Any paintbrush will work but my advice would be to not cheap out on the brush! The nicer the brush the better and easier the paint goes on.

3. Cover the surrounding area with plastic, towels, cloth, whatever you want to use so you don't get paint and such all over the place. I also always have a wet rag handy so I can wipe the paint immediately if I do make a mess. This paint usually comes right off.

4. If you have a banister on the wall - you could remove that which will make painting easier. I did not because Zach wasn't around to help so I just kept it on the wall and it was doable.

5. Use sanding blocks to sand down the area. I purchased mine from Koopman Lumber but you can find these at many different hardware stores. They are linked here, I recommend purchasing 3-4 of them. Once you are done sanding, wipe off the banisters and spindles to get the dust off.

6. Once you are done sanding and have cleaned up the dust, you can begin painting! I would start with the Stix Primer first. Just one coat and doesn't have to be put on perfectly especially on the spindles.

7. Wait about 3-4 hours for the primer to dry and then you should be good to go with your Advance Paint! Be patient with this process especially with the tedious parts but have fun while doing it! Apply two coats of Advance Paint and it is recommended to wait about 16 hours if possible before putting that second coat on. The end result is ALWAYS worth it!

After following all of these steps my finished product came out exactly how I pictured it! Instead of ripping out the whole thing and replacing it at the moment - this was a great way to update the stairs and change the whole look of the stair case while only spending around $100! Please find below my recommended staircase checklist when you decide to do this in your home:

1. Advance Waterborne Paint

2. Stix Primer

3. Sanding Blocks

4. Wooster or very good paint brush

5. Artists Paint brushes

6. Plastic, cloths, or towels

If you have any questions just send me a message at home_bycourt and give me a follow for more DIY & decor ideas!