Only one coat of primer. I painted the stairs pretty early in the morning, then turned a fan on them. They were good to walk on without shoes by the time my kids came home from school that day. The next morning I really just had to touch up the treads lightly to get full coverage.

The cats could walk on them after about 2 hours, and I just had my kids take off their shoes when they came home for the next few days.

Thanks!!

I am trying to find the best time to try this... 3 out of 4 kids are in school all day, but one is home until 1 and they all arrive back at 4.... ugh.

So only one full coat plus touch up on the paint?? I expected 2 or 3 since it's a dark color.

How long ago did you do this and how is the paint holding up on the treads??

Sorry for all the questions, just wanting to know what I can expect!

We only did it last month, so I'm not sure long term how it's going to do. So far, so good - not a scratch that I can see. The things that I worried about before painting have turned out to not be problems at all.

Also, my husband was really worried that the stairs would be noisy with the kids going up and down, but I haven't noticed a difference.

Dixie, there's an option if your stairs are heavily trafficked. You can do every other step and have the family step on the ones you didn't do. Then the next day you can do those. Cats aren't going to take direction well, though. ;)

Dixie, could you pull an all-nighter, perhaps on a weekend when your DH might be around to let you nap a bit the next day? If you start painting when the kids go to bed, the stairs should be dry enough for you and your DH to go up to bed in a few hours. Assuming your kids are in bed by nine or so (I think they are all pretty young?) that would give you plenty of time.

Kitties would need to be locked away for a while, methinks.

Les, I think that is what we are going to have to do, and allnighter. Nothing new, actually, that is/was the only way we ever got anything done around here when they were babies. They are all in bed by 8pm, so it could definitely work!

I read an article that suggested the every-other-step technique, but I still don't think my kids would follow that LOL!! Not that they are old enough to, but they would just forget and be trampling all over them!!

My plan for today is to get the paint from SW for the treads (we are using the same Swiss Coffee on the risers and balusters that is already in the foyer). I am getting REALLY excited, but very nervous at the same time!

I founf this pic on RMS of someone who also did this... looks beautiful! She used a black, which looks stunning, but I still adore the black-brown route:

That's a nice staircase!

It really didn't seem to take me any time to paint the stairs and risers. I started at the top with both paints and just worked my way down, rather than doing all the risers and then all the treads.

Hmmm... you didn't think it was a pain in the butt to switch from paint to paint??

Which leads me to (hopefully) my last question:

Did you use a roller or brush when you painted?? I primed using a roller (cut in with a brush, of course), but didn't know how the treads would look with the paint rolled on.

I got of the rest of my supplies today.... I am *super* excited to get to work tonight when the kiddos go to bed!!

OMG, Yes I used a roller!!!!!!

A 6" foam one for smooth surfaces. After I cut in with the brush.

The finish with the SW paint is perfect with the foam roller - really flawless.

I'd be there helpin' you if I could!

What city do you need to fly out of?? I'll book it tonight!

Seriously, thanks for all of your info! I'll post pics tomorrow!