Unfortunately, no. You'll definitely need to prime first AT LEAST. Possibly sand then prime. If your wood cleaner has been leaving any residue, you may have difficulty getting the paint to stick.

I think if I were you I would NOT paint it. Or, maybe paint just the balusters and NOT the handrail and newel post. It looks like lovely wood.

Thanks, creekylis. That is the advice I want and need. Should I paint it? I'm not altogether happy with it, but I'm not sure if painting would make me happier. Christy

I don't think I'd paint any of it. I think the wood looks good. What about if you just gave a portion of the stairs a makeover. Like new newel posts or something. I was searching for a product that you could just add to the top but haven't found it yet. Maybe someone out there knows of such a thing? It just needs some details and it would be fabulous! Just brainstorming here......

You can get newel caps that would add some interesting detail. I googled "newel cap" and came up with many references like the one below...

Here is a link that might be useful: Newel Caps

Another vote for not painting it. It would be a lot of hard work and thereafter would be more work to upkeep if you paint it. Stained wood is the easiest upkeep.

I vote for cute newel caps too, and your carpet already looks pretty. If you want to jazz up that area, how about hanging some pictures on the wall? How about a flower arrangement on the shelving at the bottom of the stairs? Have you browsed the Entries thread in the Gallery?

Thanks again for the suggestions. Newel caps sound good, I hadn't considered it. We just finally painted that staircase, it was the last room to be painted. I've always thought of putting black framed family pictures on that wall, but I'm afraid it would look too busy. The shelving was put there yesturday in place of a coat rack, which is why there isn't much on it. I will browse the Entries thread, I haven't been there yet! Thanks again, Christy :)

To get to the Gallery, close this thread and look at the list of all the threads. To the top right you'll find a link. You could spend hours browsing the threads in there. It's like having a ton of decorating magazines without all the ads. :)

I found it, and am getting dizzy scrolling through all of those pics!! I don't think I could compare to many of those pictures, though they are beautiful!! Thanks :) Christy

I'm glad you're enjoying it. The idea isn't to compare, of course, as most of us fall flat. I like to go there looking for ideas. Sometimes I have a question in my mind, like "what should I put on my coffee table?" and I'll go look at the fancy rooms the designers did, then top my own table. Or maybe my question will be about paint colors, or what rugs look good, or how to arrange some flowers, or picking out artwork, or curtains... you get the drift. Thing is, I posted those threads to help everyone here get inspired and pick a sense of direction... and there are other great threads in there started by others too that I love. I also frequently check out the Cottage Decor thread even though my house isn't Cottage... there really are a lot of cute styles and ideas in there. Anyway, enjoy!

I did have one other thought about your stairs. Is that a flat paint? If yes, have you thought about painting wide vertical stripes there with a clear glaze that's a little shinier? I mean so the whole thing stays the same color, but has shiny and dull stripes. I think if you do some things to the wall, nice pictures there or whatever, put up some cute newel posts, and do something with the table/shelving under the stairs, you could end up really liking that area.

That sounds nice, but there is a problem. There is a foot long section that connects the downstairs to the upstairs. It has a crack in it, and very similar but different paint between the two levels. I attempted to repair the crack, but obviously it didn't work. Downstairs is Ralph Lauren Suede for $40.00 a gallon. And a TON of X's. Upstairs the ceiling is very high, and I did not want to attemp the X's all the way up. I also don't know how I would have even gotten up there. So, I color matched the paint for a flat that looked close. I tried to overlap the two, not sure that turned out too well. So, I don't know how to do one without the other. Here are some more pictures....

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Another question, I intend on putting crown molding on the downstairs portion. How do I stop at the foot long divider? And above the door in the first picture the wall is beveled. How do I put crown on that?? THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP :)

That sounds nice, but there is a problem. There is a foot long section that connects the downstairs to the upstairs. It has a crack in it, and very similar but different paint between the two levels. I attempted to repair the crack, but obviously it didn't work. Downstairs is Ralph Lauren Suede for $40.00 a gallon. And a TON of X's. Upstairs the ceiling is very high, and I did not want to attemp the X's all the way up. I also don't know how I would have even gotten up there. So, I color matched the paint for a flat that looked close. I tried to overlap the two, not sure that turned out too well. So, I don't know how to do one without the other. Here are some more pictures....

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
Another question, I intend on putting crown molding on the downstairs portion. How do I stop at the foot long divider? And above the door in the first picture the wall is beveled. How do I put crown on that?? THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP :)

I think the walls should be painted and then the wood might look nicer.

Here is a link to popular hallway colors across all the major brands
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Top-Selling-Hallway-Colors-Myperfectcolor-com-s/3274.htm

I don't understand, the walls are painted. Almost exactly the color to that link. ?????

There is a way they make a return or cap. They cut the one piece on an angle, then cut another small piece on the same angle to but next to the long piece. The other side of the short piece is flat to touch the wall. Not sure if that made sense. Any good carpentar would know how to do it, easy for them, tricky for a layman.

I would not paint your banister....there is a lot of prep work involved, but the part that would bother me is every time it gets nicked the dark wood will show up. Did you consider replacing it? HD and Lowes sell some nice all in one type of adjustable bannisters. Nothing is cheap these days but you might be happier in the end.

Okay, then how about some pretty pictures on the wall?

I think this artist does stunning work...

Here is a link that might be useful: Billy Showell

I'm going to disagree with the folks here and say paint it. I think what may be bugging you is that all your other trim is white, which makes the banister stick out like a sore thumb.

I would probably paint the balusters and base white, and use a high-gloss black (or some other dark accent color pulled from a surrounding room) on the handrail and maybe the posts too. I don't think a white handrail would work because it would get dirty pretty quick.

Whatever colors you pick, you should wipe down all the wood with Dirtex or TSP (available at paint stores), then use a good bonding primer such as Zinsser 1-2-3. Then use a good durable trim paint like Cabinet Coat or ACE Cabinet and Trim paint - you want something that can stand up to abuse.

Good luck!

Here are some pics for inspiration in case you decide to paint. There are some GW'ers here who even pulled off the carpet and painted the treads and risers--daisyadair was one and the results were beautiful. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
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Wow!!! Those are lovely!! Thanks for helping me visualize :) And thanks for the tips on cleaning the wood first :) Christy

Just thought IÂd pass the links along in case youÂd like to look at the painted stairs. Your stairway looks like it could lend itself well to the craftsman style. There are 3 different efforts shown here in these links.

http://carpetedstairtransformation.blogspot.com/

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0210361916267.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Dixiedo's stairs