Auntjen -- thanks! I do hope you'll try some GG. Did you see my comments/directions about it above? I hope they help. Moonkat -- I'm delighted you showed up! I thought of you and Nanny often while doing this. Your ceiling and her walls were inspiration for this project. I'm very glad I stuck with it, but I wish I'd just done the BB wallpaper to begin with. It turned out much better than I expected, I think largely because of turning the railing shiny black. That made a huge difference. Glad I could inspire you back and can't wait to see what you do. I gave some instructions above and hope they help. Artlover -- yes she is a Mucha above the stairs. The plexiglas "sg" window over the door is *not* mounted. Got any ideas how to mount it? Chloe's mom -- I love what you did with the $5 clearance wallpaper! It looks just amazing. That wallpaper was perfect. The answer to your q. over there is yes, a coat of good paint will help your beadboard wallpaper be tougher against bumps and bangs. I'll be watching to see what you do with Vivian's room. Mistyhayes -- I hear you; wood is easier to upkeep than white paint. What if you paint your woodwork and the plant shelves shiny black? I put several coats of polyurethane over my railings, and the shiny black, with the satin white, and the flat beige looks just amazing in person. I took the railings and that little bookcase into the garage on a plastic tarp w the car in the driveway, roughed them up just a little with sandpaper and spray painted them black. Misty, it could look amazing if you scrap the curtains and blinds and do GG in there. It's just tracing lines and filling in color - you can do it! Plus you'd get a lot more light in. You can make the GG so you keep your privacy, or leave clear places where you can look out. I can see out my big window, but from outside you just really can't see in well. Part of the reason for that might be because the GG is angled, leaning? Dunno, but I retained the light and view, and gained privacy. No curtains/blinds to wash, hooray! You can go snoop the web for designs you like. Then you can make them on your computer and have Staples/etc. print them, or you could draw them yourself on paper full size. Then pick your fave colors. You will enjoy doing yours on plexi, rather than directly on the window. Your choice, but you can work the plexi on your table, but the windows will have to be done on your feet/ladder. Gallery Glass For those of you wanting to do GG, I recommend the plexi. You can get it at Lowes and they will cut it whatever size you want. It comes 72" x 36". You don't have to worry about being cut or accidentally breaking your window, and it's very lightweight. Or, just mess around with the clings, and that's a great way to get started, and you can cover your entire window with them if you like. The dragonfly window was part clings, and part done on the real window. I cemented the clings in with paint onto it's borders. I did put jewels on my windows. Mostly I used the clear marbles you get at Michaels, but I also found some plastic jewels with no silvering on the back, and I love those. These add an extra dimension and more believability, I think. But they're a bit heavy for on clings.

If I reposition one end of upper rail using custom brackets attached to outside of post will that leave unsightly screw holes where the upper rail was formerly mounted? Would it be better to just mount the upper railing to the door? Also, too late now, but I think I should have picked a different color than black for these rails. Perhaps beige. For now, the contractor is coming back to trim the top of the upper post for me.

Thanks for the safety comments @partim and other writer. We moved here about three years ago and every turn we seem to discover another thing that is not to code...I think the son did a lot in his own home that we are now cleaning up and fixing. The good news is that we haven't taken a tumble down these stairs but our other stairs that are only wood. Def willing to make some safety improvements though so this doesn't happen. I feel like a hand rail is easy enough but could you suggest an easy fix for the balusters? Maybe just add a skinny rail in between each of the thick ones? Is this something I can get from a big box hardware store or would i need to special order? Any advice highly appreciated--willing to learn but not the most experienced with this stuff!

Where you have the red lines added to your photo: Add parallel stained to match "tracks" of 1 x 2 trim.. Right down the middle of the ledge - as the kitty won't FIT on either side of that trim. Have two pieces of plexi glass cut to stand in the narrow tracks and snugly.- iPlexi need only be about six/eight inches high. Clear, unobtrusive........done. The point is take away the "space" for a landing spot. ..............: ) Conversely, you can truly cease to worry. He will land on his feet and live at least eight more lifetimes.It is science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u26gpLmKe4