i checked my invoice to make sure i didn't create the bargain in my mind. my memory was a bit off - i actually paid 1.68 a piece, after a 10% off coupon. no special HD, just our local one in st. pete fl, and i ordered my tile before thanksgiving last year. the chair rail was hard to find in the HD dal catalogue - it took awhile (i think it was in the "liners" area). it is chair and not bullnose; description states 010026cr1p2 as the dal item number. the corner pieces were pricier, at 2.93 a piece (0100crc1p2 if you need those). there's still some old bananappeal stock around here at the discount tile stores - their white is a pretty good match for dal's 100 and the stock ao at lowes. i picked up some 6 inch bananappeal liners for 25 cents a piece.

clg - That's the one place online I found that had the double rounded first step in cumaru! I'm worried about the matching of the wood, and the quality. I didn't see any online reviews of the company. Do you (or anyone) have any experience with them? Mairin - Funny - I've been following your progress (and lusting after your potential countertops!) as we seem to have a similar style. I can't wait to see your pictures! Please share when you can! We considered iron balusters too, but a stairman mentioned that our stair area is rather small and they may not look good there. That lead us to wood. Raehelen - wow - your registers look great! You'd never know it's not the same wood. My concern is that the step is 5" wide so if it's a little off, there's a lot of space to notice it. (And I'm not sure if my floor guy is as good as yours!) We've already contracted for all wood stairs, including risers, the "catch" is it was presented as "in your choice of any wood we carry". We didn't realize they didn't carry the steps we need in all the flooring woods. We could try and take the stairs out of the contract price, but I really have the same issue either way. Even if I order the stair parts on line myself, and have someone else install (I'm a diy'er, but more on the painting level!) I'm still unsure the floor would match the stairs. My biggest issue is the first step. This step is right inside the front door - literally 6 feet from the door, so it's really visible. There are railings in both the kitchen and the stairway that need to match, but I am a little more comfortable trying to stain a different wood to match those. Has anyone done all wood steps in a different wood and tried to match the stain?

Certainly any stain can be removed by using a stripping solvent, scraping and sanding. Once bare wood is revealed, clean and let dry for several days (a week perhaps) and re-stain. Very difficult with stairs and small crevices especially because you are removing dark and going lighter. Some ideas -- The risers don't look like oak or any real quality grained wood (basically looks like they are painted without seeing grain). Is it some sort of veneer? Anyway, paint the risers whatever color you are painting the walls. Strip the treads and end-caps ... these are probably oak and worth re-staining -- flat surfaces plus the edge not too bad. Same thing with the hand-rail, strip, sand and re-stain. Pain to do but your desired tone (maple) will really pop on the treads, end-caps and hand rail if the riser facing is painted. Can't really see your spindles -- are they glass or some sort of composite? What is at the top/bottom of each spindle that is dark Godiva-colored -- wood or metal? I would just paint those spindle ends unless they are oak and a decorative wood finial of some sort. They would be difficult to strip and re-finish now that they are installed. I did a similar stair case long ago. Get some ideas by Google'ing "Cool Stair Cases", "Circular Stair Cases", etc. Decide on your combination of stain, paint, accents first. Everything being one color (paint or stain) doesn't do your design much justice -- figure out what you want to accent and go from there. My 2 cents is the accents are: Treads, Spindles and Handrail -- maybe just the spindles and handrail. Anyway -- good luck -- cool design to work with.

Hello Diane, We've finished LOTS of Brazilian decks. Penofin penotrates better than any other finish we've tried. TWP works extremely well on Cedar and Cypress but not very well on Brazilian woods TEN TIMES HARDER than C and C. Penofin makes a cleaning solution called One Step Prep which works extremely well. Leave this solution on for 15 minutes, scrub off and then apply ONE COAT of Penofin oil. This will likely fix your trouble. Wait 'til you can apply this oil during a period of at least six hours above 40 degrees. Go Natural ! Here is a link that might be useful: Best stock and variety in the Southeast.