The Side Effect

These stairs have been painted, carpeted, painted again, and carpeted again many times over the decades (centuries). That kind of treatment leaves its mark.

It's clear that there used to be full-width carpeting on the stairs, which was later replaced with a somewhat narrower carpet runner. In between those two eras, the stairs were painted. We can tell, because the paint doesn't cover everything. It was obviously painted while the wide carpet was still in place. Then when someone later removed that carpet, it left behind an unpainted stripe along the walls. That's how we found it in 2010.

The net effect is that there's a funny-colored band along the whole length of the staircase. It's just a couple of inches wide, but it's noticeable and there's no good way to cover it up or fix it. And since we were about to install brand new carpeting, it forced us to find a solution.

Once again, Kathy's talent came to the rescue. Rather than touch up the unfinished strip and try to make it blend in with everything else, she painted the whole trim piece from top to bottom so it looks like it's always been that way. The colors and finish are compatible with everything else in that area, so it looks just as old -- but fresh -- as everything else. She even got a nice wood grain effect so that it looks stained instead of simply painted. Nice.