Wallpapered Stairwell – Before and After

I have the most dramatic makeover to share with you – a wallpapered stairwell with the most disturbing before photos.

Disturbing might be the wrong description.

Gross?

Jarring to the senses?

Discordant with the rest of the house?

Not a place you want to be?

Any way you want to wordsmith it, this stairwell had some negative juju and we lived with it for five and a half years.

It’s amazing how long you can live with a space when there’s a door to keep the peeling lime green paint out of sight and mind.

Why does a stairwell have a door?

Two, actually.

We’re overachievers.

These stairs lead up to our attic, so there’s one door halfway up the stairs to seal the attic off from the rest of the house. It’s not climate controlled and there’s no electricity up there, so like most attic spaces, it’s closed off from the living areas of the house.

The second door was a practical choice in a house that could use more storage. Since this stairwell is not a frequently used thoroughfare, it functioned as a closet for the previous owners and then for us because the closet rod and wire shelf were already installed.

The things we stored in that “closet” were our son’s toys. He’s in high school now and grown out of playing with toys, so we didn’t need the space for that purpose.

This summer we had a new window installed in the stairwell.

The new one looks almost identical to the old one, minus the cracked window panes.

This new glass is also double-paned and tempered. Tempered window glass is code on stairways. Did you know that? Don’t say you don’t learn anything by coming here. Ha!

The new window was the trigger to finally clean up the walls, remove that dreadful wire shelf (the last one in the house), and transform this space into a spot worthy of the view outside that window.

I chose a wallpaper pattern reminiscent of the historic William Morris wallpaper from the 1800s.

His style was, to quote the Victoria and Albert Museum of London, “…stylised evocations of natural forms rather than literal transcriptions.”

However you want to describe it, I thought it was gorgeous, a bit bold, and perfect for a small space.

For most parts of our home, I prefer, in this season of life, my walls to be somewhat calm.

When I’m in the mood for pattern and color, I have created a few delightful design nuggets in my house – like this wallpapered stairwell – for my eyes to feast upon and enjoy. It’s like reaching the candy at the center of a TootsiePop.

I have been leaving this door at the bottom of the stairs open more often now because this view makes me smile. It’s pure joy.

The rug is from my stash and is doing an important job of covering a floor that needs refinishing. I’m not super confident when it comes to pattern mixing yet, but apparently, I’m more willing to take risks when I can shut the door on my choices.

The red peg rail was a serendipitous choice. I bought the peg rail for $3 at my favorite thrift store. Even if this isn’t technically a closet space any longer, it could be, and all of our closets have peg rails. I figured if it fit the space I’d give the peg rail a makeover because red isn’t normally a color I gravitate to in this house.

As it turns out, this rustic red peg rail was perfect color-wise for the stairwell. It balanced out the bold and fancy nature of the wallpaper.

Our home is an interesting mix of fancy and rustic. I suppose that is to be expected with a home that is roughly 250 years old and has been added onto over the centuries.

Each family who has lived here has left their mark on this home.

We’re no exception.

If we live here long enough, I’ll be able to leave my mark on this stairwell multiple times. You know I’ll eventually get the urge to change the wallpaper to something else. That’s how it works!

Isn’t it fun?

What do you think of my wallpapered stairwell? An improvement? Or did you like the horror movie vibes of how it started? Let me know! You can always leave a comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.

Happy decorating!

P.S. The wallpaper is NextWall Aves Garden in ebony. It also comes with a midnight blue and forest green background.

Thanks for hanging out with me today. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy. 

Wallpapered Kitchen Alcove

A Snarky, But Helpful Wallpaper Removal Guide

In Praise of Ceiling Medallions

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