CONVERSATION WITH…An aging staircase…refusing to conform to conservative styles

/ overthehillontheyellowbrickroad

Over the Hill on the Yellow Brick Road, I came to a creaky, Victorian staircase that was painted with a pink ombre. It was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. I thought to myself, “Am I too old to have that kind of designing fun in my house at this stage of life?” I had to check into it, so I started a conversation with the staircase. I said:

pink steps

OMG staircase! You look amazing!

STAIRCASE: Thanks. The floral carpet that covered me for decades was fine. But at this point in my life I’m not feelin’ it anymore. So I took a break from tradition. Just because I creak doesn’t mean I have to look old.

So how did you come up with this new look?

STAIRCASE: The idea caught my attention off a blog at:  https://littleblackdomicile.com/  And the photo was taken by Arsenic and Lace.

I just love it!

STAIRCASE: Then go for it in your own house.

I would love to! The staircase in my house is exactly like yours. But here’s the problem. I’ve lived in my house for 27 years and never want to leave. But my kids have grown up, and if I try to sell it sometime, who will want to buy a house with a pink ombre staircase?

STAIRCASE: Well, YOU like it.

I know. But shouldn’t I be thinking about home designs that are more conservative or generic? Styles almost anyone would like?

STAIRCASE: ZZzzzz. ZZZZzzzzzzzzz  ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Excuse me. Wake up.

STAIRCASE: Oops. Sorry. Your last comment was so boring it put me to sleep. I mean, how can you possibly consider decorating your house for a random person who might or might not buy it? The thought of that is so depressing.

Don’t you watch House Hunters?

STAIRCASE: No. I’m a staircase.

Well, it’s a television show where customers walk through houses they’d potentially want to buy, and choose one. The customers hardly ever like funky paint colors. And forget about wallpaper.

STAIRCASE: What’s wrong with wallpaper?

It’s never in sync with a customer’s taste. Personally, I’d love to try a wallpaper design like this:

wallpaper

See the background? My friend Claudia created it at: https://claudiamcgillart.wordpress.com

STAIRCASE: I looove it!

Me too. But a home buyer might not go for it.

STAIRCASE: Here’s the bottom line. I can only share my perspective.  If you design your home to please other people, you’re being incredibly unfair to staircases, walls, kitchen counters…and most importantly…yourself.

Copyrightoverthehillontheyellowbrickroad2018

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Should I do it? Should I go for the pink staircase?

96 thoughts on “CONVERSATION WITH…An aging staircase…refusing to conform to conservative styles”

  3. Yes! Focus on what bring you joy, not what will please some stranger. This way, the person who eventually buys your home may love it for all the reasons you do. And if they don’t like the pink staircase, they can always paint or carpet to their own taste.

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  4. Go for it! Why cheat yourself out of something you want? Should you ever decide to sell your home, the new owners can change whatever they want to suit them. But don’t deprive yourself of some fun while you’re living there!!

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  6. I’m getting a house ready for sale right now (not my own). It was neutral to begin with, but a stager went in and said to repaint the whole thing with a fresh coat of neutral. Easy. Done although not by me. By professional painters who know what they’re doing and can do it fast.
    So when you’re ready to sell, Cathi, you can have wallpaper removed and staircases repainted. But until that day, surround yourself with all of the beauty you can muster. If that’s a pink staircase and a multi-wallpapered wall, go for it!

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  9. We had a newborn in our first house and no idea at all of carpet cleaning and so before putting our house on the market we completely recarpeted it. Wouldnt you knew the new owners came in and ripped all the carpet out and replaced it. Wrong color. The only person you can hope to please is yourself!

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    • That’s a great reminder of a similar situation I was once in. Years ago, my husband and I owned a condo by the ocean and we were selling it. A couple liked our condo, but they preferred an apartment where the sun would rise on the other side of the unit. We were also thinking of upgrading one of our bathrooms, but another customer asked us to leave it as it was because they wanted to do it themselves. Interesting….

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  12. I was the same way with clothes. “What if other people don’t like what I’m wearing?” But I’m the one wearing it! So you should always dress/decorate etc… for yourself not others. Yes you might worry about someone buying a house or not because of paint & wallpapers, but I think when people buy a house they always change things anyway… so if someday someone doesn’t like the pink staircase, THEY can change it. 🙂

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  13. My husband repainted all the walls on the ground level in this boring green color because “it will help sell the house when the time comes”. I couldn’t disagree with him more. Some people will love our house and some people will dislike it. I just hope the people who like it can afford it.

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  19. I’ve spent too much time renovating our former renter’s “creative” ventures in colors, that not everyone likes…my vote is always to go neutral with the bones of a property and jazz it up with colorful photos – timeless approach…boring maybe…but I do love a pop of color, too!

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  20. Unless you’re planning to list your house within the next few months, I say, paint the staircase any color you want! If you do list the house sometime in the future, then simply paint it a neutral color or cover it with a neutral carpet. We need to decorate our houses to please ourselves, I think, and then just tweak it a bit when we decide to sell!

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  21. Who are these people you are trying to please? What if they like funky colors and your conservative safe colors are boring to them? Be you. Do what you want. There comes a time when taking care of others has to take a back seat to taking care of ourselves. Especially when the ‘others’ are a nebulous possibility. Get your pink staircase and paint purple racing stripes down the center of it if YOU want to.

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  22. Beautiful post and I love the staircase! I think it you like pink, you should go for it by painting the staircase pink! The great things about paint is, it is not permanent. You can always change the color!!

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  23. I agree with the comment that the walls and floors should stay somewhat neutral, and use accessories to spice up a space. Nowadays, neutral doesn’t just mean beige. There are some neutrals with colour too. There’s also the option of having a feature wall, easily painted if you decide to sell, or using wallpaper that can be easily removed.

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  25. Dither seems to be my word of the day. So do not dither, more especially embrace your inner pink, be the pink, be the stairs, be the bold and live each day. I can hardly believe I just wrote be the stairs … this is the power of your words!

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  27. It’s your house so do as you please! If you ever get to the point where you sell the house, you could always repaint it to a neutral color to draw in more buyers who may otherwise not like pick staircases. Or you could find buyers who don’t care because they know they can easily paint over it themselves. But right now, it’s your house, so do as you please!

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  28. As long as you live in your house, decorate it to your own satisfaction. Feel what your heart wants and needs and listen to your inner voices. If someone wants to buy your house, then let him or her decorate it in their way – but not as long as you live there. The old staircase has a good point, right?

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  29. Oh my gosh! I love that funky ombre staircase! I would totally be a house with that. And the wallpaper! I say go for it! do what you love, you only live once.

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  30. If you really love it, do it. If you don’t like it, have it redone. Listen to your staircase, it has much wisdom. I love your posts so much! LOL 🙂 Oh, and If you ever have to install one of those riding seats, think of the lovely color you can watch slide by as you go up. 😉

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  31. Pink staircases! What a cool idea. I would. I would even paint some foliage, a few butterflies on the wall and maybe a dog waiting at the top of the stairs. That would create the feeling you are walking in a garden or following a magical path. You could also simply add some beautiful quotes on each stair. Personally if I had staircases like that I would paint them black and white, like a piano keyboard. What I am trying to say here is the sky is the limit. Listen to people advices but at the end do the F?#! you want. Follow your own desires. xoxo

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