The stairs are often neglected when we remodel because we just do not think about them. However, our staircases have the potential to be a major focal point in our homes. Since the stairs are such a small area, we can go a little wacky and still make it work with our other decorative features and schemes. The key is to choose something that you will love for a long time because redecorating a staircase can become tedious.

Turn Your Stairs into Storage
Each step can be transformed into a slide-out drawer. This is a place where you can store a number of smaller items. This also provides an immense amount of storage space because most home staircases are 10 to 12 stairs. This would be 10 to 12 storage drawers. This is a task you do not want to take on if you are unaware of what is under your stairs and not very handy. But if you are handy, some paint, drawer track kits and some power tools could transform your staircase into storage space while still preserving your ability to use the stairs to get up and down to different floors in your home.

Photo Credit: Fresh Home

Be Book Smart
If you are a book lover, you can decorate your staircase to look like stacked books. You will just need some paint and some drawing talent. Then, paint the face of each stair to look like the spine side of your favorite books. If you are not the best at art, you can find letter and number stencils at craft stores to help you along in painting the book titles. This is a more subtle change, but it will give your home some personality.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Light Them Up
If you have open space under each of your steps, you can use this space to light up your staircase. There are simple options like stick up lights that can easily be placed under each step with special adhesive strips. These just click on and off by you tapping on the lights. You can go more sophisticated and get recessed lighting put underneath each step. This would require a lot of carpentry and electrical knowledge, so do not attempt it on your own unless you have the required skills.

Photo Credit: Aldea

Update Your Railings
If you are going for a more modern home, those Victorian banisters are not doing your home justice. Glass and metal are very popular in modern homes and these can be installed in a day either by you if you have the skills or a professional contractor. You can also mix modern, straight line wood with glass, or just the wood. Wood can still be used in modern homes if it is stained the right color and is straight lines.

Photo Credit: Seven Home Ideas

Go Dark
Dark woods are really popular right now and work well with most design schemes. Changing the color of the wood is something that you can do with some time and elbow grease. First, you will need to strip your stairs down to their natural wood. This will require stripping chemicals, so take all necessary precautions and do this safely. Once everything is safely stripped and dry, you will need to take a dark wood stain and simply stain the stairs with the new color. Staining is something that can be tricky, so be sure to get some help if necessary.

Once you have stained everything, you should apply a finishing wax or clear top coat to protect the wood. These will also make the stairs resistant to drink, dirt and food stains, and will make the stairs easier to clean.

Photo Credit: Decor Pad

{Richard Tucker has been writing about home design solutions for nearly a decade. When he’s not writing, you can find him working as an engineer, designing energy efficient elevator parts.}